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Cuckoos in the Nest
by Val Atkinson
Article ID: 21, First Published: March 2005I talked recently about family research being a jigsaw with pieces having places, with patience and endurance needed to ‘fettle’ them. (Sort them correctly).
Unfortunately, occasional impostors in the pile can cause an enormous amount of grief, and make fettling difficult.
Once my brother played his idea of a funny trick. He put pieces from one jigsaw into another box, so no matter how I followed the ‘jigsaw rules’ I couldn’t get it right. I was working on the assumption that everything ‘belonged’, but there were cuckoos in the nest!
Eventually through sheer determination it dawned on me what the problem was and I was able to ‘fettle’ it. (I fettled my brother as well!)
I had to move from ‘progress’ to ‘total elimination’, and this is NOT a jigsaw concept at all. We may eliminate certain pieces from certain places, but all the pieces do eventually have a place.
Research is about progress and fitting the people into their true places. (Far more rewarding than jigsaws!)
AND SO WE COME TO ‘THAT’ ASPECT OF RESEARCH:
We try to pretend it doesn’t exist, and hope fervently never to get involved with it.
People call it ‘NEGATIVE RESEARCH’ because they get nothing out of it.
Let me explain.
So called ‘negative research’ is when you discover after massive work that the person you’ve slaved over, spent hours over (and money for certificates!)isn’t actually in your family. People who haven’t experienced this tend to think only idiots get deceived, and anyone with an ounce of sense could detect a cuckoo in the nest.
Well, call me an idiot if you like, but everyone needs to prepare to permanently shelve a course that’s going nowhere.
Let me illustrate with an example of actual research that needed ‘Sherlock type’ dedication and investigative skills to identify the cuckoo, remove it from the nest, and replace it with the correct family ‘bird’.
INFORMATION:
Ancestor Laura Ellen HAMLETT Married George MOON, and was found on UK census
1901 census
George MOON head married aged 28 Miller and Baker born Eastbourne Sussex
Laura H MOON wife married aged 26 born Three Bridges Sussex
DATE UNKNOWN: George MOON died and Laura remarried
1907 Widow Laura MOON nee HAMLETT married to James YOUNG STATING FATHER AS WILLIAM HAMLETT
WANTED: BIRTH CERTIFICATE FOR LAURA HAMLETT BORN THREE BRIDGES C1875
In jigsaw terms this is a bright riot of colour easily picked out, isn’t it?
Well, no actually.
As research developed, there were so many inconsistencies of age and place that an in depth investigation became necessary. Nothing was adding up!
A lengthy process of research eventually showed there were TWO totally unrelated girls named Laura, round about the same age who had each coincidentally married a George MOON round about the same time in different parts of England!
In genealogy we need to come to terms with the concept that fact is stranger than fiction!
If this scenario was suggested for a film or soap opera, it would be thrown out on total improbability!
The original 1901 census entry that started the ball rolling, was in fact the WRONG Laura.
The correct Laura was finally found in 1881 census, and here she is.
William HAMMETT Head M 35 Stoke Stafford, England Potters Fireman
Jane HAMMETT Wife M 35 Stone Stafford, England
Laura Ellen HAMMETT Dau 1 Longton Stafford, England
Finding our correct Laura was further hampered by the different spellings of her name in documented sources:
Census: HAMMETT
Marriage certificate: HAMLETT
Birth certificate: HAMNETT
And for your interest here is the incorrect Laura also in 1881 census
George OLDER Head M 42 Kirdford Sussex, England Licensed Victualler
Susanna OLDER Wife M 44 Kirdford Sussex, England
Laura OLDER Dau 6 Three Bridges Sussex England Scholar
If/when this scenario happens to you, try to be calm and philosophical about it. Don’t be like me and freak out! It can be a problem when you’re the kind of person that likes to be right first time, but it’s not impossible to come to terms with!
Once a cuckoo has been unmasked and thrown out, focus in total thankfulness on the positive aspects and say to yourself:
• I’m glad that was sorted out.
• It was worth the time and effort
• I now have Laura safely on my family tree, grafted into place and claimed as my own.
• I’ve learned to think carefully
• From now on, I’ll sift and sort the facts till they fall into place
• I’m thankful I didn’t follow the wrong line for several generations
• I’ve accentuated the positive
• I’ve eliminated the negative.
• I’ve latched onto the affirmative.
• I don’t mess with ‘Mr. Inbetween’!
