I am on the trail of the HEATLEY/HEATLY side of my family. I know they came from Salop and I suspect my great grandfather may have married twice if not three times. I am on a bit of budget and not sure whether or not to pay a researcher at 28 pounds per hour or start ordering birth/death certificates.
My stumbling block is with regard to John HEATLEY born about 1853 (father was William), he had a brother called Thomas born about 1843 or 1844. John married a Margaret WILLIAMS in Liverpool in 1877
Has any one had any experience with paid researchers.,
Thanks from the Southern Hemisphere
Matthew
Chris Potter is probably one of the most knowledgeable Shropshire genealogists and his rates are considerably lower than what you have mentioned:
Hi Matthew
Looking at your notes on Ancestry, it seems you are trying to work out exactly where John Heatley was born: "I have checked all the Census Results from 1861 to 1911 to see where he listed his birth city. In 1861/71/81 it is listed as Ellesmere, in 1891/1911 he listed the area Salop, only in 1901 did he list his birth city as Frankton."
The parish of Ellesmere was quite a large one encompassing many townships, including the township of Frankton (also known as English Frankton [map] to distinguish it from Welsh Frankton in the parish of Whittington) situated about 4 miles southeast of Ellesmere village (see GENUKI). So it could well be that John was born at (English) Frankton, in the parish of Ellesmere, in the county of Salop / Shropshire. The variation in the places named by John as his birthplace would simply be down to him being more, or less, specific from one census to another - I have seen many examples of this.
Steve
Hi
Thank you for your replies. Ideally I would like to continue down this path myself, however I want to make sure its right so will probably try the genealogist suggested. Thank you also for looking into Frankton for me, I had no idea about the township.
Part of my quandry is that I suspect William HEATLEY/HEATLY married three times. His son Thomas was the one who emigrated to NZ to join the gold rush. I have obtained his death certificate however it gives no clues to whom his parents were nor his exact DOB (its either 1843 or 1844 - there are two people born in Ellesmere of the same name), John was born a few years later to I suspect Sarah BARKLEY (a widow) and William HEATLEY, it would appear that William married again this time to a Emma/Emily BARROW (a widow again and I suspect her maiden name to be BLOWER). As I mentioned in my first post I am only a beginner.
Thank you again
Matthew
Hello Matthew
For many people the most interesting, and rewarding, part of family history is picking up all the little bits and pieces which link together to tell you where you came from. There are times when it is necessary to employ a researcher to look at specific documents that you can't look at yourself but I would suggest for most of the rest of the time it is much more interesting, and cheaper, to do the research yourself.
The fact that you live half a world away shouldn't stop you, especially with all the information which is available on the Internet, a lot of which is completely free. Sites like:-
GENUKI, FreeBMD and its sister sites FreeCEN and FreeREG
Many Shropshire Parish Registers were transcribed and printed about a hundred years ago. The LDS site FamilySearch provides a free index to these and many other records and there are many other web sites which have transcripts or images of these printed registers. For Shropshire see Mel Lockie's excellent site and for a wider area there is Google Books and the Internet Archive
There are a number of commercial web sites where you have to pay for the information they provide but you may find that your local Library or Archives provide free access to them, possibly for a limited time each day. Two well known are Ancestry.co.uk and Find my Past.co.uk
Even though they charge for their information you can look at their indexes free of charge and these can be very useful on their own.
Mike
Thank you for the hyper links. I have to confess to being rather naieve to think I would be able to accomplish alot in a short space of time. I had no idea how one clue would lead to another and so forth. Its absolutely fascinating. I guess I do feel alittle under time pressure as my Mother is 85 and becoming quite frail, and I would love to be able to share with her as much of our past as I can.
Thank you all again, with kind regards
Hello Matthew
As well as you sharing your research with your mother it is just as important that your mother shares her memories and knowledge with you. Do either of you have any photographs that haven't been identified that your mother can identify for you?
Can you persuade her to write down some reminiscences starting with her school days, her jobs, how and when/where she met your father together with all the interesting things she has experienced that you will never find in an archive.
Don't be tempted to rush your research, it will only lead to errors and start to cause you stress when it should be doing just the opposite.
Mike
Matthew. I have Heatleys in my family tree but at this time see no connection between your line and mine. However, here is some information I have on your line that may be helpful to you. Please keep in mind that, as most any researcher will tell you, due diligence is required on your part to determine the accuracy and relevency of such information you receive regardless of where it came from.
1. Thomas Heatley and wife Alice
1.1. William 1810 - 1895 married 1st Sarah Barkley 1820 - 1852 (nee Hognett - father Thomas Hiognett and mother likely Sarah Ravenscroft. Sarah Hognett likely 1st married Robert Barkley c. 1841 then William Heatley in 1846.
1.1.1 Thomas Heatley 1844- 1920
1.1.2 Ann Heatley 1847 - 1925 married c. 1868 Edward Healing
1.1.3 Elizabeth Heatley 1849 - 1852
1.1.4 John Heatley 1851 - 1925 married c. 1877 Margaret Williams
1.1.4.1 Margaret Amelia Heatley 1881 - 1954 married c. 1916 Ralph Marsden
1.1.4.2 Gertrude Heatley 1883 - 1964 married 1st c. 1909 Arthur Meakin and married 2nd c. 1934 John W Hatton
1.1.4.3 Harry Heatley 1886 - 1975 married c. 1914 Margaret Ann Gibbons
1.1.4.4 Edward THomas Heatley 1893 - 1935 married c. 1914 Mabel Charlotte Wendleborn
1.1.a William Heatley 1810 -1895 married 2nd c. 1853 Emma "Emily" Barrow 1816 - 1897 (nee Blower - father John Blower and mother Deborah Barkley. Emma Blower 1st married c. 1844 John Barrow in Wolverhampton the William Heatley in 1853)
1.2 Martha Heatley 1815 -
1.3 Sarah Heatley 1819 - 1831
Regards, Harry Purslow, Ashland, Oregon USA
Wow thank you again for your help and insight. I am really getting a lot of satisfaction from looking into my family history. I have made some real advances and have several trees now. One which has confirmed history and a couple of others which I use to follow various leads until either they are confirmed or discounted.
My mother is now 87 and regretfully is most often unable to put into words what she'd like to say or can no longer remember. Very occasionally though she will come out with some thing which is enlightening.
Thank you for suggesting that I write down her memories. I have done this to some extent. My Mother is one of only a handful few people who have lived through the 1931 Napier/Hastings earthquakes and the ones which devastated my home town of Christchurch 2009/2010. Even though she was just over 3 years old in 1931 she remembered with remarkable clarity what had happened that day, and her subsequent voyage back to Liverpool with my grandparents. I have recorded her memories and found photographs of the ships they took back and forth.
Harry, thank you for the details that you have provided. Some I knew and have obtained marriage records etc, however would you mind giving me a bit of advice on where did you find the names Thomas and his wife Alice from?
Thank you again for all your advice - I appreciate it very much
Matthew
Matthew. I have been away from this web site for a while so you likely have already answered your own question of where did I find information on Thomas HEATLEY and wife Alice. Regardless, the information is from the Myddle (aka Middle) parish registers. The Myddle registers can be found at a number of places including Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org and Findmypast.com and likely others. Harry
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Hi Matthew,
I see you have a family tree already on Ancestry detailing all the census' with John Heatley & his wife Margaret on from 1861. Suggest you spend your money on confirming the births & deaths with certificates, although you already have an online copy of their marriage certificate in Liverpool in 1877 which gives both fathers' names.
Good luck Hazel