A Cautionary Tale

So here I've been, merrily researching away, tracking Savages and Whites, Philips and others.

Many, many, others. Many.

And it's all a sham. A waste of time. And why? Because there's one small detail incorrect. One small detail like; John Martin born in Bosham in 1802 is not the father of William Martin, born 1829 in Lyminster, or Birdham, or Sidlesham (depending on which Census you look at).

And nor is his mother, therefore, Patience Savage, born 1809 in Westbourne.

All the hours I've spent going through Parish records and back in to the Census records, tracing through all the descendants to 1901. Wasted.

How bloody annoying. And how did this happen?

Well: early in my research, when I was just dabbling, I didn't make reference to the sources of information as I do now. And I was contacted by some relatives on Genesreunited who had already traced some of the ancestors of the people in my tree so, fascinated, I copied them.

So now I have based my research on someone else's findings. Which now turn out to be inaccurate. It appears that I've cut off the branch I'm sitting on, to use a tree analogy.

Damn it! I've got some unpicking to do now!

The moral: NEVER trust anyone else's research. Seriously. Just don't.


:c

Frederick Batchelor

or Batchlor, Bachelor etc

Throughout the Census records, there are so many misspellings of this surname, it's proving difficult to track this family down. So far as I can determine, Frederick is:

son of Ann (1811, London, Middlesex) and Henry Bachelor (1809, Bosham) who is
son of Henry Bachelor (1775, Sussex) and Mary Philips (1782, Bosham) who is
daughter of William Philips and Sarah Barrow (1745, Bosham) who is
daughter of Richard Barrow and Ann (my 7th great grand parents)

..which I guess makes him my 3rd cousin, 5 times removed.

• Frederick appears in 1841 and 1851 with his parents, and then in 1861 living right next door with his wife Ann. The only relevant marriage record I can locate is to Annoime(!?) Charlotte Sharman in Q1 1860 in St James, Westminster, as yet unproven.
• In 1871, Frederick and Ann (c1814, Freston, Suffolk) appear again, still childless.
• In 1881, 91 and 1901, Frederick appears in the same area with his wife, Charlotte (1835/7, Scotland).
• I can't find a death record for Ann.
• There is a marriage record for Frederick Joseph Batchlor and Charlotte Duncan in Westminster, Q2 1877.
• I can't find Charlotte Duncan in the 1871 Census to confirm place of birth and age.
  

Are Ann and Charlotte the same person, just the birth places screwed up in the Census records? That would mean that the second marriage record is irrelevant and that for some reason, Ann decided to call herself Charlotte after 1871. I don't buy it.

Charlotte's birthplace is consistently listed as Scotland in 1881-1901 - I'm inclined to think that it's accurate.

So what happened to Ann?

And just to throw a spanner in the works (like it wasn't clear as mud already), there's a death record for Ann Bachelor in Brentford in Q3 1899, born 1835. It would match.

Perhaps Frederick and Ann separated and Frederick remarried Charlotte?

I'm lost!

Olive Savage

Olive Savage was born in Westbourne, Sussex in c1836 to Hanry Savage and Phillis Phillips.
She appears in the Census records for 1841, 51 and 61, but is not present in 1871.
The only Olive, born in that year in Westbourne recorded in 1871 is an Olive Smith, along with three children - they are lodging with one Henry Savage.
My fist guess is that this is Olive Savage, married. I can find a marriage record for Olive Savage between 1861 and 71, but there's no matching Smith to go with it.
Henry's daughter, Kate is shown in the same household, having married and produced a child, Patience. Kate is listed as 'Daughter'. Olive is listed as 'Lodger'.
Olive's children are born in Havant.