Skeletons in the cupboard

More tips for new family researchers.

There are  plenty "skeletons" in my tree!

Tip no 3

Be prepared for some skeletons in the cupboard. It may turn out your great granny wasn't actually married to your great grandad.

Divorce was expensive and ordinary folk just moved on.

There were plenty illegitimate births before the days of contraception.
Often the child was brought up by the mother's parents and sometimes as a child not a grandchild. The birth certificate gives the game away. It was, and is, illegal to give false information to the Registrar.

Remember, you are not responsible for the actions of your ancestors.



Tip no 4

Don't be too quick to judge your ancestors. Times were different. Widows and widowers left with children often remarried quite soon. This was a matter of necessity for financial support for the widows and childcare for the widowers. I spotted a comment on a forum along the lines of "his wife died and he remarried with indecent haste".

Another one I hear often is "they had a hard life". Certainly they did, compared to us but this doesn't necessarily mean they were unhappy.