My Brick Wall -
And how I resolved it

 
How I came to a grinding halt

It all started out so well.  I had my Great-Grandfather William Walter JONES’s marriage certificate to Louisa Selina BEAK.  It gave William’s father’s name as Walter William and his trade a clerk.  It also gave Louisa Selina’s father as William James BEAK and his profession a Publican.

On William Walter’s service records it gave his next of kin as mother Mary and an address of 3, Min y Don Terrace, Llandudno as well as a place of birth of Liverpool and his age on enlistment in 1879 of about 24.

Plenty to go on one might say, but unfortunately this turned out not to be the case.

The questions

I checked the records for the birth of a William Walter JONES born in Liverpool about 1854 father Walter William and mother Mary.  I ordered a birth certificate that I was pretty sure about but the mother was Eleanor so was not mine.  I was a bit miffed but I kept the certificate anyway and filed it away.

I trawled the message boards asking for help, searching for Min y Don Terrace but there was nothing.  Min y Don Cottages kept coming up but not a Terrace so once again I filed the info away.

I checked the 1861 and 1871 census for Liverpool looking for a family of Walter William Jones, wife Mary and son William Walter but there was nothing.

About 18 months ago I was fortunate to be offered a veritable treasure trove of information relating to the BEAK family.  I now had Louisa Selina BEAK’s date of birth as well as her father’s trade, which was a Tailor.  This was different to the information on her marriage certificate and this led me to reflect on its accuracy.  I asked the GRO to recheck and they said it was as stated but this was the information provided to them.  With all the data I had, I knew the marriage certificate was not correct.  I had resolved my BEAK side but how to find out about my JONES side?

The answers

A few months ago I found on the 1871 census a William Walter JONES of the right age, born Liverpool but he was living as a lodger in Llanbeblig, Wales, not living in Liverpool, so another file away - but keep in mind.

And then Free BMD came to the rescue.  Each month (as we all do) I entered my queries.  Births, then Marriages and finally the last straw – Deaths.  And there it was – Walter William JONES died 1871 Conway.  Could this be him?  It wasn’t Llandudno, but near enough for me to order the certificate.  Tense moments when it came, I’d been disappointed far too often.  Bells began to ring though when I saw the address; Min y Don, Llandudno and wife – Mary.

I checked the LDS 1881 census and there was the Mary I had looked at so many times before.  10 years older, with the same children (one was elsewhere) and same address.  I got an image of the 1871 census taken 2 months after Walter’s death and it said Min y Don – Cottages had been added later.  And no William Walter, which made my Llanbeblig data more possible.  It was all beginning to fall into place.  My next problem was Mary’s age.  She would have been about 16 when she married Walter if she was William’s mother.  I still needed more proof.

I found a marriage on Free BMD for a Walter William JONES in Bangor (the same town as the POB for Thomas Owen, the eldest son of Walter and Mary) but there were others on the same volume and page so I had no idea which was Walter’s wife.  I ordered the marriage certificate, as well as the birth certificate for Thomas Owen and kept my fingers crossed.

The marriage certificate said the Walter was a widower and his wife was Mary!  I was getting closer.  I now had Mary’s maiden name and an address for the family in 1861 taken from Thomas’s birth certificate.  Ages of both parents checked out, but now I needed to check the 1861 census and hope that the family were still there 2 months later and that William Walter was on it.

With the help of a researcher I have now received information from the 1861 census that confirms my family:

Walter W JONES aged 36       Shoemaker       POB Holywell
Mary                            24                                         Llandrillo
William W                      6                                          Liverpool
Thomas O                      2m                                       Bangor

I know now that William Walter’s service record was not completely correct, neither was his marriage certificate.  Mary was not his mother but his stepmother.  I have found no record of Min y Don Terrace, only Min y Don Cottage but this was entered on the census later.  The names of the father of the Bride and Groom were correct but their occupations were both wrong.  These little pieces of relevant information have sent me in completely the wrong direction.  I can continue looking – but now my Collection will include Wales.

Moral

If there is one - I would say, Perseverance.  A brickwall is only there because we do not have the information we need.  If I can offer some advice it would be:

    1.    Check everything.
    2.    Do not be afraid to question the information even when from a 'reliable' source.
    3.    People do make honest mistakes.  Dates, ages, names or Places of Birth, all can be slightly inaccurate.
    4.    Sometimes a bit of lateral thinking can help.
    5.    There are many people out there who may be able to help.  So ask.  Then check the original records.
    6.    Do not accept data just because it 'looks right'.  Two, better three sources to verify. 

4 July 2005