Family Search Wikis

It seems like ages, since my last post. Self-imposed decisions were weighing heavily on my mind resulting in the drying up of my genealogical juices. Writing and problem solving stem from creative thinking and my creativity just up and went. I decided to put all my trees in my Ancestral Waiting Room for a while. Boy, was it crowded in there!

My mind has quieted and allowed me ponder the thought that I must search longer and harder for small bits of information needed to complete my ancestors stories. Had I exhausted all the vast resources of Ancestry.com or Family Search?

Rather than searching for documents, I paid a visit to the Family Search Research Wikis. With my Dollen tree in mind, I searched for Somerset, England. The Somerset Wiki offered a description of the area. It explained Civil Registration Districts, Parishes, Probate Jurisdictions and then there were the websites.

I found a yahoo group dedicated to Somerset Family History. The site allows for discussion and research; which includes full transcripts of parish registers and poor laws. I quickly registered for free and was accepted into the group. I also joined the Abdick and Bullstone Group. Britain divides land up between civil jurisdictions, parishes, and hundreds. Abdick and Bullstone is a Hundred. I don’t know what that means, but I do know that Curry Mallet is part of that Hundred. Keep you posted!

By the way . . . if you haven’t used Family Search Wikis, you might want to give them a try.

Linda