Genealogy Chat

Hi, Following up from previous posts, I wonder if anyone can push this man's tree back any further? He is William Walton c 1718-1773, possibly born in Swineshead, Lincs. He married Elizabeth Thorpe on 26/5/1747, I think also in Swineshead.Elizabeth Thorpe was born in Great Hale, Lincs, in 1728. What did He/ she do? and who were their predecessors? Leaving this in your very capable hands....
Incidentally, to all the genealogists out there... how far back can you go with online material and when do you have to start visiting churches to look at old documents?
Kind regards, Will Hollingworth.

Walton family mentioned on this thread started yesterday -

https://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards/board/ancestors/thread/1404260

Re old documentation -
it varies from place to place, but becomes more and more patchy and uninformative.
Generally, the older the record, the less detail given - for instance, no ages, addresses, parents' names, etc. - so the trail becomes impossible to follow, even where records still exist.

What sources have you been using to look for Lincs records.? Lincs records were pretty good a few years ago so should be better now.
I agree with ArgyllGran. You won’t find occupations unless there are clues in old wills.

What did ‘she’ do? Made me laugh. Clean, wash, cook etc - that has never changed.

In my experience, many churches no longer hold their parish documents. They are handed in to the nearest record office.
Often the contents can be viewed on film or fiche there or even perhaps in the nearest main library, but the original articles can usually be requested and viewed, once they have been brought up from the archive storage unit at the record office.

To see and handle books recording ancestors' life events is very special.

Many thanks for your feedback, very useful. So, it would seem we can't find William Walton's father unless we contact the parishes?? (ie. no one on here has the database. Seems like at about 1700 you hit a brick wall).

All the best

Parishes are unlikely to have kept those records.

GENUKI will normally tell you where the records are kept eg see:
https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LIN/Swineshead

Local Record offices and the regional FHS's can also tell you if records are held.

As you get further back it becomes much more difficult to trace people unless they are moneyed.

Added: have you tried ‘googling’ - I did and found an old ‘conversation’ on Genealogy.com which might be of interest to you.

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-records/lincolnshire-baptisms

Earliest baptism record for the name William Walton is 1587

Which websites do you use? Where did you find the details of the marriage?

Records as old as the ones you want will be at County Records Offices, not in the individual Churches.

There is even a William Walton listed in the Lay subsidies roll for 1332.

Have you not checked the trees on Ancestry. Most of them are probably copied from one another but they all show William as born in Ewerby and married in Swineshead.

One wonders what research you have done -
From Lincs FHS - names in publications - starting page 162:

https://www.lincolnshirefhs.org.uk/publications/names-in-lincolnshire-fhs-publications?start=4025

thanks to you all for your valuable assistance. Looks as if I have my work cut out for me!