Mormons! (HUH!) What are they good for?!

That doesn't scan, does it? Oh well. Went to the "open day" thing at the Family History Centre at the Mormon Temple in Chorley on Saturday. It was a lot more helpful than I thought it would be. Found out about a whole new section of the familysearch website I didn't know existed, was told how to order microfiche and microfilm, and (when I got home) found out how to order their CDs and DVDs with Family Group Records and Ancestry Files on. I got a bit excited and ordered one last night. Somewhat annoyingly you've got to order not only the entire CD that contains the records you want, but 4 more as well. I suppose there's a possibility there'll be something else of interest on there, but I can't help feeling it's a bit of a swizz. Anyway, at least I stand a chance of solving some of the mysteries that are currently plaguing my research. Not least the question of the ridiculously long Procter line (to Richard Procter, born 1554) that I've found and done some checking on, but have so far been unable to substantiate. I have a horrible feeling I'm going to have to snip that line and look elsewhere for ancestors as of about 1810. The annoying thing is I'm almost certain that if the line I've got isn't valid, one very much like it probably is. I'd be very surprised if Richard Procter of Langho, Billington, Lancashire isn't my direct ancestor, but the route to him might be a bit more convoluted.

 

I also picked up some materials from the Family History Society of Liverpool (and surrounding area), which might have some information for me, if I poke them with requests. Their information on historic West Derby was also enlightening. I've always thought of Wigan as being more closely linked with Liverpool than with Manchester, despite the modern association with Greater Manchester (*spit*). Wiganers have continued to think of themselves as Lancastrians despite all attempts by bureaucrats further eastwards to absorb them, and I discovered at the FHC that Wigan is historically on the eastern fringe of West Derby, the old administrative area that covered Liverpool and a good chunk of West Lancs, and nothing to do with the upstart administration based around Manchester. Something about that pleased me greatly.

 

In summary, at least I've got some new info now, and some new lines of inquiry. Should invigorate my research a bit, if nothing else. I did see the vital records index for the British Isles on the Mormon Family History site, but wasn't sure whether it was worth having or not. Those vital records aren't available on line (they give you some really odd ones for free, like Sweden and Mexico and places), but they're likely to be fairly patchy and there's no guarantee of finding anything useful at all. Lancashire does have a huge amount of data in there (over a million records in total), but there's no information on which parishes are covered, or what time periods. Might have to get it anyway, but I'll have to have a good think first.

 

All good fun.