When you think you know the answer

Originally by J Paul Hawthorne (http://bit.ly/1RjfZEZ), I was shown this graphic by @TheKirstyGray - a 5 generation tree based on place of birth

original 5 gen place 300

My initial response was that's easy, all but 3 were from Lancashire. Then I thought a bit.

  • What about my ggm born in Co Durham in the 2 years the family lived there during the cotton famine?
  • Weren't there some ancestors born just over the border in (whisper it softly) Yorkshire?
  • Would the ancestors from Stalybridge (yes) and Ireland (no) make the 5 gen cutoff?

So I plotted out the graphic:


5 gen placenames

I was wrong that all but 3 were born in Lancs. Actually, 6 were, assuming that my unknown gggf wasn't born there.
All but 6 of the ancestors, including the Yorkshire chap, were born in an 8 mile radius of my OPS place. (Todmorden was variously in Yorkshire and Lancashire - it was in Lancs at the time of my ancestor's birth). Manchester, although in Lancs, is 20 miles away.

The main lesson however is not to assume that I know the answer without checking the facts.

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