BEACH/BEECH - (Ancestor Search Website Guidance) (General)

by BSEDDON , Friday, October 12, 2012, 13:03 (4506 days ago) @ m p griffiths

Hi again

Just to put some context on my request for information.....

I came across my link to the Forest of Dean whilst researching my family tree. Namely, George Beach, a coal miner, born 1813 who left the forest in the 1860's and settled in Wigan. The earliest Beach that I linked to in the forest was John Beach who married Maria Skinne in 14/2/1686 at Newland and lived in Elwood. The Beach Clan were centered in Coleford, Littledean and Bream.

Around two years ago, I decided to try and trace the descendants of John & Maria to see how typical George's emigration from the forest was, and when/if Mining stopped being the sole occupation of the Beachs.

If I'd realised then the amount of time and effort that this would involve then I may never have started. I currently have around 700 family members in a Family Tree Maker Database with locations in New Zealand, Australia, America and throughout the UK! I recently met a George Beach who appears to be the oldest surviving Beach still living in Bream.

Some branches were trivial but others, especially the earlier ones, were knotty. Trying to resolve the knotty issues took a lot of time and often culminated in a "leap of faith". Some remain unresolved. I think that it is unrealistic and unfair to use forums of this type to try to resolve these knotty issues. It's just too much to expect from disinterested members.

Having said all this, I recognise that I am pretty much an amateur at this game and welcome any general advice/guidance. I have relied on this site and Findmypast for all my research which I am aware probably leaves some gaping holes.

Returning to my specific request (at last!), in the "letter from America", James Beach (an enigma to me for a long time) is given some specific dates 1745-1795. These birth/baptism/death dates are not present on this site. If anyone reading this can point me to where these records may be found then I would be very grateful.

Apologies for rambling on, Brian