I rashly accepted a challenge on Twitter’s #AncestryHour this week! We’d been discussing those common surnames which tend to get side-lined to the “too difficult list” because it’s so hard to pin down who’s who – names like Smith or Brown and Welsh names like Jones, Davies, Williams, Evans and Roberts.
Throwing down the gauntlet
I can’t quite remember how it happened now, but after a bit of banter with fellow blogger, Jane Hough (allthosebefore.org) about being brave enough to have a go one day, Natalie at genealogystories.co.uk laid down the gauntlet by challenging us to “go for it!”
So, my mission – having agreed to accept it – is to try and learn more about my Roberts line, with the hope (as I said to Natalie) to uncover some Welsh ancestry. Which is perfectly feasible, given that my Roberts family lived close to the Welsh border in rural Shropshire.
What I know so far
My paternal great-grandmother (pictured above) was Eliza Roberts, born in 1858 in Pontesbury, Shropshire (right hand photo), the youngest of 7 children, the others being: Ann, Sarah, Jonathan, Mary, Thomas and George.
Eliza’s father was Timothy Roberts, a coal miner, born in 1812, in Pontesbury like his daughter, and his father was Samuel Roberts. And that’s about the sum of my current knowledge!
I do know a little about Eliza’s older sister Mary, who played a key part in the life of my great aunt Annie, but apart from that, I know nothing about the other siblings.
So, what will my research uncover? Will I find some Welsh ancestry? Or will I simply hit a brick wall? We shall see.
And if you’ve had some success researching a common name on your tree, any tips would be gratefully received!
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