A note to genealogical researchers
from the editor of this web site.
My personal experience suggests that a lot of people are using the world wide
web to research their family backgrounds, and some of the information presented
at this web site has proved interesting and valuable to those who have found
this site previously. I am pleased about that, but unfortunately, since I do
not share the interest myself, I do not have to hand the resources for doing
any research that might help you to trace your ancestors.
And to those of you who contact me asking for information about the Tolley
family, please note that the members of the Tolley family whom I know are keen
to protect their privacy, so the only information I am prepared to provide is
that according to something I once read a long time ago, the name comes from
the Toll-gate keeper of the bridge over the river Severn at Evesham in
Worcestershire, England, and it was first recorded in the twelfth century. So
there you are: people with this name are all, directly or indirectly, descended
from a tax collector.
As to the information at this site, I have done my best to ensure that it is
as accurate as I can make it. I am pleased that so many of you have been kind
enough to send me your positive reactions to what you have found here. If you
discover factual errors (as indeed some people have - I'm not claiming
perfection...) then please let me know, and I'll be happy to include suitable
corrections at some stage when updating the web site.
In particular, because I have created a set of pages that deal with the Great
Central Railway in the early years of the twentieth century - a time when it
was used by many migrants from Europe to the USA - people have enquired if I can
tell them anything further about shipping. Regrettably, I can't. There may be
other web sites to help, but I don't know of any to recommend.
Similarly, because I created a set of pages that deal with United
Reformed Churches, people have enquired if I can tell them about persons
known or suspected to have been baptised, married, buried, a member or minister
at these churches etc.. Once again, regrettably, I can't. If you are on that
kind of quest, the best advice I offer is for you to attend worship at the
relevant church yourself, and talk to the members of the congregation after the
service: my repeated experience suggests you will receive a warm welcome, and
may well encounter others with similar interests and relevant knowledge. In
fact, I'd go further: even if you aren't looking for your ancestors, it's still
worth you attending church - but then, I would say that: I'm a Christian and
my relationship with God has changed my life!
Apart from that, I wish you well in your researches, and I do sincerely hope
that you discover some interesting and worthwhile information that repays the
investment of time you are making.
Please don't mistake the tone of this page. This message is here to save you
the trouble of writing to me to ask for information that I don't have, and to
save me from drafting an individual reply to you to tell you that I don't have
it. (Actually,
now this page is here, I may just reply to future correspondence on these
matters by referring people to it.)
One of the best sites for background information for genealogical research in
the case of those of you with British ancestry is GENUKI.
I heartily recommend you visit it - after you've seen everything here,
naturally.
Now, please click on the "back" button in your browser to return to
the page you were looking at previously.
