Searching from hearsay

Hi everyone. I would like some advice on how to find proof (or otherwise) that my husband has a connection to Arthur Worsley, the famous ventriloquist. A comment made by my father-in-law years ago has always intrigued me. "'E favours the Worsleys" was his quote and right enough, in his younger days, my hubby James does have the same features as Arthur Worsley and also a musical career. I cannot find any connection in his aunts, uncles, immediate cousins or even a generation further back. Are the records in Lancashire I am looking for not transcribed yet? Do I need to go back further generations? Am I just looking at the female additions to the family? Do I investigate the Worsley line itself? Or is it simply that there is no connection? When faced with a throw away comment like that where do I start? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Thank you Peter. Jim's father told a few stories which I was sceptical about but in putting together his family tree I have discovered are correct. Thomas Witter carpets and Witter towballs are two of them. As you say at some point in my research I may come across more. Frustration gets the better of me sometimes especially when so many of the same first names are handed down through the generations making it so easy to accept the wrong record leading to an incorrect branch. On a Facebok page of the area I was born in I encountered a lady with the Witter surname and she was so excited to find me as she thought there was no one else with that name. I did some research for her and we really thought we were related until I double and triple checked and found that there were two people with the same name born in the same area in 1801 but with different forebears and descendants. Our trees did not match after all. I'm sure back in the mists of time there may be a connection but we are happy to have met anyway.

 

Thank you Peter. I will do that.

 

Hi Angel54, have you used the Lancashire Online Parish Clerk site? For the name Witter, Wytter, etc. there are 1318 records from 1500 to 2000 and for the name Worsley there are 7728 records from 1890 to 2009.

 

No I haven't Heather. To be honest I didn'tknow that site at all. You have given me something to do tomorrow and maybe for the coming days. Thank you. x

 

And that's something else I have to catch up on Heather. I just don't seem to have enough hours in the day and my to do pile is stacking up. Thanks for the reminder. xx