Chapter Two
On the DOVASTON trail
By now, I was beginning to compile quite a list of unrelated DOVASTONS, some were only individuals but some lines
had 50 or more names. I decided a one-name study approach might prove the best way to go. I downloaded all the IGI
records, including variations in spelling and sorted them into family groups. I sent for a set of 1881 census CDs and
added all the information I found there. I added what I had received from other researchers. I tried all the Family History
sites that had search boxes. No luck! I found the
Shropshire Mailing List and put out a plea there. Again no luck! I was stumped. Obviously a different approach
was needed. So I found an online current telephone directory and punched in the name DOVASTON. It came up with just over 50
names and addresses. With the help of my younger daughter, I wrote a letter explaining what I was doing and devised
a form on which people could list their ancestors. I sent copies of these to all the addresses I'd found, including a stamped
addressed envelope and I was amazed just how many people replied. Some knew very little about their ancestry but
wanted to find out more. Others had obviously been doing some research themselves and were only too pleased to
share what they'd found. Some passed me on to older members of their families who could remember more than they
could. I even had a few telephone calls from those who hated putting pencil to paper but were quite happy to pass on
what they knew verbally. The DOVASTON lines were growing fast - but still none of them connected to me! By now, I knew dates and places of birth for my great grandfather, Henry
and his father, John but I was still in London. I looked at all the
information I had received in reply to my letters and it began to appear that all these lines led back to Shropshire,
wherever they were in the country now. I came across an Australian
site that listed early settlers and again the DOVASTON family I found, had emigrated from Shropshire. It began to
seem as if the only line that didn't originate in Shropshire was mine!
I was beginning to get more adventurous. I downloaded information from the
Commonwealth War Graves site. I emailed the PRO for military records
of DOVASTONs - needless to say my grandfather's World War I record was one of those lost in the fire in World War
II. By now I knew my 3x great grandfather was named Edward but
not his origins. I was unable to find him on a census and I was back before the beginnings of civil registration. I had
lost him in the London tenements of the mid-1800s and frustration was beginning to set in! Then in a short space of
time, I received emails from two lovely ladies - one in America and one in Australia. I was able to establish that they
were quite closely related to each other. One of them knew of another cousin in New Zealand that she was able to
email. He had been born at the Nursery in West Felton and had emigrated in 1967. In his possession he had the diaries
and a family tree which had belonged to one of his ancestors from the mid-1800s. That tree contained my 2x and
3x great grandfathers. Thanks to Phil, the link was made. Not only could he tell me the parents of my Edward but
between us we were able to join three of my biggest lines. Chapter 1: My DOVASTON family then
Seven years ago, computers were a mystery to me. But as the
vast majority of my research needed to be done at weekends, in the evenings and sometimes, well into the night, my
computer was the only tool available to me at the beginning. By holding the strong belief that it would never allow me
break it - well, not too disastrously - I have experimented and played until my Family Tree program, Email and the Internet
have become my biggest allies. Television and housework are now things of the past!
I timed the beginning of my search well - the IGI had just opened
their website. I punched DOVASTON into the search box and up came about 300 names - all except one were in
England and the vast majority were in or around Shropshire. But of course this was not very useful to me, as my
DOVASTONS were in London and I couldn't tell if any of the few London ones were 'mine'. I managed to find one site
relating to the DOVASTON name which contained an early family tree - but again, mine weren't included. The site
included a few email addresses of others researching the name and although everyone was very good about replying
and sending me what they knew, none had any connection to me or my line. I grilled my mother and made her turn out
anything that might contain relevant papers. I wrote to the few remaining members of my family to see if they had any
old certificates. I received a few, including birth certificates for my grandfather and for Douglas and the certificate for
Uncle Alf's second marriage. I then discovered a company online that would do searches of the GRO indexes and
obtain copies of certificates, so I sent for those whenever I gained enough information to do so.
With the help
of Legacy, the Family Tree program I was using to record all the
information and Rootsweb, I had now been able to create a website for my
BURTON/DOVASTON tree and I was beginning to receive a few emails from others researching the DOVASTON name.
Quite often I was able to help them with their research by using my DOVASTON database which now had over
1500 names and in exchange they added what they knew of their lines. I even had photographs I had been sent for
several of the lines. Some now had several hundred people in them but I couldn't link them all to each other - or to me!
I
persuaded my husband to take our annual holiday in Shropshire and we spent 5 days scouring graveyards and
photographing tombstones. Luckily the Pen-y-Dyffryn hotel near Oswestry
where we stayed, served the most amazing food and all hubbie could think about during the day was what he was
going to have for his dinner that evening. I visited the
Shrewsbury Research and Records Centre and copied down Parish Records for the relevant villages. I bought
any relevant Archive Book CDs and after much hunting, I was able to
obtain a second-hand fiche reader so I could send for copies of the Parish Registers from the
Shropshire Family History Society
. My database was still growing and I was able
to establish more links between the various lines. I began to use the
Freebmd site to hunt the GRO indexes and started to transcribe for them. I even volunteered for the task of advising
others!!