Keith, may I add to what Sue has said. I’ll number your paragraphs.

3. Your references to your grandfather, great-grandfather and so on have been a help to keep the generations straight in my mind. If you are writing for your family, they might also appreciate this, so long as it is always clear who “I” is. Sooner or later, though, you may wish to move away from the Keith-centric world and write a more objective account of a particular family for general consumption. You will then have to adopt some system of keeping track of generations, perhaps by numbering them or, as in Burke, to number the offspring and use a different notation for each generation – 1, (1), 1a, 1b, etc.

4. Sue’s method, though more laborious, is much better for historical truth. Sue’s accounts are going to be of more value in the future than a computer file, for the reasons she gives. I use Brøderbund Family Tree Maker. This allows one to branch in many different directions, going back on a spouse from a completely different family, for instance. One can give a source for every name, date, additional fact, and so on, allowing others to verify at least those from official sources. With each source citation there is a field where comments can be added. I can always find somewhere in the file to express any misgivings. Its printouts can be difficult or tedious to follow. Perhaps counsel of perfection would be to maintain a computer file for oneself, plus a Sue-type exposition of a particular family for public consumption, to the level of detail required. It is possible to exchange information with other people, who may be using other programmes, by making a GEDCOM file, which I have not yet mastered.

5. I quote from the user’s guide to the Family Records Centre in London.

If you live outside London there is no need to visit the FRC to consult the indexes. Microfiche and microfilm copies are widely available in local libraries and LDS Family History Centres. Visit www.familia.org.uk for information about local library copies, and www.familysearch.org for addresses and contact numbers of Family History Centres. To order a copy of the of the certificate you want, you can download the online application form at www.statistics.gov.uk, then complete it, quoting your credit card details, and send it to the given address. If you do not have access to the Internet, post the index details to General Register Office, PO Box 2, Southport, Merseyside PR8 2JD [I said it was somewhere near you], citing the exact index reference and enclosing card details or cheque payable ONS for £8. You can also order a certificate by phone on 0870 243 7788. In the event of a reference being quoted incorrectly, you will be charged a fee of £4.50 for the first reference checked and £3 for each subsequent reference checked on the same application [I think I have quoted the references correctly, but, sorry, I’m not offering to pay if I have made a mistake]. [Why not look on the internet first, or ring that number to get the exact procedure. You must have found some way of ordering your grandfather’s birth certificate.]

Philip Allen