Hi Jacqueline

I had a look at Ancestry trees to see if anyone had researched this family ---- and I see that you have a tree there. Am I right in thinking that you haven't found the 1901 England census entry for William H Gawne and Mary Ann Kerwin ?

Ancestry has mistranscribed the name Gawne as Yawne. If you type in just Mary A Yawne b 1876 b Liverpool, this should bring up the right page. It shows William H as a 28yr old able seaman b Aberdeen, and there are 2 children plus a sister, an aunt, a boarder and a visitor.

You've got loads of scope for researching your family during the years covered by all the censuses, without getting hung up over trying to identify the names of ancestors back in the pre-census mists of time, who, after all, are just names and dates. Viewing the families on census pages and following up on siblings and cousins is much more satisfying.

It would be a good idea to erase anything you've got from dubious sources like Pedigree Resource File, and go back to a point where you're on solid ground, and then gradually work backwards, buying certificates at each stage to make sure you're on the right track.

When you get back to a stage where your family is in the IOM, try using Brian Lawson's census index numbers in conjunction with Ancestry, which makes searching much easier. And treat any entry you find in the IGI with a pinch of salt unless it has the words "extracted entry."

Happy hunting

Jean C