In the determination to trace members of our own family with a particular surname, it’s easy to overlook the possible importance of people with a different surname that are associated with our ancestors. These individuals crop up in all sorts of settings: in the same house during a census; as witnesses to marriages and legal documents; as people reporting a death; as employees; the masters of apprentices; beneficiaries in a will and so on. These acquaintances, for want of a better word, may be simply unrelated people connected with your family, such as friends, work colleagues and neighbours; but are they more than that? Are they relations? It’s worth investigating them because sometimes they yield valuable, or even surprising, family connections.
Occasionally these people are interesting in their own right. A friend of mine has a story about her Victorian ancestors who decided to get married on the spur of the moment in a remote country church. The minister was happy to oblige. The churchwarden was one witness but they needed another. They asked an
