Finding the Serridges and the Sherveys
My brother Reg came to Edmonton for Brandon and Tiffany's wedding (Congratulations, guys!) And we dropped over to my nephew's house where they were staying for a few days. As we were chatting, his wife Carol expressed an interest in her genealogy, as did their daughter-in-law.  I have some free time this week, before I start teaching family history classes, and I will probably receive my official call to serve in FamilySearch Support about the same time. Carol was able to give me a little information on her grandfather (William) and great grandfather (John) on her Serridge line and her grandmother Isabella Shervey, that took me back into the time period when the censuses are available. So I have been trying to help her find free information and providing her with subscription-only information that she does not have access to.

I was able to easily follow the Serridges back to the 1841 UK census. The Tattersalls, back to the 1881 census before duplicate names and ages became a big challenge in 1871.  Even the marriages index at FreeBMD.org.uk did not allow me to sort out the eight men born about 1856 named James Tattersall in and around Haslingden, Lancashire. Maybe later ....

After finding records of the Norwegian Shervey/Sherve/Skjerve family in the wonderful 1885 and 1895 Minnesota state censuses on FamilySearch.org, I was off to a good start. (Hats off to you guys! I have found Wisconsin state censuses virtually useless, but Minnesota, you did it right!)

I also found them in the 1900 US census and the 1911 and 1916 Canada censuses, and in Google searches. I didn't find them in Castlegarden or Ellis Island. And I don't know enough Norwegian to make any sense out of the Norwegian censuses. Then I hit the jackpot! A downloadable family tree going back into the 1500s on some lines. How accurate is it? I don't know, but it is amazing!

Maybe I will get a chance to follow some more of the Serridge maternal lines, while time permits. Then maybe a closer look at Kim's genealogy ...

'Bye for now.