What is your toughest brick wall currently?
My longest running, and toughest brick wall is my fourth great grandfather, Daniel Emmett. Daniel appears in Thorpe Surrey, c. 1806 where he enters what is almost certainly a common law marriage with a lady who already has two illegitimate sons. They have a large family, separate some time before the 1841 census, and then Daniel dies in 1849 after being kicked in the head by a horse. Because he did not survive until 1851 he did not have to give his place of birth to the census taker. He remains an enigma almost two decades after I confidently thought how hard can it be to track down a man with such a distinct name. The Emmett families geographically near Surrey have no Daniel, whilst Emmett families from Hampshire, Devon and Yorkshire all have Daniel as a family name. DNA hasn’t provided a break through here either.
How long have you been on WikiTree?
I signed up for WikiTree in 2018, but didn’t get properly involved for a few years. At first I was sporadically entering profiles with little to nothing in the way of sourcing. In 2020 I was encouraged to join the England Project and undertake their orphan trail, which was a wonderful apprenticeship in the ins and outs of WikiTree. I completed the orphan trail, and the Profile Improvement Project, and found myself hooked.
What do you spend the most time doing on WikiTree?
I do a bit of everything! I like how there are a variety of activities to do on WikiTree which all help the health of the overall tree. I love adding profiles, and connecting, and work a lot on transferring my research over and building out connections. I set myself a personal challenge of building my CC7 to 10,000 which I achieved a few months back. I also do a lot of work building out and adding to existing profiles. I’ve been quite involved in challenges – both the monthly challenges with the England Project, and was involved in a few of the WikiTree Challenge Weeks last year. I also love the thon weekends.
Which projects are you most involved in?
I’m predominantly involved with the England Project, and work mostly with the Gloucestershire and Dorset teams.
I am also involved with the Australia Project, as well as the Adoption Angels.
What inspires you to contribute so much of yourself to WikiTree's mission?
I contribute a lot mostly because it’s fun! It’s also a great way to build out profiles for ancestors using source material and written biography. I often share WikiTree profiles with my mum and other relatives to showcase my research and make it easily accessible and understandable. I’m slowly building out fully fleshed out profiles for all direct ancestors back to my sixth great grandparents, and hope that can be a legacy that future generations can refer to.
What is your favourite feature or function on WikiTree?
I love the connection finder. It’s always fun seeing what paths connect various profiles, and very satisfying seeing connection work I’ve done reflected in the connection paths.
Do you have a story about how someone was helped through your participation on WikiTree?
Through my work with the Adoption Angels I’ve been able to assist some WikiTree members with their DNA results, which has been really personally satisfying.
Do you have a story about how you were helped through the work of others on WikiTree?
I have had a number of cousins make contact with me due to my WikiTree profiles. One time I received a collection of family photos from a distant relative who was downsizing, and I was able to collaborate with another WikiTree member on researching Richard Henry Esmond.
Do you have any tips for someone who wants to get more involved in our community?
Jump in, get involved in a project. Work out sourcing early on. WikiTree is quite different from other genealogy platforms, and has a steep learning curve, but it’s a very rewarding genealogical experience.
