Alfred Gould genealogy

Alfred Gould genealogy - Attempted Proof Charts

Chart 1: Attempted Direct Proof (1) by date of birth

Chart 2: Attempted Direct Proof (2) by name of father

Chart 3: Attempted Counter Proof by name of mother

Absolute proof is seldom possible in family history. Usually, the best we can hope for is to construct an attempted proof, followed by a subjective assessment of the conclusions that have been drawn from it. I have called the charts below “Attempted Proof Charts” for this reason. They all refer to the stated hypothesis. For further details, see Introduction to Attempted Proof Charts.

Chart 4: Attempted Proof by Contradiction by searching for two people

Notes:

The attempted direct proof by birth dates is not sufficient on its own, since there could be two Alfred Goulds born around the same time. The attempted proof by contradiction is needed as well.
The father name in the 1841 census is presumed because no relationships are recorded in this census. Hence, a nephew could be staying with his uncle and aunt on the night of the census and would give the appearance of being their son.
A possible reason for the discrepancy in the name of Alfred's mother is that Alfred's father, William, re-married and the informant who registered Alfred's death either thought it was correct to give the step mother's name or did not know the biological mother's name. Another possibility is that it was a simple error made by either the informant or by someone in the Registrar's office. This seems more likley than the "re-marriage" scenario.