I have on my web site a list of several recent branches of Micklethwaites that I have not been able to link into the more long-standing branches. Every now and then I have a look at them to see what I can do to find out more.
For example, Harry married Emily O’Rourke in Chester in 1924 – but there are no Micklethwaites in Chester before that. I have worked out probable and possible descendants for branches such as these and using Google I found that one of Harry’s descendants was still in Chester and worked in a Car Showroom/Service garage. Thinking I had nothing to loose, I emailed the garage.
After a couple of weeks, I’d given up hope, but an email came back from the contact. He only knew his grandfather was from Batley. That small amount of detail was sufficient for me to guess who his grandfather’s parents were, but I noticed that the Batley man had been in the Merchant Navy. My contact confirmed his grandfather had too. A successful cold call!
Andy Micklethwaite's Family History Blog 