General Chat

Dear All

Hello

Hope you are well and safe.

I can remember when I first started researching my family tree, back in 2008.

Over the years, the 1911 census, 1939 register and 1921 census returns have been added to the plethora of records online.

I wasn't just interested in tracing my ancestors and dates and places.

I wanted to try and find out how they lived, worked and what events, economic, political and social would have shaped their lives.

I went along to a social event recently. Genealogy attracts people from all works of life; it is no longer elitist.

Do any of your ancestors stand out to you?

What have you learned on your voyage of discovery?

Take gentle care
Love EOS
xx

I have learnt that some of my ancestors were very economical with the truth, ie, lied about their ages, their marriages and so made it very difficult to research.

But it was very interesting learning about their jobs and where they lived back in the day. Also discovering ancestors I never knew i had.

I started in 2008 as well and in that time found an incredible wealth of knowledge about my families that i never knew existed.

Im still discovering today and really enjoy the challenge.

Florence in the hebrides

What I've found is that Ancestors thought that any secrets that they may have had were taken to their grave :-0.

Censuses have shown couples living together as husband and wife were not in fact married to each other because divorce was too expensive. Then there are the illegitimate children! :-0

Then there is the introduction of DNA Testing.....so far I have three 1st cousins that nobody ever knew about all fathered by the same maternal uncle :-0

I've lost count of the number of times I've exclaimed out loud "Well I never" ;-)

Ancestors thought nobody would ever find out.....little did they know ;-)

Lots of lies and skeletons in our family cupboards :-D :-D :-D My research started by searching for my paternal Grandad who was not known or maybe shunned by relations. It took me 11 years but I found him eventually.

My Father was interested in his family and used to talk to me about his relatives (the ones that he actually knew and I didn't) that was porobably in the 80s which sparked my interest, then at my parents silver wedding I met with my cousin's son (2nd cousin) who was younger than me but wull into genealogy. He gave me a well written out family tree on my mother's side

In the 90s pre the internet I did visit several registry offices and traced quite a few on my Father's side by looking at those records on the machines I forget what they were called. It was exciting to find records and sometimes very hard on the eyes.

But I am certain it was the internet and the start of Genes Connectect followed by Genes re-united and the excitement and encouragement of people on here, then the discovery of the censuses and what we could fine. By now my parents had died which was sad as I would have loved to share it all with my Dad.

I discovered that on both sides I came from fairly humble beginnings, although Mother's side was more definitely 'working class' Ag labs etc and father's side was probably more Middle class, with both sides ending up in Portsmouth with a RN or R Marine background. Nothing really exciting but as Belle said the smattering of couples living together and illigitimate children, even one living with what appears to be two 'wives' at the smae time and children with both.

Same as everyone above - but I haven't dabbled with DNA.

Illegitimate births, non-marriages, cousins marrying cousins.
But also lots of ordinary people living ordinary lives.
Nobody rich or famous.

The most newsworthy and saddest was my pub-landlord gr-grandfather, who committed suicide by cutting his own throat with a razor.

I always look up ancestors' addresses on Streetview.
Some were in streets long demolished, but many are still there, and it's fascinating to see exactly where those people lived.

Long before the internet, one of my paternal uncles had researched a family tree the "proper" way, by visiting cemeteries, etc.
When so much info became available online I started to verify his findings.
Then got the bug, and haven't stopped since!

When I started, I knew nothing about my mother's side of the family, except that her parents were originally from the Banbury area of Oxfordshire, and that her mother's brother had married her father's sister.
It was fascinating to start from scratch like that.
And all from the comfort of home - no need to wander round cemeteries!

I also started researching my family tree in 2008. My D. had done a tree at school so I knew some of my moms side but very little about my dads as he didn't keep in touch with his family and his parents both died the year I was born as did my maternal grandfather.

I did find out that on my maternal side there were some ' ruffians' as mom used to call them. In the area they lived at the time they were well known and youngsters were warned about them (Think small time Peaky Blinders ) Found a couple of brothers in a newspaper report being arrested for fighting in the street. Another was sent to an Approved School at 10yrs old.
Also found lots of marriages took place just before babies were born.

Still looking at some families to tie up things . :-D

I started searching in 1987 after an elderly relative died very suddenly, and we realised that one's family history can be lost instantly So Bro and I decided that it would be prudent to write down everything that we knew about the family and Mum knew quite a lot.
However, as you all know, one thing leads to another and I started looking for missing info, at register offices and archives, libraries and cemeteries. I was lucky to have an LDS library about 2 miles away, I used to haunt that place. But at that time, records were only on microfilm and fiche, and the IGI was the only computer based record. They were still waiting for the 1881 census, it was so exciting when it arrived.

As more and more info has come online, particularly newspapers and other non-civil documents and reports, I have been able to pad out the tree and make parts of it 'real'.

I have also traced and contacted various 'cousins', some I knew of, some not. And since having DNA matching I've found even more. I find that quite exciting.

I used to travel round the UK searching in Record offices, Kendal, Barrow, Preston, Berwick, Newcastle, Durham, London, Northallerton, then once I started looking for OH's family, Oxford, Shrewsbury, Manchester, Wakefield.

Much the same as others with illegitimate children, one being passed off in a census as a servant, no doubt to save face in those judgemental times. I found my mother's joke about dad having gipsies in his family to be true a few generations back with wonderful Romany names, but a lot of brushes with the law in the newspapers and worryingly a lot of marriages between cousins! :-0. Dad's mother's side of the family on the other hand was generations of hat makers and earlier there were Quakers settling in America with some children returning to england. Before the quakers' time there was a Sherriff and some 'Sirs' and 'Ladies' living in Halls up North. My mother's side seem to have spent time underground as miners for generations and with huge families. It's been eyeopening finding how many were killed in the two world wars and even one who was a POW brother of my father I never knew of.

As you say Elizabeth finding out how people lived is so interesting too. I learned about Quakers treating women as equals as far back as the 1700s and about people emigrating to America at that time sleeping in cots on deck and running the gauntlet of pirates near the American shores.

Dear All

Hello

Hope you are all well.

Thank you so much for your replies. <3

I have enjoyed reading them. <3

Dear Ann......... my ancestors are a huge chaotic mix of protestant, quakers,
methodist and catholic.

It is intriguing about the quakers and how they led the way.

Here's to more research. <3

Take gentle care
Love EOS
xx

I knew, when I was growing up, we had Quakers in the family so many years later, when I started my FT, I kept an eye out.

Eventually I found them and K and I visited Pardshaw Quaker burial ground. The entry was through the meeting hall and we had to get the key from a house along the street.

We found the three graves and what a huge view from that graveyard, more appreciated by K who was a fell-walker.