Family History

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Floss
Posts: 120
Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:37 pm

Family History

Post by Floss »

I've been researching my family tree for the last 11 years, it started out as a vague interest in where my surname came from until it is now an obsession - not only my own family history but of anyone else who shows a slight interest :lol: Most of my family have no real interest in it and just humour me when I go on about it ! I'm just curious if anyone has been researching their own tree ?

Fiona
Snowdrops
Posts: 4667
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2007 5:20 pm

Re: Family History

Post by Snowdrops »

Oh Yes :lol: :lol:

I've been doing it for about ten years now, but it's been put on hold for the last 3/4 years (I do still dip in and out of it now and then when I come across something though) as I have another major project on the go, and that will last for at least another three years.

I've got one of my lines right back to the 1500's. I love finding out about them. I'm lucky in as much as I live quite near to where some of them originated and I've been back to where they lived. Some of the houses are still standing and I've been lucky enough to go inside them too.

I find my Scottish line absolutely fascinating (both sides lead back to there :shock: ).

Most of all I love finding photos of them. It's wonderful to be able to look at someone from years ago and know, if it were not for them, you wouldn't be there.

It is addictive, no doubt about it, but I'm lucky a lot of my family are interested in it and ask me about it (they're quite happy for me to do all the work and fork out for the certificates though :lol: :lol: ).
Image
Belinda
Posts: 1167
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2007 10:57 pm

Re: Family History

Post by Belinda »

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Last edited by Belinda on Thu Nov 01, 2012 1:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
hermanmunster
Posts: 12817
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: Family History

Post by hermanmunster »

Oh yes - I do loads, I use Ancestry(dot)co(dot)uk

Off course we are related - got back down one line to about 1350, at that stage we are about 20 generations back and hence have 2,097,152 ancestors - the population of England at that time was 3,000,000 so my ancestors make up 69% of the total population.
Of course what actually happens is that many of the people will appear multiple times - particularly in small villages......

Odd finding the other day - a line going back to 1600 - about 3 miles from where I used to live .... and I didn't realise at the time - would have made the research a lot easier :roll:
scarlett
Posts: 3664
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:22 am

Re: Family History

Post by scarlett »

My Aunt has spent years researching our family, but didn't do as well as you lot as she only got as far back as the 18 th century....apparently a couple of illegitimate babies threw a spanner in the works ! :shock:

She has managed to get hold of quite a few photos which are hilarious....everyone looked so po faced in those days...some even look a bit similar to my children !! apart from Simple Alfie, that is...still every good family has one !
Loopyloulou
Posts: 878
Joined: Fri Aug 29, 2008 5:20 pm

Re: Family History

Post by Loopyloulou »

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Last edited by Loopyloulou on Tue Aug 09, 2011 1:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Loopy
hermanmunster
Posts: 12817
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: Family History

Post by hermanmunster »

LLL that sounds like a great find!! :lol: :lol:

I find a few lines get stuck with unknown fathers but there is always some other route to try.

Have found lots of distant rellys I never knew I had - amazing and a good laugh on facebook as we uncover the odd skeleton....
Belinda
Posts: 1167
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2007 10:57 pm

Re: Family History

Post by Belinda »

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Last edited by Belinda on Thu Nov 01, 2012 1:25 am, edited 2 times in total.
Floss
Posts: 120
Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:37 pm

Re: Family History

Post by Floss »

Loopy - I love it when you discover a bit of scandal :lol:
2Girlsmum
Posts: 1034
Joined: Thu Mar 04, 2010 11:41 pm

Re: Family History

Post by 2Girlsmum »

I started at Christmas after dd1 asked me to 'make her a family tree'. After about 3 weeks of extremely late nights and about £100 :shock: spent on the Scotland's People website I now have over 560 people on my tree.

Nearly all the Scottish Parish and Civil records have been scanned back to about 1500 so it's possible to read handwritten marriage bans, births and deaths from the ledgers kept by the priests/ministers, as well as the later more formal records. They can be cut and paste into the records on the Ancestry tree. I've chased certain areas of interest (curiosity?) and been sent 17 pages of my great-grandmother's hospital records from 1887-1902 (with a photograph of her from 1887) as the old Scottish hospital records are held at Edinburgh University. Only yesterday I spoke to a retired colonel from a Highlanders Museum in Inverness in persuit of the story behind my aunt-in-law's father, who died in WW1.

I can see why it could take years to work on. I'm looking forward to the Scottish 1911 census coming online at the end of March, and have yet to work on the Irish records :)

It is really fascinating uncovering snippets of social history, and facts that my mother, aunts and uncles didn't know about relatives they knew. My maternal great-grandmother died 2 hours after giving birth to her fourth child (Birth and death certificates have the exact time on them as well as date), and in the census, which happened 2 weeks later it shows that her brother came to help look after familly and was staying in the house. My paternal great grandmother suffered post-natal depression (more like psychosis!) after 2 of her children were born, and the hospital records are interesing not just for all case notes, but also the first visit was paid as a 'private' patient and cost £45 in 1887(her husband was head coachman at a castle in Perthshire and I imagine the employers paid for her treatment. The notes on that visit talk about walks in the garden and her eating eggs, custard, fish etc and included the photograph. Her subsequent records where she was admitted but bot as a private patient they talk about skin, teeth, health education etc. The form asks if the admission is 'private or pauper' (!)
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