Geneology

[daineal]

Just started researching our family tree & I'm amazed at just how many different surnames there are in it, 23 so far & counting! Can anyone beat this?? I'm sure they can.

[tinkers]

hiya i am into family history as well though one side of the tree i have got back to 1600 and something and one side i havent found much cos this line comes from poland and russia and very hard to find anything lol

[shirlthegirl43]

I am keen to start researching my family but not sure how/where to start. Any tips guys?

[tinkers]

there r some good family history programmes out there for the computer a good idea would be talking to ur parents if they r still alive and or grandparents
genes reunited is a good site for finding relatives then when u managed to get back to 1901 the ancestry site is a good site for the census which will take u back to 1841 i hope this helps

i have been doing my tree for many years now and have found people all over the place even far away as austrailia

[Flummery]

My OH is a keen family historian, as is my son in law. They both subscribe to ancestry.co.uk - which costs but there is SO much info you can get from there. Himself is online with them as I type! Offset the cost against journeys to archives up and down the country, church records etc. If you're keen it's worthwhile.

[shirley]

I have been researching mine for about a year. I find it totally absorbing. I use ancestry .co.uk as well . You can look at all the census. There are also other people who are researchng that you can interlink with and get more info.

A great past time

[rustylady]

My brother has done quite a lot of work on the family history, but only through the male line (typical!). I would like to find out more about the history of the women in the family, but as I'm still working full time maybe that will be a retirement project in a few years.

[dexterdoglancashire]

Ive got my paternal line (posh eh?!) fathers line back to the early 1800s and then the parish records went into latin which I cant understand. Got my maternal line back a couple of generations.....its all fascinating stuff! good luck to anyone who is doing this - its brill to find out where you come from - you may even unearth something you didnt know about! Bernie

[TonyF]

It's what I do for a living folks, trained as an historian which I still do when not gardening and do genealogy in it's social context for people.

[Chiana]

I have been researching my family tree on and off since I did it as a history project at school, I love it. The stories you find are fantastic, and when you get back far enough to check census records, it's great the little pictures you can make in your head of how your ancestors lived.
Online sites like ancestry.co.uk are brilliant, as not only does it save having to traipse around to the relevant libraries to look at the records, but it also saves on lugging huge volumes out and back, riffling through pages, etc.
Once every year or two, I pull out the family tree box, and devote any time I have to research. I can't do bits here and there, as I find my research is better focused if I can totally absorb myself this way.
Now I'm into my allotment stuff, I've no idea how I will fit this in but there must be a way!

[kirsty b]

I have part of a family tree at home, started by my Nan and it goes back to approx 1800 through her mothers line, I have been trying to confirm dates etc and fill in gaps with modest success. I have heard from my sis that our Aunt has got back as far as 17-something on our grandfathers side. Plan to subscribe to ancestry.co.uk soon.

[shirlthegirl43]

So find out what you can then when you get kinda stuck, subscribe to this ancestry.co.uk ? I know father in law has done some work on his family so that is a help. Mother and I don't speak so that will be tricky. All our grandparents are gone so I think now would be a good time to start before the link to the past generations is totally gone.

[Nicos]

This is my second hobby- esp in winter!!

Have you noticed how many peoples glaze over when you talk to them about it????....more so than the allotment!!!!!...and strangely those who seem to roll their eyes tend to be close relatives in the tree!!!!!

Try and get a photo of a neice from a cousin ...easier to get a photo of your great grandfather's brother!!!!!!...tis SO frustating!!!...esp the Irish relatives!!

I'm happy to help out direct those who are interested in chasing their families.....

[Chiana]

Have you noticed how many peoples glaze over when you talk to them about it????....more so than the allotment!!!!!...and strangely those who seem to roll their eyes tend to be close relatives in the tree!!!!!

Try and get a photo of a neice from a cousin ...easier to get a photo of your great grandfather's brother!!!!!!...tis SO frustating!!!...esp the Irish relatives!!

Yes, Yes, YES!!!

[TonyF]

And if you really want to piss off an historian or pro researcher who you're asking for help, tell them how far back you've gone, for some reason it really digs people out tho it doesn't bother me too much, the dates only points of reference.

It's not how far back you are, broadly 1827 is fairly easy and straight forward, you could do that with the old 'Somerset House' records, it's the quality of the research, the depth and breadth of the research that makes a family history what it should be, the social history of your family. No point knowing that you're family were butchers, bakers, fullers etc without understanding how that fitted in with the rest of the family and what the trades actually meant, how the family was involved in their community etc.

I don't actually do too much work on UK records tho I have a small team of people in my company that do, they also organise DNA projects and the like. I specialise in Huguenots round the world (I edit a journal for the Hug Soc of GB) , the Brits in India and the East (East India Company stuff), Armenians, the odd genealogical groups in religions, the out of the ordinary.

Most of the stuff I do and write about starts in the 16th and 17th centuries and goes forward rather than the other way round, sort of makes more sense historically tho I do often have to go backwards for the main character's family history.

And no, I haven't done my family!!!!!