Genealogy ~ Anyone Else Here Into It?

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Really all started for me about just a few years ago. My bro' happened upon a site called " GenesReUnited " (It's a complete shit hole, people. Be warned of that before ye even think about Googling it!) and mentioned it to me one time, on the phone. Said how it enabled ye to list all ye relations and so forth. Well, I had Real broadband then so took a look. I registered and popped in my own details. Those of my siblings and parents. Scratched my head a bit. Thought of a few uncles and aunties. Wondered what in hell my paternal grandma was called ..... Yeppers. Hook, line and sinker! I'm now the official Family Historian! I've long since dedicated mega man hours and a not at all inconsiderable ammount of hard earned to the joyous, fasinating, often frustrating but endlessly rewarding, pursuit of 'Dead Rellies'!

 

Anyone reading this who's already at it ~ and I don't mean those who got swept up in that later bbc seriese. Scribbled some names on a bit of paper. Then forgot it with the end of the programmes. I never saw one of them and didn't buy the book either ~ I mean those who're truly bitten by the bug; Isn't it the Dogs B*llocks?!

 

We like Hunting, yes? Well, 'Hunting', if ye take what ever Dogs most of ye rely on to do it for ye, out of the equation, is what this is all about. It takes stamina. Determination. A 'Nose' and a willingness to push through the seemingly inpenatrable and simply not give in or be beaten. Can't find ye quarry? F*ck it. Ye just back off and try from another angle. And, like that Dog tasting the reality while You stand there geeing it on, ye stand to become more deeply enriched than anyone else who spends their time as spectators, imagining they have a clue about the wider picture or themselves.

 

Anyway; Am I talking to myself here? Or is there anyone else who gives a shit where they've come from. What went into the mix of what they've become. What was and may be.

[jultaylor1972 2]

Strangely enough Ditch; My auntie has been tracing back our family tree for over 25 years, it has involved travelling all over England, Ireland and Wales in order to get information. She has a huge plain wall in her office in the house that is covered in bits of paper, photos and newspaper clippings. As far as I know she has managed to get back to the 1500's which is some achievement in my eyes and my ancestors were Irish Farmers I keep meaning to go up to Scotland and have a chat with her about the whole family tree thing as I would imagine her to be a proper font of knowledge

[Guest MOLLY]

I would love to know Ditch, it would be facinating.

I recently contacted a local mental institution my paternal grandfather died in many years ago. I wanted to locate his records to find out about his condition (for future reference ) But my elderly father could remember very little about his own parents..dob, correct names etc, so getting past stage one would be a problem alone, and my desire is not that great to spend as many man hours as is required to do the rest. Good luck to you for your research.

MOLL.

[ferret15 0]

my granddad is polish and here as a small boy of 4 he was separated from his 12 brothers an sisters as well as hie parents we started tracing things back about 8 years ago and have since found his reaming siblings sister in Canada and brother in Leeds and that my granddad is actually a year younger than he thought (after finding his papers) we have traveled back to Poland to visit the prisoner of war camp he was held in and followed the route he took to get here down through Iraq Egypt and then across the water to Liverpool then to a polish camp in Berkshire. and it has been an amazing journey for all of us i know we are only talking two generations ago and that most of you will know all there is to know about their granddad but because of the extreme circumstance around my polish side of the family very little is known and it has become a quest for our past now some of the thing i have found out make me proud to be of decent of some very brave men and women ditch i wish you luck in your search as it is so rewarding!

[Simoman 110]

I have more than "enough" knowing the relatives that are still with us............Good luck with your quest Ditch

Edited July 16, 2007 by Simoman

[Guest MOLLY]

I have more than "enough" knowing the relatives that are still with us.

Amen

MOLL.

[Guest pip]

Strangely enough Ditch; My auntie has been tracing back our family tree for over 25 years, it has involved travelling all over England, Ireland and Wales in order to get information. She has a huge plain wall in her office in the house that is covered in bits of paper, photos and newspaper clippings. As far as I know she has managed to get back to the 1500's which is some achievement in my eyes and my ancestors were Irish Farmers I keep meaning to go up to Scotland and have a chat with her about the whole family tree thing as I would imagine her to be a proper font of knowledge

Hungry wee ancesters you have Ive been interested but my da s name is so common i bet you could guess it first time my mums maiden name is rare and theres only 6 families of them left in the world,although the ones i know are hard enough work,i could end up in a mental asylum myself

[Guest bob]

ive had a go at this when i first got on the net

as my father died when i was young

and when you start haveing kids of your own

you seen to start thinking about these things

he came from up north yorks

and im in somerset and over the years have lost contack with them

 

so when i got the net i thought id give it a go

but it just seend to be a rip off

mind you i did happen to find 1 or 2 storys for free

wich made me chuckle to myself about my grandad

[bill88 6]

The Mormons,or the church of jesus christ and the latter day saints,have the largest geneaology and census database in the world.I visited my local Mormon church,and was able to use there computers,to check the database,free of charge.They even gave me orange juice,but like a twat i asked for tea Not my type of thing,but lovely people and it's free.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

The Mormons ~ like a twat i asked for tea

 

 

What's the craic there then, mate? Don't they agree with tea?

 

Anyway, yeppers; CLDS and FREEBMD are both Great (FREE) on line resources to get yeself off the ground. Ancestry.com too provides a lot of Free basics. Frankly; Time ye've worked ye way through those, ye'll be a hopeless addict anyway!

 

Most of the money I've spent has been on simply buying the certificates from the GRO. Seven quid a shot! B*stard when someone had lots of kids!

[jacob 28]

my family done a bit of research,and traced some of our history back,the most interesting things to come out of it,were that at some point we had a coat of arms with the family crest,an owl proper sitting on a mortice post,and motto,in latin?ready by day or by night.found some interesting pictures of great grandparents,and even had a great aunt ,ithink it was? who survived the sinking of the Titanic,shes now in the local village cemetery,and the vicars well pleased because she gets lots of visitors from all over the world.i even done a bit of research on her ,and found out she was a crew member not a passenger,so no big bucks sitting anywhere with my name on its interesting to do but takes up a lot of time.

[bill88 6]

unsure: What's the craic there then, mate? Don't they agree with tea?

 

They don't consume any stimulants Ditch,that includes tea,coffee,coke,pepsi,etc etc

Edited July 17, 2007 by bill88

[squirreltail 15]

yep, done all them web sites, youre ok if your family roots are in Britain, but when they are in Ireland and a lot of the records were destroyed, you end at a blank wall. Its a great hobby on a foul weathered day.Got a few marriage and birth certificates and youre right they do cost that much.

Youd think it would be easy tracing a one legged Irish priest who married a widow and became a coal miner but it aint.good luck with yours

[flinty 19]

MY CUS DID A BIT FOUND OUT THAT ARE GREAT GRANDAD SAMUAL NEAL WAS A GAME KEEPER

FOR A ESTATE IN BEWICK UPON TWEED IN EARLY 1900S, MY DADS SIDE COMES FROM A PLACE

SWORDS NEAR DUBLIN.

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Bill88; Well I'm buggered! I never knew that! Did ye know that beforehand, or did one of them gently explain it in a politely soft tone at the time?

 

I must admit; My only contact with those people has been the one time on my doorstep, pushing forty years ago, when I wondered what the hell these softly spoken, well dressed skin heads wanted. Under ten words and door shut, on with life, job.

 

I also used to live within occasional passing of their local meeting place, elsewhere. Once or twice I saw a young female member going in there and thought how I'd ..... well, never mind. That'd be disrespectful and unnecassary. (But, by christ, would I have?! And, back then, I had the teeth to do it too! )

 

 

Their site / records though are a brilliant source of primary information, on line and free. Take a look. As is ~ as said ~ FreeBMD.

 

 

 

SquirrelTail; Eire's a notorious black spot, mate! My own maternal Gt. Grandmother was an Irish Gypsy. Came over to england and met up with one of ours and went on to produce in the region of Two Dozen f*cking kids!

 

Yes, mate! She was basicly pregnant from about sixteen into her damn forties! And that's a LOT of seven quid a piece Certificates to find the money for, even if I ever live that long to work my way back that far!

 

For now I try to pick and choose the Cert's that'll prove a connection or give me the most other information of direct use. But sometimes the Death Certificate can just prove the most fasinating, don't ye find? 'Polly' died of cancer. It's now showing a clear, hereditary, run through my maternal, genetic inheritance. Deep f*cking joy, eh?

 

But, yeppers. Irish ansectry does appear to be all about combing tiny, local churches records. Or just knowing someone who knew someone who remembered a cousin of an uncle of ..... Murder!

 

 

Flinty; Doesn't that make ye wonder why ye have the interests ye do, mate? Public (Court) Records show that my own Gt. Grandfather was one of the most inept poachers ever born. Silly b*stard was caught at it probably more than he ever managed to catch anything! But, by god, he had staying power! I suspect I see where that's led to this day!