RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: ownpe on Monday 12 September 11 11:31 BST (UK)
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Hi,
I would like to know about your motivations for researching past generations, root around in your family tree and so on. What are you after? Just wondering :)
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Both my grandfathers died before I was born - so I knew very little about my family.
I started before the days of the internet - used excellent resources at Bristol Central Library - and soon found my paternal grandfather's "missing" 2nd marriage and divorce!
By then I was hooked!
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My mum was the last person of her family with her maiden name (Mears). And I was embarassed by how little I knew about that family....
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Absolute nosiness !!
I had a family Welsh dresser handed down through the female line.
St Fagan's museum near Cardiff were able to help me pinpoint the area that it was made, and off I went. That was in 1992. I am still stuck on one line since I started !!!!
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The first thing to spur me was learning we had a Great War casualty killed in action but I didn't know how he fitted into the family. I originally thought that I would stop there, but once bitten twice shy as the saying goes and I then turned my attention to researching stories I'd heard as a child (such as a lost family fortune).
It came as a surprise to realise that objects used by the parents of my OH and I hadn't been bought by that generation but had belonged to earlier ancestors, such as the shoe last that my father used to use when hammering stegs into my brothers' boots had travelled over county boundaries and had been used by a shoemaker 100 years earlier.
It had never crossed my mind prior to this hobby that some things are "all in the genes". For instance out of the blue one cousin had an overwhelming urge and "just had to go to sea" and my own daughter "just had to make pottery". I found there were19th century potters in one line and another 18th/19th century line was stuffed full of sailors.
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23 years (and counting) with a married surname I knew nothing about !
My in-laws died before I met my husband, my brother in law gave me an old brown suitcase full of photos, letters and certificates. He and my husband only knew bits of their family history and I set out to find the truth (and i'm nosey ;D)
I didn't appreciate in those early days what a treasure trove i'd been given, but I do now !!
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I don't know what I'm after, but it did help beginning with a rare surname on my mum's side...and I'm still trying to work out where it came from.
It all started with my little sister's school project where she had to make a family tree. I was so jealous - I never got to do this project when I had been in the same class. Needless to say, I had far more fun with it than she did. So I started by talking to my elderly grandparents, and learned that granddad had close to 20 aunts and uncles (not to mention each of their spouses). Granddad couldn't even remember all of their names, so it became my quest to find out. The rest, as they say, is history.
But at least I have an excuse - it was all my sister's fault. She should never have asked me to help her with her homework. :P
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My great uncle told me his mother was Scottish, I thought that was so exotic, never having been outside Nottinghamshire, I was 12. The bug had hit, 40 years later Iam still on the chase.
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When I was young my grandmother told me that her mother had been drowned during the launch of a ship on the river Thames and how at the age of 15, and the eldest of 6 siblings, she had to bring up her brothers and sisters. However being young, and at that time with no interest in family history, I just half listened. Years later, long after my grandmother had died, my uncle also mentioned the same incident, but this time the name HMS Albion came up. I researched the tragedy, found my great grandmother's name and that was it, I was hooked. Of course my biggest regret is that I didn't ask my grandmother more when I had the opportunity.
Jan
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I never knew any of my grandparents, they all died before I was born.
After my mother died 15 years ago (my father had died several years earlier), I realised I knew almost nothing about my parents' background and my grandparents. I could only name 2 grandparents and had no known photos of any of them - and no-one to ask. All I really knew was my paternal grandfather had been killed in WW1 (didn't know where or when), his wife died a few years later and my father was brought up by his grandparents, and then by an uncle.
I thought (or assumed ?) that my granddad had been killed in France, and about 10 years ago (we had a few family holidays in France and often passed various war graves sites) I started to see if I could find his grave/memorial. It took me several years to find him (he had a fairly common name) and he was, in fact, killed in Gallipoli.
That is how I started and have been researching my family history ever since - and more recently my wife's. I enjoy finding out what my ancestors did, where they lived, why they moved etc. I also like solving puzzles and mysteries - and I've had plenty of those !!
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I'm a retired computer programmer who likes solving puzzles. If that's not the right mind-set for FH, I don't know what is ::)
I started many years ago, (well) before the internet. Luckily I had one grandmother who was happy to chat about her family, and Grandad's. Since then it's just mushroomed.
But I'm just as happy tracing someone else's family as my own. The search is as, if not more, important than who is involved. It's just so satisfying when you can tie the loose ends together :D :D
Linda
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My Granny and her daughter used to tell me stories about the family. But what got me started was my Granny used to ask my Grandfather what about your family and he said you are not married to my family you are married to me, so that just intrigued me a mystery to find out, which I did in the end.
Emma
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My motivation is the need to find my mothers origins and why some of the ancestors preferred sons to daughters. Also the secrecy about family connections and why past family were never talked about. My mother's late father was a bricklayer, but he died before I was born, but there is no one left to ask questions about him.
Also researching my own origins makes me realise how much I do not know, but when something however small falls in to place its very satisfying knowing you have done the research yourself and you feel less alone. The need to leave some record for your children and their children to look back on.
My mum and I never really got close and I recently found out that my grandmother used to lock mum in a cupboard because she preferred sons to daughters. That seems to have been apparent through the generations
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Interest sparked by my father being contacted by Fraser & Fraser, probate researchers, in the early 1970s ;D This hobby is like being a detective, following clues and hints and hopefully uncovering some very interesting things along the way. So much easier now the internet makes records easily accessible. It makes history come to life when you see your ancestors' army sign-up papers, parish records and their changes in occupation and locations over the years. Tis addictive, only wish I was disciplined enough to get all my findings tidily recorded and put in order rather than chasing the next interesting story ;) :P
Heather
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I started off by doing research on the history of the village I have lived in since 1971. This started after a man I worked with who had written books had said the village had no history ??? and I wanted to see if he was right.
When my brother and sister came south to visit I told them what I had been doing when my sister suggested I did the McGurn family history. I had never given any thought to this as I had been taken into her family from the age of two months then adopted by her mother - who at the time was a 58yr old widow her husband having died two days after I was born.
Since starting to research the family I have not only confirmed that information I grew up with about my start in life was actually true, but have also discovered that - unlike my friends at school - I did have a lot of cousins, aunts and uncles living in the surrounding areas, apart from two elderly aunts, that I never knew about.
I now know more about them than I know about the members of the family I grew up with, as they were all the generation above me. Snippets learnt some years ago seem to suggest that I am actually part of the family but from what branch (maternal or paternal) I do not know yet and do not suppose I will ever find out for sure.
The one thing I am still eternaly grateful for is that if I had not been adopted I may well have been one of those children shipped out of this country during or just after the war.
Jean
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I found an old letter with a ship's leave slip from 1945 when my Dad was a merchant marine.
With the name of the ship, I had my first clue, which then sparked memories of stories my Dad told us.
Historically important, it was one of the two ships that brought the majority of American soldiers back home at the end of WWII.
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Mum's maternal grandmother was "missing" so she took it upon herself to "find" her. I was about 14 at the time... been digging around the family tree roots ever since... ;D ;D
Karenlee
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My research followed on from the fact that my father died prior to reaching 60, together with his brothers and sisters.
Looking back through the records I found out that this had been a family trait?
100 years ago the problem first started, with premature deaths through heart problems.
Myself had heart problems from the age of 37/38, (2 weeks before my 38th birthday) which lead to me having major surgery by the time I reached 45.
Subsequently both my youngest sister and my eldest daughter have been found to have problems.
Now past 60 approaching 65!
Brian
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My interest in family history goes back to when I was a child. On my mother's side of the family there was a great oral tradition. I heard about people's names going back generations, details of people's lives, the odd skeleton ;D. My Great Uncle Tom was particularly knowledgeable, but unfortunately died at the age of 91 when I was about 11; naturally, at that age I didn't write down what he said. On my dad's side of the family there was much less oral tradition, though I used to play with my Dad's uncle's WW1 medals as a kid. I always wanted to find out more, and I've been hooked for years now :)
Or maybe I'm just nosey ;D
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it was one of the two ships that brought the majority of American soldiers back home at the end of WWII.
It would be an interesting study in logistics to see how 2 transport ships transferred millions of US troops from Europe to the US. An internet search shows that over 300 ships were converted to transports for this effort. It took 48 hospital ships to transport just the .5 million wounded. To quote one source,"the post VE-Day rush homeward would average more than 435,000 GIs per month for the next 14 months."
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I started my research because my mother didn't know her paternal grandparents... it has turned into a longterm project (obsession?)
Nick
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maryn1913
I am looking for ships' names that carried American soldiers in WWII. I would like the name of the ship that you referred to. Thank you, Lookin2
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Nickgc
Nick I have been unable to find but a couple of ships. I e-mailed NARA and they tell me that most info on troop deployment have been destroyed. What exactly did you Google so that I may take a look. Thank you, Lookin2
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Lookin2 - I was referring to troops returning home to the US from ETO after WWII. Not only troopships, per se, were involved in this huge transport operation. Look at the phrase "Operation Magic Carpet". Several sites give list of ship names involved. They will not list names of individuals, which I believe you are after. Most of these ships were designated "Victory ships".
Sorry that my comment led to taking this thread off topic.
Nick
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Nickgc
What I am doing as I cannot get lists of names is putting a file together for her of what I can find re the US involvement WWII and perhaps at a later date something might be found that will give her the answer she is looking for. Thank you, Lookin2
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As a child I always enjoyed looking at the box of family photos and knew from a young age who was who. Sometime later (probably when I was aged about 12) I found an old tin box in the attic which contained a list of names written in beautiful copperplate script with dates alongside. The paper was old and very marked at the creases. I recognised one name: that of my great grandfather. I guessed the others were his siblings and parents and and that the dates were of their births. Some years later I was proven right. Also in the box was the original marriage certificate for my great grandparents. I asked my parents if I could keep these documents and later they were my starting point for what became my passion for family history. I was simply fascinated by the past but not school history lessons as they seemed too remote from reality. I wanted to know about how people actually lived, particularly my people.
My feelings haven't really changed though now I have developed an interest in social history too which makes my family searches all the more interesting. The piecing together of information and "following up a hunch" are all part of the excitement too.
(Of course I have never discovered who it was who had the lovely handwriting!)
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A photo given to me by my late mum of my maternal gt.gt.grandfather, it was a bog-standard studio photo but what intrigued me was the medals he was wearing - turns out he fought in the Crimea! After that I was hooked and have been ever since.
Sue
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When my father in law was elderly I would go over once a week and take him shopping. We had to sit down first and have a cup of tea and he would tell me stories of his family, things he wanted to know. While my in laws were alive, I didn't have time, but after their deaths, I started to look for answers. Every time we went past Stockport Central Library my father in law would say "I know I'm related to the chap on the plaque but I don't know how." Now I know how and a lot more besides, claytonbradley
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I think mine stemmed from trying to get my mother's family tree down on paper, because she came from a family of 11 children, and I had loads of cousins ! To add to the confusion, I was one of the youngest cousins, and as a little boy (and well into adulthood) I called my most elderly cousin "Aunty Betty" (whose mother's name was Beatrice, known as 'Beatty'). I also had two Uncles called Bert, and another one called Frank whose real first name was Montegue ::)
They're all down on the tree know, and I still get confused :)
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Stubborness!
I am determined to find out everything no matter what disinformation and lack of information the little b**gers throw at me - and I can tell you they tryhard and succeed most of the time and I can almost hear them laughing at my frustration ;D ;D ;D
Bev
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My beloved grandma used to tell me stories of her childhood, and I would say, "Nana, when I grow up I shall write it all down". Alas, she couldn't wait that long; she died when I was 15, but it left me with an interest in family stories. Her husband, my grandad, died at 45, so I never knew him, but my mum used to talk about him a lot. She also told me stories of her childhood, and she used to talk about her uncle, who was killed in WW1
Well, time passed, I grew up, married and brought up a family. Then two things happened. We got a computer, and I found I enjoyed using it, then the CWGC came online. I found that great-uncle Valentine was killed on the Somme and has no known grave. That was the start. I turned my attention next to my grandad, who had 9 brothers and sisters (so I have discovered hitherto unknown second cousins). I wanted to put the people in those stories in the context of their life and times. And so it goes on, except that I have got sidetracked into transcribing PR microfiches for FreeReg. But one day I'm really going to get my tree off those bits of paper and the backs of envelopes (phone calls) and into proper order. One day...............
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I had always known quite a bit about my maternal grandmothers side of the family,they lived in the same area and there was lots of visiting and memories,plus a relative had written a book about the family including a huge family tree.I realized I knew very little about any other relatives so started asking questions, my paternal aunt helped me quite a bit on another branch, but there were huge holes , it was n't until I retired that I really started looking and discovered a whole world of information.I started with my husbands family since he knew very little about them,he had the short form of his grandmothers birth certificate and I discovered GRO, the long certificate came and I was hooked,one of her parents came from Wiltshire the other from Leicestershire {although she was born in Devon}and she herself was born on the Warwickshire/Staffordshire border.
The following of clues the guesswork later confirmed, or not, by facts .It has made a fascinating hobby and left me wishing I had started earlier when there were still people alive who could answer some questions.
Liz
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Maryn1913
Would you have any more information. You mention two ships that took the majority of US Servicemen back to US. I would like the names of them if that is possible. I also wonder if there were names of the Service men who travelled on them kept by the UK. I understand from US Navy records that lists were destroyed some time ago. Thank you Lookin2
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someone i was visiting one day was searching the 1901 census and asked me for a name in my family's past just to see if it was there, i gave him the name, (lancelot hulme) and there it was, the only one.
i thought wow thats easy, how wrong i was.
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Amongst family bits and pieces I found a handwritten piece of paper by my grandfather listing his 12 siblings ....dates of birth ,places of baptisms.Alsomy fathers christening in Stoke Trister Somerset.The family lived in Fulham.....so why Stoke Trister.
This question has now been solved ....after much searching his maternal grandfather was living near there.
I have now researched the paternal family right back to Jersey where thy were privateers in 1700sand the maternal side in Susex,Somerset and Kent.
It's an amazing journey which encouraged my husband to do his family
Ringrose
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To try and find out what parts of the country and perhaps beyond my ancestors came from.
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I first started because I wanted a 'project' to discover what was available on the internet other than games and networking sites. I chose my family history because I didn't know anything about any of them before my parents. I was surprised when I realised my grandparents had parents :o
Now I'm hooked and there's no going back
Rishile
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When I was a child, we had a copy of Burkes Landed Gentry, which has my parents in it, and that always fascinated me. We're neither landed nor gentry now though :( but we did sometimes visit people in large houses...
The invention of genealogy software and the internet kicked me into finding out about it all...
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My motivation is that I'm nosey ;D
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I've been researching my mums side of the family for just over 4 years now and every small piece of information I find makes me feel like I'm understanding where my family came from more and more.
I know it may sound a little silly but I only started researching to feel closer to my mum after she died, I'm so glad that I did as what I've already found it amazing, I do wish I'd started before she passed away so i could share what I've found but thankfully my dad likes to hear about my discoveries and also the remaining aunts (mums sisters) I have left.
I spent 2 months just trying to track down my great granfathers birth, my aunt had been wondering about it for years and even tried to locate it herself. When I finally put the pieces of the puzzle together and was able to give her a copy of the birth certificate it was amazing. I still have plenty of lose ends to tie up which is going to keep me busy for many years to come. I'm kinda glad though as if I didn't I'd have to find another hobby. :)
Michelle
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The kick starter was two television programs
First one had Gordon Honeycombe the newsreader looking into his own family
I did a bit at this time
Family went over to a church where an ancestor was curate
We found his gravestone
I got my granmother's file/scrapbook
Both grandmothers were still around
But without the internet progress was too slow
Then Who do you think you are came on
Within a couple of months I made contact with a cousin I have never met
Psychologically I too am a crossword solver and like uncovering mysteries
I hated history at school but I can relate to family history.
Always thinking when I can get another archive visit in , guess I am a bit of an obsessive!
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In my case it was really prompted with a desire to learn more about my dad's side of the family. My mother's side was pretty well present throughout my childhood. Lots of aunties and uncles etc. Lots of intrigue and 'scandal'. But my father's side was pretty much an unknown. My paternal grandfather died when my father was only 6 and the family story was that he (my grandad) was ..."a wrong 'un" :o So I set out to find out more. My dad was very little help as he didn't even know his mother's birth day! So you can bet he didn't know his father's! Anyway that got me started and before my dad passed away I not only told my father about his mother and her family back to 1803 but did the same for his father too.
I also discovered that his father was a decorated Great war soldier who was fighting on the front in France with the DLI before being medicially discharged. There is no telling what that poor man had to witness and what he went through. I actually feel pride rather than shame in "the wrong 'un" and belive that the PTSD he must have gone through was the real issue. No wonder he did time in the asylum and ended up taking his own life. I think I brought a whole new slant on him for my dad before he died.....and that fills me with a great deal of satisfaction.
Oh and I was warned by a couple of different family members to not dig too deep as there were a lot of skeletons in the tangled roots....boy were they right, but mostly it involved shotgun weddings and 'mystery fathers'...nothing too shocking. :)
Kevin
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I started because my mum wanted to know more about her great grandmother's family. I didn't get too far with that at the time - the great grandmother was Irish but living in Liverpool, as a beginner I think I bit off a bit more than I could chew - so I put that to one side for a while.
However, that research had piqued my curiosity, and I decided to find out about my paternal grandfather's family mostly because I didn't know much about them at all. And I'm glad I did! For a beginner they were much easier to research - they were the kind of people who left a long paper trail - and were also quite interesting. Not necessarily for anything notable, just discovering I had a great, great grandfather from Edinburgh was a thrill, I had no idea I had any Scots heritage at all.
Now, seven years later I've done research into the family trees of all four grandparents, although of course this is ongoing ;D I've always loved history and it's fascinating to be able to see where my family fit into it. I also love a good mystery, and I think we all know that research can often answer one question, but then raise half a dozen more.
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Sometimes finding out things gives you more motivation to research.
I found out by chance that I am a distant relation to Patsy Kensit. Her ancestor was Mary Cracknell born in 1978 in Finchingfield, Essex. Her grandfather Alexander Cracknell born 1727 was the son of William Cracknell and Martha Sparks and Martha Sparks was the sister of my ancestor Samuel Sparks.