RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: Family Guy on Monday 15 August 05 11:24 BST (UK)
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I have been wondering how far it is possible to go back in time researching family history, so my questions is simply this.......
How far back have you manged to go back and how long did it take you to get there?
Family Guy ;D
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Two years - 1720
(Although that's only my maternal grandmother's line and the family never moved any more than a couple of miles from the one district)
Anne
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Hi
1615 in 2.5 years, with a lot of help from other good people.
::)
Bryan
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Unbelieveable I know but -
Three weeks two visits to Records Office and back to 1762.
My lot did not move from the village and were in the same house one after the other for 70yrs.
Now the down side - 10yrs finding the stories, Assize witnesses, lost Aunties etc. So regardless of where you start from there is still an enormous mountain (or should that be tree) waiting to be climbed.
Mike
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1818 and 18 months to get there with the help of lots of very kind people! This is only my paternal line. Searching in Ireland is a lot more difficult than in Scotland!
Janice
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1607 in 20 years. If only my 8 x great grandfather Thomas Beane had been born 8 years earlier I could have said 1599 which would have been more impressive! ;D
My main interest (TYMON) I have only got back to 1790 in that same 20 years I'm sad to say!
Ticker
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Ticker, you don't look old enough. When did you start age 5? ;)
~1750 was reached in 1.5 years on my Cumberland branch. This is thanks to my ancestors living a very long time and writing wills.
~ 1744 in the same time frame thanks to the very full big gravestones in Scotland.
I've been travelling sideways in the last year just for something to do.
P ;D
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I must say that there are some impressive dates here, which I am hoping to get to, but one more question if I may, have you manged to find out who each member of the family was, not just there name but what they did etc and if so where do you find all of the info?
Only about six months into mine ;D
Family Guy ;D
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There are many personal sources and some not personal.
For specifics on your family try, census, wills, quarter sessions, newspapers, the original parish records, land registries, sasines (in Scotland), graves, company archives. Leave no stone unturned.
I'm sure there are many more.
While you are searching for these in archives, libraries or online look for possible places your miner or mason could of worked. Read up on local mines or quarries that gives a flavour and is just an example of enriching the skeleton.
For your Ag Labs, have a look at historic land use sources. What was the local farming hops, arable, cattle?
Many local libraries will have local interest books or local FHS may sell little "Through the Camera" booklets which can be bought on line.
A good idea is to find a library in the nearest large town they will generally have an online catelogue you can search this gives you the info to may be order it from your local library.
Just a few thoughts.
Pam
;D
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I am aware of the census info as to be honest I have used this alot for the information that I have and also IGI which a friend put me onto.
Wills are another matter as I don't know where to start, Googleing?
Quarter Sessions, again, where to start with these ?
Newspapers interest me as I have three deaths in the family, all children and at the same time but cannot find anything in newspapers as the only ones that I have found are not geared up to go back more than 10 to 15 years with the few exceptions of the odd "This day in ....."
My understanding of the Parish records was that they only held B M D information ?
And to be honest, its the same story with the others altough with Graves stones, I can understand as I have been down to the cemetery looking for the wifes side of the tree.
Now that I have just read what I have wrote, even I have to admit that I am green ::)
We live and learn, hopefully.......
Family Guy ;D
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Hi
Welcome to the world of genealogy, everyone has to start from the bottom,every one was green at some point, don't despair....it will get better as you get the hang of things....there are many...many good people on this site, willing and able to help.
Just enjoy.
Bryan
;D
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To put some leaves on the family tree you must ask anybody who knew your family, the elderly family members, in fact anybody who just might know something. I spoke to a man about my family history. He was behind a car boot stall in the village where my family had roots. It turned out he knew my Gran when she worked in the fields with him when he was a lad.
As I mentioned in another string GOOGLE every combination of names and places you can think of you may get a surprise. I found a second marriage nobody knew about and a witness at a Tollgate that was broken down.
It is essential to record every clue even if it doesn't make sense at the time. Later you may find another pice to the puzzle.
Mike
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I started my family research like I start my holidays.
I checked all the timetables knew all the connection times - jumped a bus, jumped a train, flew, knew what connection to get to the city centre. I am a day into my holibags before I realise I should of relaxed, enjoyed the trip and looked around me yesterday!
Luckily our ancestors aren't going anywhere and I could backtrack and enjoy searching old maps to see how far they had to stagger back from the pub. Or mooch around the churches they frequented.
That means more holidays for me ;D
There are new sources highlighted all teh time on this site or in the FH magazines. Many of teh good people here have years of experience and have interesting ideas - I've learned loads.
We are all green in areas we've never visited but in no time at all you can become the expert ;D
Some source Rootschat has helped me find...
Wills are another matter as I don't know where to start, Googleing?
Here's a thread with some great help from experienced probate users.
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,27423.0.html
Quarter Sessions, again, where to start with these ?
Have you tried A2A? http://www.a2a.org.uk/
If you search for a parish name some of the results you will get are quarter sessions. These can be very very interesting.
Here's a couple of examples I found...
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,6309.0.html
Ok it looks like some of mine were a bad lot :-X
Other records you may find involve mortgages or insurance. I found a fire policy on a warehouse my 5xggrandfather rentde.
My understanding of the Parish records was that they only held B M D information ?
Not always.
I've seen nicknames used for parents, like "Blind Francie".
And this is an oft linked site but well worth a laugh...
http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/famrec/from-our-records/gems.html
Ok Scotland were maybe a bit more free formed in their records but if you don't look you may miss something.
There is an incredible amount of luck needed for newspapers, graves, other archives but I think it is worth it.
Records offices often have indexes for newspapers which are an absolute boon.
Sometimes it's harder to find the stone than to turn it. Jeez I get cheesier ;D
I wish you all the luck,
Pam
;D
PS Y'know when they say "the luck of teh Irish" they aren't talking about family history searching. Very very unlucky to if you ask me ;D
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Hi, ;D
If I do this in order, it should make sense....
Bryan, In the week or so that I have been registered with this site, not to mention the snooping around that I have done 8), I have come to the concultion that there are alot of smart people out there just from the detailed information supplied to other peoples requests, the speed of the reply comes as a shock sometimes. Thanks for the welcome ;D
Michael, I have been asking questions, getting a few funny looks and daft questions in reply such as "what do you want to know that for?". They seem to be coming around slowly, and some in the family even seem to be taking an interest, mind you, its only when I have something new to tell ::) I try to keep everything filed away in case it may be useful later, but how to file it in a useful way so that it makes sense later is still beyond me......... ;D
and finally, Boongie Pam, Boongie, you come across as a drill sergeant in the army planning a military campaign. I know that the ancestors aren't going anywhere, but I want to know NOW, unpractical I know, but well, you know, I just get side tracked with some other clue which mean trying to pick up where I left off last6 night, etc etc. Thank you for the links, I will follow them and see what other clues I can find, make notes of and generally lose track of a lead that I was following before, or is this normal? ???
Many thanks for the advice from you all, I will try to repay the kindness in the future, or is that the past?
Family Guy ;D
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<snip>
and finally, Boongie Pam, Boongie, you come across as a drill sergeant in the army planning a military campaign.
Tee Hee ;D
I'm at work it's 9 past midnight, I'm a bit pissed and laughing out loud.
|Going back to my analogy, I've conquered my ancestors like I occupy a country when I'm there for a mere holiday. Heyho.
Enjoy every minute of your hunt just remember they are there for th eexpanding later ;D
Luv,
Pam
;D
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In response to the original question I have just heard from a very distant rellie who has researched my line back to 1520! How lucky is that?!
I've been researching for 11 months and have met so many helpful people — heaps of them in Rootschat.
Thank you all, Rian.
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Hi Rian,
I've landed lucky with my Mum's maiden name Still. Some kind person donated to my local FHS a family tree of Stills back to 1600, but they didn't leave their name or contacts details on it. It would be so nice to thank them and ask where they got all the information. I got to the mid 17th C on my Ewens thanks of course to other genealogists who did the hard work most of it probably before the Web helping.
In 7 months I've been doing it I've found a GGG grandmother transported to Tasmania for Theft, a GGG Uncle murderer, a G Grandfather suicide. Best of all perhaps maybe I've got an Ancestor who was known as the Scottish Van Dyke George Jamesone, but there is always the chance he isn't. Hey ho
Grothenwell
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I usually find they run back to 1740/60 ish, but with some help from Google, I found one family line that went back to 1302!!!
Most of my resurch has been done thr. the net with IGI & censuses, in 9 months I've found 70+ direct ancesters & I've only looked at my dad!
Happy hunting
Tracy
The computer swallowed grandma.
Yes, honestly it's true.
She pressed 'control' and 'enter'
and disappeared from view.
It devoured her completely.
The thought just makes me squirm.
She must have caught a virus,
or been eaten by a worm.
I've searched through the recycle bin,
and files of every kind;
I've even used the internet,
but nothing did I find.
In desperation, I asked Jeeves
my searches to refine.
The reply from him was negative,
not a thing was found 'online'.
So if inside your 'inbox',
my grandma you should see,
please 'copy', 'scan' and 'paste' her,
and send her back to me!
Author unknown
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With my Morgans, it has taken me about a year and a half to get back to 1756, which I am really pleased with. :D
However, with my mums mum it has taken me 2 years (and still haven't got anywhere) to try and find out who her parents were! >:(
I'll get through that solid wall one day!
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On my mothers side it took about 2 years visiting an LDS library every week to get back to 1670 and possibly back to 1510. Not sure about that as it is a common Christian name.
My fathers side after 20 years I am still stuck in London in 1812 with very little hope of getting back further but I keep trying.
On one branch from Jersey there is a book about the family which goes back to 1067. BEAT THAT
It is interesting filling in all the branches. Looking forward to September when, once again, I will start with A from my fathers side and go through all the names. I usually start in September because it is the beginning of the winter period and not too much gardening to do.
Sylviaann
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iv only been searching for 7 months since a friend passed me a link to this site, and with a bit of help of some of the folks on here I'm back to 1710 on one side of the family,
plus having a 104 year old grandmother helps in the search for the family(when she a wake ;D)
this is how far back iv got so far with my family
borlase.cornwall-1801
anstice.bristol-1809
hughes
murphy ireland-1843
cullwick Birmingham-1710
smart -bristol-1851
vaughan- hereford- 1844
bennett-bristol-1833
atb ian.h
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On one branch from Jersey there is a book about the family which goes back to 1067. BEAT THAT
Sylviaann
Hi Sylviaan,
Was Jersey part of the Norman conquest of 1066, or was it already Norman?
Grothenwell
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Grothenwell
Jersey was already full of the French, after all it is nearer to France than Britain. Not sure when it became British.
Sylviaann
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I did alot in 1998-1999 (~18 months total) and then stopped for a while. Having children was what got me interested, plus all the family trees in the back of Lord Of the Rings.
It is so time consuming I had to put it all away and finish my medical specialty training and wait until the kids were at school.
Since I have come back to it (2 months) there's a heap more online which has been great. Unfortunately, being in Australia is a big hindrance at times and some stuff will have to wait till I get back over to the UK.
I have many lines back to early 1800s late 1700s (NE Scotland, Yorkshire, Warwickshire) but am stuck there currently. Then I haven't even started on my Polish or Romanian ancestry.................
Cas
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:D
Well my the earlier Still find has led on to Lumsdens (Lairds) which led on to Leslies (Barons) which led on to Lindsays (Earls) who led on to the first Stewart King Robert II who led on to the Bruces King Robert I and from there it goes back to Kenneth MacAlpin first King of Scotland and further back to the Kings of Dalriada. So I think circa 800 AD
I'm relying on other people's published genealogical work for this and when I find time to try and confirm it, (if possible), I might find I've egg on my face, but in the meantime I feel like I've won the genealogical lottery ;D
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800 AD.............I think I might give in now............... ;D
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800 AD.............I think I might give in now...............
Never give in as my Ancestor Robert said after watching the spider! haha.
Seriously I still don't think it's about how far you go back or how many ancestors you find (although I'll admit the more the merrier) it's about always having something to find, enjoying the search and getting round or over that brick wall.
Keep going and good luck with the searching ;)
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To answer the original question, the French part of my family tree I can trace back to 1615 in Saintonge, France. The Eastern European part of my family 1594 in Rotenburg, Germany. Both of these lines took me less than 3 months to trace (alot of people had already traced these lines, so I cant take full credit for it). We have birth dates, places, christening/baptism locations and dates, marriage places and dates, death places and dates, burial locations, professions, children, etc...etc.
However, my Scottish line I cant trace farther than 1850 and it's becoming incredibly frustrating. It's going on 2 years and I'm stumped. Rumor has it they came from Ireland, but from where... I have no idea!
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For my family - 12 years and only 1790 for my father's father's side.. Then six months ago had a literal gold mine drop in my lap. My paternal grandmother's line all the way back to 1435!
In my mother's family, for her father, only back to late 1700's. For her father's mother, back to the early 1600's. Her mother's mother, back to the 1500's.
But the greatest (and worst, because it is FABULOUS and it isn't mine!) is my husband's family. His paternal line goes all the way back to the 1200's! Documented, recorded, and verified, for crying out loud. Including tidbits on a huge number of the family, like occupation, personal notes, letters and documents with their signatures, books they had written, the whole nine yards!
Patty
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But the greatest (and worst, because it is FABULOUS and it isn't mine!) is my husband's family. His paternal line goes all the way back to the 1200's! Documented, recorded, and verified, for crying out loud. Including tidbits on a huge number of the family, like occupation, personal notes, letters and documents with their signatures, books they had written, the whole nine yards!
Patty
I'm so jealous Patty :'( :'( :'( That sounds fantastic. I am sure it will be years before I get back that far ::) ;D
Jan
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Jan -
I'm jealous too!! You can go to google and type in pretty much ANY subject you want and then put Meigs at the end of it - such as Revolutionary War Meigs, or Civil War Meigs, or Bosnia Meigs. Those are ALL his family! All the counties, buildings, towns, old Army posts, airports, anything with the name on it has been named after someone in his family.
They are a direct line descendancy (whatever that means) and every Meigs in the world is related is some way to every other one, and all in America trace back to one man who came here in 1635 and lived in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
Since our family book was published in 1935, they have taken the line back obviously much further!
Disgusting, isn't it!!
Patty
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I have been researching various lines of my grandparents and have my paternal grandmother's family line back to 1570.
Strangely though, at present, I cannot get my maternal grandfather's line back before a possible 1862, and that only from his marriage certificate in 1890 saying he was 28 at the time he married.
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My own research seems to be firmly stuck against brick walls whichever way I turn, mostly in the mid 1700's, but my cousin has researched my paternal line back to the 1400's and a relative of my husband's has taken that line back to 1314 - all of which helps to make my tree sprout numerous twigs and branches!
Jill
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7 years to go back in time and one line back to 1400 in Cambridgeshire (with help from Rootschat of course) and Scottish lot to 1540's Lots of brick walls in between of course but collecting all twigs and branches as it helps to go back!
John Rowley
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Gone back to 1760 with my English relies - which took aprox 2 years-I'm nowhere with my Irish side - that will be ongoing probably for the next fifty years - if I live that long!
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I started this summer and have got back to 1790, but now I need a different set of skills to go back further. Its interesting that you all seem to be so pleased to find bits of your tree already researched. My father in law found out I was researching family history and some time later presented me with his tree back to 1730 as researched by his mormon rellies. I was so cross!
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Back to 1560 for the ONYETT family from Huntingdon.
37 years...and a lot of help from distant relatives :)
Rog
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The furtherest is about 1590 for my fathers side of the family.
I got lucky as there was a person who had researched one of the siblings who had gone into one the LDS family centres and gotten the information
SellickAust