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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Jill Eaton on Thursday 29 August 19 13:41 BST (UK)
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"Oh! Have you finished it yet?"
This is a question I get asked fairly frequently from people who don't partake.
I can't imagine how I'll know when I'm "finished" and I can't picture a time where there won't be more to learn.
I've given myself a break now and then, usually during a house move or ill health but I've always come back to it. I think it might be something of a drug.
Anyone else given any thought to when, or even if you can complete your family tree?
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Considering it seems that most of my forebears seem to have sprung up fully-formed, without the need for parents/childhood/any form of documentation, into existence in the 1840s then I fully expect that I shall still be here in 50 years time trying to chip away at my tree!
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If you're me, you think after some concentrated work that you've "done" a part of a family.
Then you go back and find that in fact more information is now available, or you cross check things (such as GRO MMN) and look at what you did, and then it's not quite as "done" as you once thought.
Sometimes just additional info (leading to more research required, eg new children, marriages etc) or that in fact your inspirational guess was wholly incorrect and you need to change things.....
never-ending.......
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I've certainly completed the thing that I began in 2007, which was an Excel-based pedigree chart for myself, going back five generations (i.e. to 3xgt-grandparents). Yes, it began as pure name collection (with BMD dates), but my preference is always to get a structural framework in place before filling in the detail.
Then life got in the way and I put it to one side. Didn't really get back into it again till late 2016. Since when I've gone back a further generation (64 4xgts), mostly now complete.
My ancestors generally lived uncomplicated lives They were diligent when it came to baptisms, registration, and so on. Overwhelmingly English. It has been easier than I expected, though the online resources are more numerous and plentiful these days. I'm always open to feedback, but generally I think I'm quite a careful researcher and I'm at least 90% confident (maybe 95) in what I've put together.
One of the key things I think that many people learn as they get older is the extent of how little they know. Certainly true for me with family history. So much more to be done. But any endless hobby (e.g. gardening) needs milestones to mark the progress/process of the ebbs and flows. So I have finished what I started.
And then I've started again ;D
Further back, further sideways, more detail, further forward to living relatives, further into the social history surrounding the trades, the faiths, the political events that were the backdrops to their lives, the disease epidemics that claimed so many of them, emigration and American history. Then when my nieces/nephews show any interest I start looking at families-in-law and then in-laws of in-laws. It just goes on and on.
This aspect will never finish, but I do think it's helpful to set yourself specific objectives so you can 'complete' something every so often.
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Considering it seems that most of my forebears seem to have sprung up fully-formed, without the need for parents/childhood/any form of documentation, into existence in the 1840s then I fully expect that I shall still be here in 50 years time trying to chip away at my tree!
I am luckier, the spontaneous generation of most of my ancestral lines was as early as the 1820s!
As more documents get digitised and available through Ancestry or FindMyPast I can fill in details about known ancestors but it seldom gives me another generation.
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My family tree will never be finished as there is always the next generation to add people don't stop having babies
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I posted somewhere else about doing a review of my research and someone remarked it`s like the Forth Bridge !!
It`s true, just when you think you`ve "finished " an ancestor something else pops up !
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I agree with all the above... ;D
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My family tree will never be finished as there is always the next generation to add people don't stop having babies
It's a shame they can't find out what causes it. :)
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My family tree will never be finished as there is always the next generation to add people don't stop having babies
It's a shame they can't find out what causes it. :)
Something to do with the birds and bees I believe :)
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I'm definitely sure that I'll need several lifetimes to come anywhere close to completing my family tree...... it's all the moving sideways that extends it and you find someone who has lots of records and an interesting life and get completely sidetracked from where you started.... so then you have to go back and pick up where you left off!
Everyone has brick walls and you spend years trying to crack them..... wish I'd managed to crack just one but no, keep trying, take a break, do some gardening, leave it for the cold wet days of winter and then emerse yourself for hours at a time.... ironing piles up, dust inches thick, husband cooking all the meals, being in your pj's till lunch time.... I'm only going to just look at this new set of records I've found .... I say, where did the day go...
It's hard for the unconverted to understand how it grips you and overtakes your life.... then there is that moment of euphoria when you find something rewarding... really makes a difference... go rushing into the room where hubbie is blurt it all out and get that glazed look with a comment.... oh just another dead person you've found then.... really how could he 😱😱
The answer is I don't think you can ever finish your tree..... there are too many people in them... name collectors probably could but they don't get the reward of looking really deeply into the lives of these names... they're missing out .... aren't they?
Oh well back to the research!
Caroline
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I've had numerous things said re my family tree...
"Are you not finished yet, you've been doing it for yrs, you can't be very good at it"! ;D
I don't worry about finding up-to-date relatives but I try as the info. about their ancestors is what I'm interested in, not their business/lives which I think is a stumbling block at times as people are wary of contact from 'strangers'.
I had an interest (curiosity) in my genealogy (not even knowing what the word meant) as a child simply because I only had cousins on my maternal side in the town I was born/bred (maternal g/parents deceased before I was born) but when I went on holiday to visit my paternal g/mother (g/father deceased before I was born), I was taken round so many houses (visiting), all relations & my father would explain who they were/how they were related etc.
My father was very family orientated i.e. I was blessed when I took up Genealogy seriously many decades later to have a great knowledge of where I came from (2 generations beyond) although a bit puzzling too but there were many names outside my paternal birth name which I recalled too & my father helped me with my lines, names/surnames/maiden names although he did admit he couldn't put dates to anyone (that's men for you) ::)
I'm not complaining in the least as all the info. added up when it became available in record/image form rather than an index.
SP wasn't the site it is now but when SP came along it was a goldmine & I was hooked from my 1st encounter! ;D
When will I be finished?...How long is a piece of string? :D
I can't imagine giving it up until I'm forced to :P
I've been asked how much I've spent (I wouldn't like to add it up) but quickly told...
"X done their tree all free back to 17 oatcake"..."Why is it costing you £s?"!...
"Because I do it the proper way"!
Annie
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I thought I was finished on my dad's side but then some Professor in Ethiopia notified me of a further confirmed ancestor Australopithecus Anamensis.
Oh well, back to the drawing board!
Cheers
Guy
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Fair go, I haven’t pinned down my biological grandfather yet! (Much further on other lines).
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Don't think I will ever finish mine to many brick walls that can't be knocked down ...Spent a fortune through the years but have had a lot of enjoyment finding out things about family members :o
Rosie
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Further back, further sideways, more detail, further forward to living relatives, further into the social history surrounding the trades, the faiths, the political events that were the backdrops to their lives, the disease epidemics that claimed so many of them, emigration and American history.
Absolutely..... I will never be "finished"
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I too have had queries why hadn't I finished it. A couple of them had been impressed how easy it was and couldn't understand the problems I was having - they both watch WDYTYA :o - a quick search on the computer and it's all there. :o
One of them who thought it so easy asked me to find her gt grandfather from Scotland - I started at her parents and went back to her Scottish gt grandfather - from Norfolk ;D ;D ;D, marriage in Norfolk to correct woman, she was totally bewildered - family in the Kings Lynn to Norwich area for a century that a quick look showed. Most of her family from South London and Kent - did they think his accent was Scottish or perhaps because his eldest son went to Scotland and lived there, marrying a local lady. She used to visit her Scottish relatives. ;D
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I thought I was finished on my dad's side but then some Professor in Ethiopia notified me of a further confirmed ancestor Australopithecus Anamensis.
Oh well, back to the drawing board!
Cheers
Guy
Had this conversation around the dinner table last night.....Is it appropriate to add it to our own personal tree and should we add it to Ancestry Trees? ;D Would someone just copy it without checking it's accuracy? ;)
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Had this conversation around the dinner table last night.....Is it appropriate to add it to our own personal tree and should we add it to Ancestry Trees? ;D Would someone just copy it without checking it's accuracy? ;)
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The answer is yes ;D ;D
Rosie
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The other question I am asked is "How far back have you got?"
When I mention 16 hundred and 50 something, just a glazed look. ::)
Kooky
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Never finished, as I still have some relatives who must have broken all records, as they are still alive at well over 200 years old! Finally "killed off" a great x 2 aunt the other day, that was a great feeling.
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I know just what you mean. It gives me a real feeling of satisfaction when I'm finally able to tie up loose ends like that.
We're in Newcastle /Durham this coming week, going through burial registers to tie up some more. Well done, groom !
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This aspect will never finish, but I do think it's helpful to set yourself specific objectives so you can 'complete' something every so often.
Yes, this resonates with me.
I only started my tree after my mum died. I realised I knew so little about her maternal family and wondered why. Her mother had died when my mum was 13 and she effectively raised her younger siblings. Other than her mother's maiden name and the name of her maternal grandmother and a couple of addresses in the Southwark area of London, my mum knew hardly anything about her own family.
Although I've spent plenty of time of other parts of my tree it's my mum's maternal family, the Harringtons, that I want to try and piece together (as much as is possible). This is my present goal.
Just wish my mum was still hear to tell. She'd have been astonished to discover the Harringtons came from Ireland originally. I'll never finish their story as I'm certain more and more snippets of info will become available on line. but they are MY family, I carry some of their DNA, and their DOB and DOD are only a framework to their lives. Real people, not just names and dates.
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Ones never finished, but personally I'm currently writing up a narrative to the Tree which only starts in 1702 due to date of first surviving Parish Records. My lifespan is running out. Hopefully, someone will take an interest in the future and dig further. No one amongst living relatives unfortunately.
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I'll be honest - I don't think I particularly want to finish!!
Yes, I'd dearly love to knock down some of my longstanding brickwalls but I don't think I could bear to stop delving! Over the last 15 years, every time I thought I'd come to a dead halt, some new info would become available, or I started going sideways and looking into siblings lives. 'Sideways' comes up with some fascinating discoveries and, often, these discoveries lead to further info about my direct ancestors.
And then, of course, there was DNA!!! Certainly unsure about the pros and cons of doing the test to begin with, I'm now completely sold and would recommend taking the plunge to all serious family historians.
I have a particular relative (she will remain unnamed!) who regularly voices her (unsolicited) opinion that its all a waste of time. Her thinking is that why go any further back than the people you can remember? Mind you, her interest in history is confined to tv costume dramas - I think you have to have a strong interest in history in the first place to get involved with genealogy (and to know NOT to pronounce it as geneOlogy, which is one of my bugbears).
I've certainly learned not to mention family history in any conversations unless I know for certain that someone is interested in the subject!!
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I'll be honest - I don't think I particularly want to finish!!
Yes, I'd dearly love to knock down some of my longstanding brickwalls but I don't think I could bear to stop delving! Over the last 15 years, every time I thought I'd come to a dead halt, some new info would become available, or I started going sideways and looking into siblings lives. 'Sideways' comes up with some fascinating discoveries and, often, these discoveries lead to further info about my direct ancestors.
I think you have to have a strong interest in history in the first place to get involved with genealogy (and to know NOT to pronounce it as geneOlogy, which is one of my bugbears).
I've certainly learned not to mention family history in any conversations unless I know for certain that someone is interested in the subject!!
I can certainly empathise with all of the above.... good job there's plenty of us out there to have some great conversations with..... sometimes it's a pity they're not your family!
I do wonder who will carry on my work when I'm under the ground and turning in it if all my years of hard work is either
Deleated
Shredded
Thrown away! 😱😱😱😱😱
In the time I've left I shall have to find a family member to continue... we're only a small one though so options are limited!
Caroline
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I have a particular relative (she will remain unnamed!) who regularly voices her (unsolicited) opinion that its all a waste of time. Her thinking is that why go any further back than the people you can remember?
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I can answer that, my wife was run over by a car when she was 4, when she recovered physically she was left with no long term memory and very fragile short term memory.
Family history is a way for her to connect with not only her siblings and relations but to connect with her own past.
Hopefully your relative will never have to endure such anguish.
Cheers
Guy
PS I still pronounce genealogy as geneOlogy; I have done since I was taught the word genealogy as an infant and I am not going to change it now, 65 or so years later.
Cheers
Guy
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DNA!!! Certainly unsure about the pros and cons, I'm now completely sold and would recommend to all serious family historians.
I think you have to have a strong interest in history in the first place to get involved with genealogy
Jill, I'm not disagreeing here but giving my points ;)
I had no interest in the DNA route until recently which is to try & find a very close relation who was adopted out at birth.
Genealogy was what got me interested in History as I like to read about my ancestors' lives, what happened in those days (historically) in/out of the areas they lived but it has also given me a great knowledge of Geography when doing my research as History & Geography were my most loathed subjects at school i.e. I've gained so much more from my research than I ever learned at school (History/Geography).
Annie
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ironing piles up, dust inches thick, husband cooking all the meals, being in your pj's till lunch time.... I'm only going to just look at this new set of records I've found .... I say, where did the day go...
Thank you, thank you, I thought I was the only one! ;D
Regards,
Josephine
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Genealogy was what got me interested in History as I like to read about my ancestors' lives, what happened in those days (historically) in/out of the areas they lived but it has also given me a great knowledge of Geography when doing my research as History & Geography were my most loathed subjects at school i.e. I've gained so much more from my research than I ever learned at school (History/Geography).
It's been exactly the same for me!
Regards,
Josephine
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Most "non believers" only have a passing interest in "where" the family came from, and maybe a little interest in say grandparents or great grandparents. You might spark some interest if you mentioned that great uncle so-and-so was in the war, or some ancestor was noteworthy in some way.
They certainly don't get our fascination with finding out about our ancestors' lives, or why we spend hours looking at old records, just to find that one date we're missing.
My wife calls herself a genealogical widow.
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A second cousin (probably unable to write grammatically correct sentence from what I know) wrote the history of our mutual great-grandparents last year. I've been working on that branch since the 1970s and still finding new details all the time but she apparently did this 'book' in less than a month!
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A second cousin (probably unable to write grammatically correct sentence from what I know) wrote the history of our mutual great-grandparents last year. I've been working on that branch since the 1970s and still finding new details all the time but she apparently did this 'book' in less than a month!
There's a 'book' and there's a 'one page summary', Aghadowey ;)
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Time lost to research, I wouldn`t like to measure it !!, but I say I`m not hurting anyone !! Oh, just realised, as several others have mentioned, I " might " have left ironing for instance ! Plus other things but I cannot stop myself.
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It is called the - Inverse square law.
It can never stop unless your pocket is deep and you are immortal. But is so satisfying to find another link.
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I don't think I can stop. The love of history combined with fitting my ancestors into the historical narrative is just amazing to me. I'm a fervent believer that in order to go forwards we must understand the lessons of the past, else be doomed to repeat them. My ancestors were nobodies in the traditional view of history, and as a result, I've become passionately interested in the social history of the working classes and before them, the peasantry. I want to know about the houses they lived in, whether major historical events impacted them, how they travelled to work, why they moved country, what it was like in the workhouses, or on the docks, or in the prisons where they ended up.
One ancestor, I couldn't locate a death record for turned up in Australia to work off his criminal sentence - cue a ton of research into the life of indentured convicts during that time period, and his life on the streets after he was "freed".
Others travelled to Liverpool to escape the Potato famine. Cue research into the socio-political nightmare that was Anglo-Irish relations in the early 1800s.
One group lived in the same ten streets for generations - all of which were destroyed in the blitz. Cue research into the architectural history of English cities and attempts to reconstruct the slum housing my ancestors called home.
And now the PhD proposal I'm writing up, the idea for which came directly from genealogical research.
I still have family lines that are solid brick walls. I have others where I have more data to sift through than I have hours in the day. I have some ancestors where I can pinpoint their exact locations for large swathes of their lives, and others that I have no more than a name on a single certificate.
I love this hobby, and I'm only sad that the rest of my relatives don't seem as excited about finding the burial record of our 5Xgf's uncle as I am. ;D
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One of my relations said family history was only interesting if you were connected to royalty or someone famous ::)
Blue