RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: BrownEyedGirl on Thursday 15 July 21 11:41 BST (UK)
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So I have just begun to construct my Family History.
Prompted, would you believe, by being contacted by a Probate Genealogist, working for a Solicitor, who is administrating the Estate of a relative we knew nothing about!
And yes, I did think it was a scam at first!
From the PG, I've already been able to track back to 1881.
Googling on my own, potentially back to 1818.
Through the PG, I'm now in touch with 4 relatives in the USA, and potentially a further 2 if we get a reply from snail mail to last known address.
Been on RootsChat for all of 5 minutes and already found a relative by marriage on here - fascinating!
But I can't reply to her till I've made 3 postings.....so....
This is my first posting, just to say "hi" to everyone, what a brilliant site, hope you enjoyed my journey's beginning story :-)
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Welcome to RootsChat.
You could reach your 3 posts by replying twice to this post!!!! ;D
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Been on RootsChat for all of 5 minutes and already found a relative by marriage on here - fascinating!
But I can't reply to her till I've made 3 postings.....so....
This is my first posting, just to say "hi" to everyone, what a brilliant site, hope you enjoyed my journey's beginning story :-)
You can reply by posting on the relevant thread ;D
That way, all interested parties get to see it.
You need 3 posts to send a Private Message; but I rarely communicate that way ;)
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Hi and welcome ;D
Sounds like you have had a great start to your research journey
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Hello and a very warm welcome to Rootschat! Starting this journey is a wonderful adventure! After you have gathered a few more surnames, please be sure to post them on the surname interests table located at the bottom of the screen. Rootschatters are a group of people who LOVE to help others on their quest! Happy hunting! Most sincerely, patrexjax
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Hi and a warm welcome from me also and good luck with your family research :)
Rosie
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I just want to say welcome to rootschat. What a great way to start your research.
I have found the contributors to this site to be very helpful and they are quite happy to express their views over a wide of subjects (genealogy related or not).
Jackie
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. and it's a warm "hello" from me too. I'm sure you will have many fruitful suggestions from rootschatters.
When you have time I suggest you publish your surname intersts. I don't know if you noticed at the bottom of every page there's white writing on brown background with the link for taking you to "Surname Interests" and once you get there, you'll see the link for people with the same surname insterests as you have.
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Welcome!
My biggest bit of advice would be to take it slow and document everything sensibly and neatly, so that if in the future you see something you wrote down you don't have to wonder "where did I find that?" or if someone asks how you got a certain piece of information (especially if they have an alternative interpretation) you don't have to awkwardly admit that you don't remember. I'm years into researching and I have an unwieldy behemoth of a tree that I hope is accurate but it is so big now I don't have the motivation to start from scratch to do what I wish I'd done in the first place!
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Thanks to all responders - a lovely welcome to what I can see is a lovely, chatty place filled with folk who love helping others dig out stuff you thought could never be dug up! Some good advice up here too, thank you :-)
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When I started my family tree journey there were lots of great books and lots of help and information to digest, which was great.
Technology has long since moved on and maybe if you are a listener rather than a reader, then can I suggest this brilliant series of podcasts.
They take you every step of the way from the absolute basics and are constructed in a really easy to listen to format, can be listened to in the car, on a train etc
I wish I had something like this when I started.
By the way I have no affiliation to the website or podcast just find the whole series a great and easy way to learn.
Website is here and the links etc are there
https://amateurfamilyhistory.com/
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Welcome to RootsChat.
I fully endorse Ayashi's advice about record keeping, I wish I'd had that advice the many, many moons ago I started, as a result of not doing that I've had to go over already discovered info on many occasions to find out just where I did find it - extremely frustrating.
You'll find that on here unlike some sites I've been on in the past you'll not be 'talked down to' or receive 'sneering comments like don't you know that', just straightforward and kind help.
The depth of knowledge on here among the posters is phenomenal, it still amazes me after years of coming here.
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Oh, and further to my previous advice, save images or screenshots (even of transcriptions) if you can, rather than just noting where you got it from- I've found on a few occasions that records have mysteriously gone missing from a site I know I found it on. A whole village in Wales vanished at one point- I subsequently found out that someone had requested the records for that area removed from online access and duly they were. What a pain!