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Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition / Re: Surname of Witness
« on: Sunday 12 June 16 13:45 BST (UK) »
Maybe Portham?
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Lovely to hear that you have such a great interest.
Don't forget to take plenty of photos while you can for future generations.
Enjoy
Hi.
I wish I had taken it up around your age. I'd have been able to ask more people about their lives. However I only started when I had my own children. My eldest is now 16 (exam madness in our house too) he has been interested for about 5 years and has been working on the local War memorials around the local villages to document the lives of those mentioned. One of these resulted in representing his school on a visit to the battle fields in Flanders.
My youngest came to a family history fair three years ago when he was 9 as I was looking at the books for sale I could hear him chatting to the stall holder. I made my purchase and turned to see him holding a carrier bag. He said look what I've got! I opened the bag and inside were family history book's. The stall holder had been so impressed with him talking about what he knew of his family and how he knew of their lives he had given Adam around £30 of books to help him go further. I offered to pay but the man insisted. I was a very proud mum.
Keep at it the answers are out there..... ask lots.....take photos.
Good luck with the exams.
Tazzie
Or maybe check out this mob - The NextGen Genealogy Network:
https://www.facebook.com/NextGenNetwrk/timeline
http://www.tnggn.org
My advice to you ( sorry, ex teacher so can't help it! ) would be to get a degree in Computing as that will leave your options open. Once you have that, you could then explore taking your genealogy interest further. Why not contact one of the heir hunting firms such as Fraser and Fraser, Neil is a member of RootsChat, and ask what qualifications they ask for? My worry is that at the moment there are a lot of people starting family finding businesses, so competition may be steep if you just concentrate on that.
I too started at 15, after watching the TV series Roots. I started asking my mother about our family, and rang my paternal aunt to ask about that side (my father had already passed away). Lots of handwritten notes, and visits to libraries and archives (no internet back then). My interest waned for a few years, but I kept those notes. Luckily, because when I took it up again, those family members were mostly gone then.
Have you tried the LDS? Their family history centres are very helpful, and they may have access to the records you are seeking.
I started when I was 16 and remember getting some really odd looks when I went to the Family Records Centre in London. I also remember every time I went to the record office they automatically assumed I wanted a computer, not a microfilm reader!!
Glad to hear you are enjoying it - it is something that fascinates me as well - though I did not get into it until my 30's when the 1901 census was put online. It is a shame that you cannot easily research your own tree, but to me that sounds like the perfect excuse to go travelling!!! If it was me I would consider waiting until I had finished school then, before going to Uni (or work!), I would take a year off and go visit those countries to see what I could find (and enjoy the sights as well!!). In fact, you could even look to making a career out of it - I am sure there are people out there who want to know about their past but cannot be bothered to do it themselves, so would pay someone to research it themselves - so no different to what you are doing now I guess for your friends! Best of luck whatever you do
Kev