Is Family History starting to sour?

[pistonbroke]

I've been researching on & off for about 25 years, spent a lot of time early on in archives, libraries, LDS centres & cemeteries. Then I got way to busy at work to do that, I work 6 days & sometimes 12 hours a day. I started on my own family tree & also helping my ex mother in law with hers. When Scotlands People came on I then got started on my 2nd husbands family & my current partners as well (their parents came from Scotland).I was hoping to do trees for my sons before they turned 30, now I'm trying for 35.       

Theres always new things to learn & I'm amazed at the amount of information that's becoming available so quickly. I try to find out everything I can about the people I'm researching & found a new interest in history because of that. I think a lot of people try to find connection to the famous & get disappointed when they don't. No famous people in any of the trees I'm doing but their lives are still fascinating. I get disappointed when I can't find anything, but when you find something no matter how small WOW what a high.
If I haven't said thankyou to someone for their help then I apologise sometimes I'm just an airhead & I'll apologise for my grammar now & for rambling on.

Vicki

[janeyanne]

i am also new member and newly retired , new to this site and love to just wander about the boards, i get sidetracked by occupations queries ,from other members (that i also dont know answer to ) keep thinking i will find out more just by looking  but what are the bbc tags for or is it just me who is pc illiterate and before i forget my manners thanks for all the answers    i love this hobby 

[Nick29]

How are services funded? Answer: By taxation either local or national. The problem with British people is that we want a high level of public services, but when it comes to paying for them we baulk and prefer low taxes instead.

Actually, I think that as a nation we do quite well in this area.  If you go to Kew, you have free access to records.  And (although some others wouldn't agree) I also think that £7 for a BMD certificate (inc. postage) is quite good value too.  You can also go to your local library, and chances are that they will have access to Ancestry, which you can also use for free.  It's only when you want or need to do it all from the comfort of your own home that things start getting expensive.

[MarieC]

I agree that 7 pounds for BMD certificates is very reasonable indeed.  In Queensland, Oz, they cost twice that.  Mind you, we get twice as much information on ours, so I suppose it evens out!  (And if you find a will in the Archives, you can get a death certificate for the cost of one photocopy!!  )

MarieC

[Barbara348]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick word from a ' Family History ' novice.

I am retired  Pensioner and I only began researching FH about 3 years ago (when I also got my first ever PC) so I really am a novice compared to a lot of chatters.

I just wanted to say that I think it's a really worthwhile, interesting hobby,which certainly hasn't started to sour for me yet.

However, I have also realized that it can be  be very frustrating,expensive and sometimes disappointing too but that's part of the 'fun' of it to me.

I struggled along in the early days of my research (grappling with the PC as well) and I spent quite a lot of money on various occasions commissioning research through appropriate channels,which, I have to say, very often only confirmed information that I had offered up anyway.

As I am not able to travel around independently, I have to do most of my research by telephone or via the internet but I realize that I'm very lucky to have those facilities.

I'll  take this opportunity to thank a Rootschatter named 'Pete' who guided me to Rootschat, which I only joined last August.

Since I joined, I have picked up all sort's of tips and advice by reading through the different subjects and posts, which has helped me a great deal and probably saved me money by guiding me in the right 'search' direction.

I've received a lot of help from a lot of kind people on Rootschat (they'll know who they are)and I hope that as I become a bit more confident and knowledgeable on ' Family History ', that I might be able to do the same for others.

Cheers

Barbara

[Bosuns Call]

I've been following this post with interest and thought I might give my take on things with a fresh pair of eyes. I am a relative newcomer to this as I've only been researching for less than a year. I feel that one important issue is missing from this topic. Why are people researching their family tree?

I am sure that there are as many different reasons as there are family trees. For those 'hobbyists' or rather for those people who consider genealogy as an interest in itself then their methods and enthusiasm for the subject may wax and wane. For these people the whole enjoyment is in the actual research.

Then there are the 'others' to consider where genealogy is an ends to a means. Perhaps the 'name gatherers' fall into this category. A person may discover they are adopted and wish to research the trees of their biological parents to discover who they really are but have little interest in the subject itself. There may be others who have a genetic link to a disease in their DNA code and so may wish to research their family tree to look for answers.

I'm sure there are others again who only research their trees to find military ancestors as they are more interested in military history as a subject but they wish to personalise it. The list is endless with very personal and impersonal reasons for all these different trees. Either way, these 'others' are seeking to find answers rather than hoping to build up a family tree.

For me, I probably class myself in the latter section. Not a name gatherer really, more a place gatherer. My reason for researching my family tree is that I've never felt I'm "Home." In all my travels I've never felt happy or even contented to the point where I say "The only place where I wish to live is here, my home."

So the blinkers go on, head down and with fervour I aim to discover where my 'roots' come from in the hope of finding my origins and where my "home" really is. Failing that, it would at least be satisfying to find the family trait for an answer to my wanderlust. As a side issue I also happen to be building up a family tree in the process. At this moment in time I "need" to discover the places of my roots but at a later time I may "wish" to flesh out the tree and class genealogy as an interest and hobby. 

Whichever side of the divide any members consider themselves, perhaps a foot in either camp, the important fact to remember is that none of us are being forced to search. That is one thing we all have in common. We have chosen of our own free will, as much in the same vain as we choose to attend a football/cricket match or go to the cinema/theatre. The time spent on researching a family tree should be as enjoyable and relaxing as any other interest or hobby you have. Of course be pleasant, be courteous but above all make it enjoyable.  

Best wishes,

Bosuns Call

[Nick29]

For me, I probably class myself in the latter section. Not a name gatherer really, more a place gatherer. My reason for researching my family tree is that I've never felt I'm "Home." In all my travels I've never felt happy or even contented to the point where I say "The only place where I wish to live is here, my home."

It's strange - there are a couple of places where I have felt at home, and where I didn't know at the time that I had family connections.  One was a very small village in Hertfordshire which I passed through 10 times a week for more than a year on my way to and from work in the late 1970's, and it was only when I researched my family tree 35 years later that I discovered that my g. g. grandmother was born there.  Another was the High Street in a SE London borough where I went to school, and later I discovered that my great great aunt and uncle ran a grocery shop which would have been opposite where I used to wait for the bus on the way home from school.  I didn't know much about my father's ancestors, and I knew he was born in North London, and I was completely unaware that he had relatives in SE London.

[kerryb]

I agree Bosuns call and it is an interesting angle looking at why people pick up such a hobby.  I guess that has bearing on how they then carry out their research. 

Thank you for making me think about that aspect.

For myself I have always felt at home in a small part of East Sussex, even as a child I loved that area but it wasn't until I started my family history I discovered that probably about 60% of my family have originated from that area.  When we walk around the countryside and villages there I feel very close to them all.

So maybe that explains this curious fact, ever since I was a teenager people have commented that I sometimes sound like I come from South London, I don't but my great grandfather did!!  He brought our part of the family to Sussex about 1912.

Kerry

[Redroger]

Very strange Nick, I was brought up in Boston Lincs. lived over 40 years in Doncaster; always liked Bournemouth and Dorset. Guess where I found my father's family originated North Dorset- my ancestor GGGF left there in 1794 with the militia and settled in Lincolnshire.