Is Family History starting to sour?

[kerryb]

FS

a good point well made 

I guess when most of us start out we are all name gatherers, certainly when I started I didn't really know what was actually available to search, apart from births, marriage and deaths but there is so much more than can be found to help to flesh out the bones of the characters in the family history. 

For me it is true to say that the more I flesh out these characters the more real they become and they figure amongst my favourites. 

If I was to list all the evidence for different characters I have found it is quite amazing how much different information there is available:
attestation papers, discharge papers, auction records, settlement records, bastardy orders, newspaper clippings, wills, letters, photos, passenger lists, quarter session records, pardons etc etc etc

Kerry

[clivealbert]

Hi, an excellent thread which I think answers the the question that started this topic. If i dont complete my Tree, I hope that either of my sons or grandchildren will carry on, at least I,ve given them a start, you are lucky joboy living in OZ, I have to make do with an anual visit. To all rootschaters who have helped me a BIG thank you, and to all on the best site on the net, good hunting. Clive

[Framesmiths1816]

Thanks kerry,

I should also add that I have reached (like most people I suppose) the point where quick gains are no longer possible. My research has to be more thorough and time consumming as I look further back in time on my family members or struggle with some of the conundrums that are scattered through my tree. To find answer to these I have to go back to much more traditional research methods, RO's etc.

To be honest my early name gathering has helped me in this. Some of the best sources of information I have had recently are from some distant connections where I have managed to make contact, through other unconnected people, to people who have a lot of personal primary source information in their keeping and are not reachable via the usual internet forums like GRU, Ancestry or Rootschat. I would not have made these connections if I had not thrown my net very wide. One nice example is a very kind gentleman who had pages from a family bible dating back to the 1700's that included not only the dates of birth of some of my key family members but the times of birth and information on lines that feed into my family that I has no idea about. He shared information with me that took one of my lines back to around 1465.

It is quite surprising what information on some of my very close family members has been found in places and with people that I would least expect it to be.

However I am wondering off of the subject of this thread.  I think what I am trying to say is that name gathering can have its uses as it enables contacts to happen that might not otherwise be possible. Is family history starting to Sour? No, not for me. It has enabled me to find some lost relatives, relatives I never knew existed and to make contact with a very nice community of like-minded people and to help a few others on the way.  That has made me very happy and I will accept the inexperience and impoliteness of the few because the rewards far outweight the inconveniences.

That's me done... I'll get off my soap box now

FS

[Simon G.]

Honestly I find it a little difficult to believe that things are "turning sour", as it were.  Certainly I think there's a different approach to family history these days, but that's an inevitability now given the relatively easy access to the basic records online these days and the perhaps unfortunate growth amongst more casual research.  Research is no longer the domain of the serious researcher, it's becoming more and more of a hobby and has become more and more accessible to the average person.  While certainly this has become a mixed blessing, it's also brought about the neccessity for a different approach to sharing information.  Basically when you're dealing with things online, the sad reality is that you can't be quite as trusting and open as you'd necessarily like...at least not at first.  I do feel though that this is more an issue of the modern age and the Internet than it is an issue of family history specifically.
Speaking for myself, I still feel the same joy and enthusiasm today that I did when I started my research six-years ago.  The excitment whenever a new record is made available online is still there, and in many ways is stronger than it ever was now that I have a full-rounded knowledge and skill-base to work from.  I say it all the time when people ask about starting their family history at work...when you start researching your tree, it's a project that is with you for as long as you live.  There's always something new you can be doing, and always something new you can get that glow and excitement of the chase over.  Quite literally family history becomes your lifes work, and while there might be at times brick walls or issues that make you want to bang your head against the proverbial wall I do greatly feel that nothing could ever sour researching my tree and nothing could ever make me want to stop researching.

[kerryb]

I agree with Simon about the different approach to family history with relatively easy access to basic records online these days and the fact that research is not simply the domain of the serious researcher.  I think this is probably true of history in general these days, we can all look things up on the web if we want to know when a battle was fought or where for instance and I for one think that is no bad thing. 

However with all things on the web, all things should be checked and double checked for mistakes but isn't it great that we can all delve so easily into our pasts.

Kerry

[williamscdr]

Morning all,

What we shouldn't forget here is that all Rootschatters come to this forum with different constraints and interests.  Obviously we are all addicts, but for me it is not only about researching my own family but also helping others - pulling a loose thread to see where it goes is my idea of fun.  To that end, when someone puts up a post (no matter whether they have done in the easy leg work or not) gives me the chance to have a go, or, to read about other posters doing the same.

I 'watch' RC from my desk at work and don't have much time at home because I have a disabled child.  Never-the-less I thoroughly enjoy the forum, but probably view it in a different way to most.

Kind regards

David

[little meg]

What we shouldn't forget here is that all Rootschatters come to this forum with different constraints and interests. 

David

That is very true, and it is why we each look at our family histories in different ways. 
I like the storybook approach, filling in all the details, where they lived, who were their neighbours etc.
And have been very fortunate to have a mass of information on one of my lines from newspaper articles.  Still haven't finished acquiring them all, and yes, it is back to the world of microfilm I go

I also turn my families histories into paintings, some based on old photos, others from imagination, with photos of villages and cottages as a guide.
It not only combines my two interests - art and family history, but also stops it all going sour

Margaret

[MarieC]

Ah, Margaret,

You are one of the true storytellers of whom we have often spoken on Rootschat! 

Your illustrated stories would be a delight to see!

MarieC

[little meg]

Hi MarieC,
thankyou, they are no great works of art but it is a different way of getting the younger ones to know about their history.
And fun for meeee too