Motivation for research?

[MJW]

I never knew any of my grandparents, they all died before I was born.

After my mother died 15 years ago (my father had died several years earlier), I realised I knew almost nothing about my parents' background and my grandparents.  I could only name 2 grandparents and had no known photos of any of them - and no-one to ask.  All I really knew was my paternal grandfather had been killed in WW1 (didn't know where or when), his wife died a few years later and my father was brought up by his grandparents, and then by an uncle.

I thought (or assumed ?) that my granddad had been killed in France, and about 10 years ago (we had a few family holidays in France and often passed various war graves sites) I started to see if I could find his grave/memorial.  It took me several years to find him (he had a fairly common name) and he was, in fact, killed in Gallipoli. 

That is how I started and have been researching my family history ever since - and more recently my wife's.  I enjoy finding out what my ancestors did, where they lived, why they moved etc.   I also like solving puzzles and mysteries - and I've had plenty of those !!

[danuslave]

I'm a retired computer programmer who likes solving puzzles.  If that's not the right mind-set for FH, I don't know what is   

I started many years ago, (well) before the internet.  Luckily I had one grandmother who was happy to chat about her family, and Grandad's.  Since then it's just mushroomed.

But I'm just as happy tracing someone else's family as my own.  The search is as, if not more, important than who is involved.  It's just so satisfying when you can tie the loose ends together   

Linda

[ewatson11]

My Granny and her daughter used to tell me stories about the family.  But what got me started was my Granny used to ask my Grandfather what about your family and he said you are not married to my family you are married to me, so that just intrigued me a mystery to find out, which I did in the end.

Emma

[jumpinjane]

My motivation is the need to find my mothers origins and why some of the ancestors preferred sons to daughters. Also the secrecy about family connections and why past family were never talked about. My mother's late father was a bricklayer, but he died before I was born, but there is no one left to ask questions about him.

Also researching my own origins makes me realise how much I do not know, but when something however small falls in to place its very satisfying knowing you have done the research yourself and you feel less alone. The need to leave some record for your children and their children to look back on.

My mum and I never really got close and I recently found out that my grandmother used to lock mum in a cupboard because she preferred sons to daughters. That seems to have been apparent through the generations

[HeatherLynne]

Interest sparked by my father being contacted by Fraser & Fraser, probate researchers, in the early 1970s    This hobby is like being a detective, following clues and hints and hopefully uncovering some very interesting things along the way.  So much easier now the internet makes records easily accessible.  It makes history come to life when you see your ancestors' army sign-up papers, parish records and their changes in occupation and locations over the years.  Tis addictive, only wish I was disciplined enough to get all my findings tidily recorded and put in order rather than chasing the next interesting story   

Heather

[Jean McGurn]

I started off by doing research on the history of the village I have lived in since 1971. This started after a man I worked with who had written books had said the village had no history  and I wanted to see if he was right.

When my brother and sister came south to visit I told them what I had been doing when my sister suggested I did the McGurn family  history. I had never given any thought to this as I had been taken into her family from the age of two months then adopted by her mother - who at the time was a 58yr old widow her husband having died two days after I was born.

Since starting to research the family I have not only confirmed that information I grew up with about my start in life was actually true, but have also discovered that - unlike my friends at school - I did have a lot of  cousins, aunts and uncles living in the surrounding areas, apart from two elderly aunts,   that I never knew about.

I now know more about them than I know about the members of the family I grew up with, as they were all the generation above me. Snippets learnt some years ago seem to suggest that I am actually part of the family but from what branch (maternal or paternal) I do not know yet and do not suppose I will ever find out for sure.

 The one thing I am still eternaly grateful for is that if I had not been adopted I may well have been one of those children shipped out of this country during or just after the war.

Jean

   

[maryn1913]

I found an old letter with a ship's leave slip from 1945 when my Dad was a merchant marine.
With the name of the ship, I had my first clue, which then sparked memories of stories my Dad told us.

Historically important,  it was one of the two ships that brought the majority of  American soldiers back home at the end of WWII.

[karenlee]

Mum's maternal grandmother was "missing" so she took it upon herself to "find" her.  I was about 14 at the time... been digging around the family tree roots ever since...

Karenlee

[Calverley Lad]

My research followed on from the fact that my father died prior to reaching 60, together with his brothers and sisters.
Looking back through the records I found out that this had been a family trait?
100 years ago the problem first started, with premature deaths through heart problems.
Myself had heart problems from the age of 37/38, (2 weeks before my 38th birthday) which lead to me having major surgery by the time I reached 45.
Subsequently both my youngest sister and my eldest daughter have been found to have problems.
Now past 60 approaching 65!
 Brian