What family info did you have before you started genealogy?

[hullnow]

I had a few bdm certificates,but what got my interest was a family story that my dads father,who I never knew,had run off to Canada and joined the mounties.My research revealed the true story,he went to Canada in 1911 returning with the Canadian Exp. Force beginning of WW1 as a private in the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles,he married g/mother in 1915 before he went to France.He settled back in Scotland but in 1920 went to Canada and then USA looking for work.He sadly died in Detroit in 1935,g/mother never joined him.

[coombs]

Nan said there was some Irish in the family but none found yet. There may be some Scottish as I have a Guthry/Guttree line from Leigh On Sea in Essex, which seemed to have several Scottish sounding surnames such as Ferguson, MacGowan and Ritchie. A fishing village probably would attract Scottish fisherman from 300 miles north as they were travelling round the coast.

I always wondered who my grandparents grandparents were, my great, great grandparents.

[genjen]

There may be some Scottish as I have a Guthry/Guttree line from Leigh On Sea in Essex, which seemed to have several Scottish sounding surnames such as Ferguson, MacGowan and Ritchie. A fishing village probably would attract Scottish fisherman from 300 miles north as they were travelling round the coast.

I have the Scottish/Essex link in my family, from my great grandfather, born in Brightlingsea and his wife, born in Nairn. They married in Caistor, Lincolnshire, another stopping off place for coastal fishing boats. They settled in Nairn but I imagine in other families it worked the other way round. Nairn versus Brightlingsea....Scotland versus Essex.....I know which I would choose, every time!!

[ThrelfallYorky]

My late Aunt, and a cousin of my Mum always SWORE the maternal line was scottish (even celebrate Burns Night!) - and of course, directly descended from Robert the Bruce!! Another cousin of hers, and myself started hunting around ... nope. Solidly Irish on the line they swore to be scottish, can only be traced back as far as their emergence dripping, from the Irish Sea in mid 19th C. Sadly Aunt is no longer around, but I'm sure she'd never be convinced - and the cousin who does Burns Night really doesn't believe either of us, despite us researching independently and only comparing notes when we were both sure! So we learned early on not to believe family legends ( "... owned half of Lord Street" (no), ".... was the last blacksmith in Liverpool ... (no) ", "Was named for the lady mayoress, who was her mother's friend... (no)" etc)
And the moral of that is: check out the information you are given as "Facts", before you hare off down a cul-de-sac in family history!

[genjen]

My mum was totally convinced that she had some Welsh ancestry, on her own mum's side. I have traced that side of my family back to the 1600s, one part as far as 1530ish, and at no point has anyone been born further South than the North Riding of Yorkshire. In fact, they rarely left that county at all and when they did stray it was only into Co. Durham and Westmorland. Mum died before I had all the earlier information but I know, "sure as eggs is eggs" that she wouldn't have believed me. Mum wanted to be partly Welsh and so partly Welsh she was!!

Her paternal line was at one time based in Staffordshire so maybe I'll find the Welsh connection one day!

[Kevin, now in Chester]

I began my research in my late-teens as I knew of only one other person with my surname, Carter, and that was my older brother.
Our father had died when my brother was seven and I was two and my widowed mother had since remarried.  Our grandfather Carter had died before I was born and in any case had become estranged from our Nan and his three children, including my father, when they were young.  It soon became evident that this was a part of their lives that they neither wanted to recall or to discuss. 
So I began my research with an almost blank sheet of paper.  There were no photographs, letters or stories about the Carters.  The only two facts I knew were that my great grandfather Carter was a Publican and that my father had been born in his pub – albeit a pub that no longer existed (the Angel and Trumpet,  High Street, Stepney which was bombed during WWII).
In the intervening 42 years I have managed to piece together much of the story - disturbing quite a few skeletons in various closets - on the way.  And I am now in contact directly or indirectly with all survivors of the 65 descendants of my great grandfather, the Publican Allan George Carter, as well tracing another 1500 plus family members from other branches of the family and enough stories to fill three books, so far.  A kind of compulsion as the great writer George Orwell once said.

Kevin now in Chester

[Gan Yam]

My mothers stories of her maternal grandfather and paternal grandmother always intrigued me even as a child.  My gt grandmother was Scottish and fiercely proud of this.  One of her sayings about her Scottish ancestors was "when they cut off their legs they fought on their stumps".  I always wondered what this meant and thought it must mean they were from the Scottish highlands and was referring to wars with the English.  However great grannie was from 2 miles over the Scottish border so this story still remains a mystery.(unless they were Reivers - need to do more research)

My maternal gt grandfather and most of his family were train drivers originally from Scotland.  He was one of the drivers involved in the UKs worst rail disasters, and although was not killed the family story was that he died a year to the day later, which  I thought was really spooky.  Research has shown that he didn't die a year later to the day, but in fact 4 years to the day, but I'm sure that a year sounds more creepy!

[coombs]

I also have confirmed roots from Scotland on mums side. I think before I started properly on genealogy I did once research the origin of the surname Musgrave and heard it was Scottish in origin (found in England and Ireland more though) so I thought they may have been from there but I found it was Ann Stewart, who wed into the Musgrave family whose Stewart line originated in Selkirk. I think Scottish migration to Northern England has always been prevalent for obvious reasons, the closeness and for work.

[genjen]

I think it was my Scottish side which made me want to delve into the family past. As a child I was ridiculously proud of having a Scottish father and grandparents and even now I identify more strongly with that side of the family.
But I have had the biggest challenges from my maternal line largely because of the inter-marrying ( and sometimes not bothering to marry at all) of Smiths which, I have to tell you, makes for some truly complicated and confusing research! And having gone more deeply into that side, I think some of the greatest pleasure has come from it.