Rather obsessed!

[Aguella]

I was in an online meeting today and in a segment unrelated to me, one of the participants mentioned in anecdotal passing her grandfather's (rare) full name. Within about 5-10 minutes I'd traced her paternal line back five generations - would have been interesting to see how much further I could go, but I had to take the floor!

Please tell me some of you are like this too!

[mckha489]

  Oh yes!

[ptdrifter]

Maybe all of us

[aghadowey]

Not at all uncommon. Years ago even my mother, who didn't research her family tree, would look up her maiden name in the local phone book when my parents were travelling. She would then bring me the details and ask where they fitted into her father's family (this isn't as random as it sounds as it was an unusual name and almost anyone with that surname was related).

[Aguella]

Not at all uncommon. Years ago even my mother, who didn't research her family tree, would look up her maiden name in the local phone book when my parents were travelling. She would then bring me the details and ask where they fitted into her father's family (this isn't as random as it sounds as it was an unusual name and almost anyone with that surname was related).

My mum did the very same thing on a coastal trip once, with her very rare surname! I ended up meeting one of them, who turned out to be both the local reverend and a third cousin once removed!

[oldfashionedgirl]

On the obsessed vain I once took a bit of a gamble for a friends birthday present.

Her mother had died that year and she had been sorting out family papers and photos and was chatting about things she had found.

She had a quite unusual first name which had been her father’s sister who had died as a child. She didn’t know of what or where she was buried.

I did some research and gave her for her birthday present a folder of when, where and how she died and where she was buried. I applied to the council for a search which gave me an exact map of the grave.

Also included the relevant census for the wee girls short life.

When I gave her the folder I said ‘This is a very quirky present, I really hope you like it and don’t think it’s weird’

Thankfully the present went down well and she was delighted  phew

[steve100]

Oh yes indeed! I have been a collector of ephemera for sixty years having started with tea cards from the loose tea packets when I was a child. I’m in my late sixties now, and over this time I have amassed thousands of pieces. I am forever researching the names on postcards, letters and books etc And as for old headstones, that’s another story or stories as the case maybe!😄

[coombs]

Yes I have researched the ancestry of friends and work colleagues who had told me a bit about their family tree.

Often it can be good to research other people's family trees or even research families of famous people.

I am doing some research on Columbo actor Peter Falk's early years, he was born Sep 1927 in Manhattan and likely spent his first few years in The Bronx but is nowhere to be found on the April 1930 US census, yet is on the 1940 and 1950 US censuses. As for 1930, I have done what I do for my own elusive ancestors, tried all surname variants and Peter's parents Michael (Meyer) and Madeline Falk and found nothing. Many many reasons for this.

[Brie]

Book plates in old books are my downfall. I love to build up a background of the person who owned it before. Not always possible if just a name but books that were given as prizes in local Sunday Schools &c in Victorian & Edwardian times are usually easy to trace.

Also the recipients of old postcards.

How much time have I wasted........

Brie