How did you get 'addicted' to Family History / Gen

[spanglecat]

Defintely addictive!!
I decided to try and trace my paternal grandfather's side of the family as they are completely unknown to me. My father died when I was 6 and I was always led to believe that we had nothing to do with his side of the family as they thought that he had married beneath him. It was only when my mother died in 1987 that I found out the real reason. When I was conceived my parents were married to other partners, so there was a couple of hasty divorces and they married three months after I was born. I have traced (on paper) my g grandparents, grandparents, 3 uncles and their respective children and that is where the trail goes cold. Just keep looking.
An update on this 12 years later
I managed to trace most of my cousins, who didn't know that I existed, and met two of them. I am still in touch with one of them. Now I am tackling the more difficult task of my paternal grandmother's side of the family (after a 6 year break)
Ann

 

[BRL]

Hi!
I blame my nephew for this. He had to do a family tree for his son and only did the maternal side. I now know why that is - I decided to do the paternal side and am immediately stumped.
I am so glad I found this site. It's novel and being able to join in forums is beaut!
Rae

 

[admin]

Hi Rae,

Welcome to the Family History forum Glad you appreciate the forums here.

Don't get dis-heartened, I have been stuck in so many places that I forget where :wink:
All the best in your endeavors in your research
Keep at it, something will turn up.

Regards,
Dave :wink:

 

[godsy]

I first got addicted, when my Dad wanted me to look up my Grandfathers brothers and sisters as no-one knew anything about them.
It really just spiralled from there and 5 years later I'm well addicted!!!!

Keith

 

[desertrat75]

I am wondering whether I am on the wrong genealy site. I am in the US southwest, desert, dry and windy. I got started after my sister, who passed away 2 years ago, :'( had done a lot of research and none of it was online. She got all of her information from family and different libraries. After she passed away and I was going through her things, I found all her genealogy stuff. She had lived in the Midwest so I packed up all her stuff in a suitcase and had it shipped back to me. The suitcase weighed 45 pounds, so that gives you an idea of how much she had on paper. Since then I have done a lot of online research and tried to sort out her notes. Very difficult as she didn't write well and she would put parts of different families and different times on one page. I have sorted most of it but still have some yet left.

My wife gives me a hard time about all the time I spend on the computer looking for family. With what my sister had, I have all the different family lines, 7 lines, about 7000 names, traced back into the 18th century, some as far as 600. My big brick wall is my gggrandfather, Shadrack King. He was born in Maryland, USA in 1779, but I cannot find a parent that I can prove to him. Several other people I know are researching the same line and are stuck also. I would love to go to Maryland and do some more research but I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon. Other lines that I am stuck on is Gillespie, in Virginia 1785 and McClellan about the same time.

 

[admin]

Hi desertrat75,

Welcome to the FHUK forums.
"I am wondering whether I am on the wrong genealy site" I don't really know what you mean?

My wife gives me a hard time about all the time I spend on the computer looking for family - You are not the only one - forever getting grief from "her indoors"

"With what my sister had, I have all the different family lines, 7 lines, about 7000 names, traced back into the 18th century, some as far as 600." Absolutely brilliant Especially to get back to that sort of date. She really has helped you - though as you say, there is an awfull lot of work to sort it all out and to verify it all!

"My big brick wall is my gggrandfather, Shadrack King" have you added this to our Wanted Name system?

All the best, Hope to see you here soon,

Regards,
Dave

 

[jfm_uk]

Just saying Hi to everyone.

It was the 1901 census that started me off, found my Nan on this then didn't stop, back to 1800s on most lines now further on some. I love a good puzzle and I've been able to straighten out a few family knots and rumours along the way.

 

[dawnlea]

Hello jfm! ;D

Aaah, the old family legends and rumours - got a couple of them myself!! Still haven't really got to the bottom of mine though - but I keep digging!!

 

[Smee]

I don't think i can remember whyor how i got involved, not really sure how many years i have done this for properly....probably only one. My mother is the history addict, and my mother in law has all the old photos and wants me to put all the information together. I suppose i am also doing this for my children as we live on the opposite side of the world from just about the rest of my family (i have a cousin in Australia). Emmigration is quite hard to track sometimes.

My husband is part of a step family so because his youngest sister (half-sister, not that it matters) is my fav sister in law i have recently done half of her family tree, with thanks to quite a few other people for information.

I am now starting to trace the other side of her family. I have not had many stumbling blocks with people in New Zealand, everyone has been very helpful including at the local libraries. They even have some fiche for Australia and England, like most people say you have to know what your looking for though. We are just waiting for the government archives to get files available online to view.

All i need now is some passenger ship lists..........and mine never seem to be available.

Sort of addicted, not as hard bitten as some of you wonderful people out there, with saying that i now have nearly 800 names on my family tree, and heaps of research to continue.

Smee

 

[carlo]

G'Day All
As a new "client" to this very welcoming site I must say that everyone appears far more advanced than I am in the art of tracking down those elusive rellies. What got me started was the fact that my grandchildren started asking questions about my grandfather and I was stumped as I had never seen him or my grandmother and knew nothing about them. So in a very amateurish way I tried to put this right. But so far I've had no real luck. But as the saying goes 'every thing comes to those that wait". Mind you at my age I hope the wait isn't too long.

 

[grainne]

hi all
my name is grainne and i got started because i passed the family bible in it had all the births/deaths/address/marriages/devorces since my gt,granmother on my mothers side right up to date with me so you could say i had hit gold before i sarted i then put a message on ancestry and it turn up that some one was looking for thesame family "grunwell`s"we got talking and he past me his gedfile he had gone back to 1600c so thats that !! i am now dong my dads line which is not as easy but it`s go to find out were you come from .

 

[admin]

Hi grainne, You did do well I had a similar experience, found a piece of old wallpaper with all the wifes family on it, but no dates. But it helped tremendously! Still can't beat researching your own details, visiting libraries, research centres, cemetarys, churches and not forgetting the web! Let us know how you get on. Oh! Have you posted your "wanted names" on our system? All the best, Dave

 

[Cornish Maid]

Addicted is definitely the right word! I had been meaning to research my family's history for some time, but work etc always took up my time and I was always going to start "tomorrow". But then my grandad died, and i realised that tomorrow would never come and I had to make a start. My dad has been a great help in providing snippets of family "lore" and names of relations, though it took quite a bit of sorting out. I've spent a fortune on certificates (don't tell my husband you have to pay for them else I'm in big trouble) :biggrin:

I love all the investigation and trying to sort the fact from the fiction, and finding out about how my family used to live. And I'm quite lucky that most of my family came from St Ives in Cornwall as there is a wealth of information online and at the St Ives Archive Centre. Apparently one of my gran's relations came over from Australia or New Zealand when I was young. She had researched the family tree back to the 1500's, and left a copy of it with my grandad. Unfortunately, he wasn't interested and must have thrown it away

I am still trying to find out the actual truth about one relation who apparently jumped ship, married a Tahitian princess and became Mayor of Auckland...

Happy hunting everyone
Bex

 

[admin]

Hi Carlo,

welcome to the FHUK forum.

As a new "client" to this very welcoming site

thankyou very much Carlo.

I must say that everyone appears far more advanced than I am in the art of tracking down those elusive rellies

We all had to start somewhere! Make sure you are organised and take it one step at a time

my grandchildren started asking questions about my grandfather and I was stumped as I had never seen him or my grandmother and knew nothing about them

I shouldn't say its surprises me, but it still does, that we all do not know enough of our family history. We do not ask the questions of our grand parents, and most of the time when we are interested, its generally too late to ask about those really arkward questions. I know, I was exactly the same

All the best, and ask any questions you want in the releveant forum.

Regards,
Dave

 

[admin]

Hi Bex,

trying to sort the fact from the fiction, and finding out about how my family used to live

Good girl. You will find a lot of family rumours, which is a slighty "twisted" (sorry should be some other word, but oh well!) version of the actual truth. And it is great that you are also looking at how they used to live. I really love going to various places my ancestors lived, finding out the conditions and the work they did.

gran's relations came over from Australia or New Zealand

There are a number of FHUK members from Australia and New Zealand here, I am sure they can help or give you guidance.

I am still trying to find out the actual truth about one relation who apparently jumped ship, married a Tahitian princess and became Mayor of Auckland...

....................exactly what I mean

regards,
Dave

 

[joyceawood17]

My mother's father had died when she was four, she had died about 12 years ago, but it wasn't until her last brother not including half brother or sisters (she was the only girl with three brothers from her father) had died that I had realized that we went from a family that as children spent alot of time together to none of us communicating, and only seeing cousins ect at funerals, so first I started emailing them, to inviting them to our family reunion (I am from a family of ten children) to one of my cousins suggesting a family website, which of course had an area to make our family tree, well none of us had anything but the wrong date of death for my mother's father, we all thought he died on Christmas Eve and could never find any more information about him, then I looked up his obit in an old newspaper in a library and decided to visit his grave site (that was about a year ago) and found he really died on Chirstmas itself, the records at the cemetary gave me when he was born, his parents name and what county in Wales, it also stated that he had 9 other brothers and a sister. I have been searching for more ever since, every once in a while someone will comes up with some solid information that just keeps me hooked.

 

[admin]

Hi Joycewood17,

I had realized that we went from a family that as children spent alot of time together to none of us communicating, and only seeing cousins ect at funerals

I hear that so much about families! With the pressures of modern day life, families get split up and move (with work) all over the place, even to different continents! Family life is not what it used to be!

it also stated that he had 9 other brothers and a sister. I have been searching for more ever since, every once in a while someone will comes up with some solid information that just keeps me hooked.

Thats what gets most of us going and keeps us interested and 'addicted'!!

All the best in your research,
Dave

 

[jack]

I always wondered where my grandparents came from and asked my dad while he was still alive. He told me that one of his cousins had some information and she wrote back with some people I could contact. Then after he passed away I got interested again as he was no longer around to ask, and I just sort of got involved. I started on my husbands side as well, and at the moment I have about 9 families I am researching. It is great fun and I just love getting replies to any questions I have posted. It is like a rush of adrenaline and I also want my children to have a huge family tree to look at when they are old enough to understand. Lots of stories abound and of course, like others, I have found the history of the area very interesting. Even though I was never a history lover at school.
I keep on looking to see how far back I can go. My claim to fame is back in the 1600's an ancestor was married twice. Once to a lady whose descendants came down to me and the other lady whose descendants came down to the Queen. I could have been a princess but was born on the wrong branch! I keep thinking that I am finished, but then I find another parent and the generation goes back again and I start all over again researching on that line.

 

[Keanani]

Good luck to all in your search for your roots!

Me ke pono, Keanani

 

[c.daniel]

Hi.I started because my Father never spoke about his family, only his siblings. When he died, I became curious. So with only a surname to start of with It took a while to get on the right track. 10 years later I have gone back as far as the 1700's in England. I didn't know I had such a large family. there is still a long way to go, I'm stuck on a lot of relatives, but I've come this far, I'll continue even if it takes another 10 years. I'm glad I brought a computer, once I learnt how to use it, it is a lot easier and quicker than going to the library. Chris.