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

[duo2uk]

We got started by finding a registration of baptism in with my husband's parents personal effects. The person on the certificate was born in 1861 but the certificate was a copy which was dated 1930. This puzzled us very much as the surname had no apparent connection with either my husband's father or mother.

This is as everyone keeps saying is very addictive.

 

[leefer]

I was braught up in care...didnt meet my mum till i was 20 and met my dad 7 years later,as a kid you always wonder what your family would be like if your braught up without one!
On my dads side the family is si rich in tradition and history i feel like ime constantly opening up Pandoras Box..i also like the buzz of seeing others get happiness through the forums though as ive found out sadness at times,only joined this site a little while back...so good luck to you all....Lee

 

[NEP]

When I was a child my Mum used to tell me stories about our ancestors which had been passed down to her by her own Mother. She told me tales of ivory and onyx importers, mill owners and blacksmiths and how one ancestor had run away and married a French man. When I was old enough she allowed me to carefully unwrap the tiny parcels of ivory samples or look at the small silver perfume bottle which still had a faint scent of perfume from long, long ago.

I think it was then that my interest in family history began but it wasn't until after my parents' deaths in 1991 & 1992 that I seriously started my research and that was when I really wished I'd taken more notice of what Mum had told me.

Seventeen years on and I'm still trying to sort them all out!
NEP

 

[lucy07792]

I got into family research about 5 years ago but had had an interest long before that. My Dad used to tell stories of how they used to sell salt, I always found it difficult to believe (he did like to embellish) and how poor they were. But on research I find they really were salt dealers and were indeed very poor. I have traced the line back to when they came over from Ireland and now I have a hit a brick wall, I just want to find which part of Ireland the family caome from but have virtually nothing to go on. How I wish I had asked my dad so many more questions. I will keep on in my mission, I so want to visit the place where my roots are.
Jean

 

[ksullivan66]

G,day everyone out there.
Being from Australia, inevitably your ancestors roots trace back to UK and sometimes other parts of the world. In my case, my maternal grandmother, was a Simmons from Surrey and my maternal Grandfather was a Fraser from Scotland. I also have Irish and German roots which are another story.
I have been researching on and off for twenty years or so, but have spent a lot more time at it since retiring a couple of years ago.
I think my interest sparked up when my mother showed me an old funeral card from my great grandfather's funeral in 1897. He was Harry Simmons and died at the age of 33. I think it started with ........I wonder why he died so young? Then I wonder how many children they had...etc, etc. You all know how addictions start.
Then of course we get the seemingly insurmountable brickwalls, which we get more and more determined to burst through.
I have a couple at the moment which I will post at a later date, but in the meantime, does anyone have any information on the Orphanage called St Joseph and St Annes that was in Orpington Farnborough in 1901?
My grandmother Nellie (Ellen) Simmons and siblings were in there at the time of the census. I don't know what happened to her mother Ellen nee Welsh after husband Harry died.
Cheers everyone, nice to be aboard.
Keith

 

[juliejtp]

Hi Keith,

A warm welcome to FHUK. Good luck with your research.

 

[juliejtp]

St. Josephs and St. Annes Orphanage.

Heres some articles about the orphanage.

http://www.holyinnocents.org.uk/pages/history_parish1.php

http://www.holyinnocents.org.uk/pages/history_parish2.php

http://www.ourladyofmercy.org.uk/whereweare/default.cfm?loadref=180

This is a link to Bromley Local Studies, not sure if they have any info, but it may be worth a try.


http://www.bromley.gov.uk/libraries/librariesintheborough/family_history_resources.htm

 

[ksullivan66]

Thanks Julie. That will provide some homework for me. I like to get as much background as possible about my ancestors lives and times because I am writing a book about them for my three sisters. It's an amazing journey and you find that a small piece of information can lead you to a very interesting story.
Cheers
Keith

 

[deisel]

I started when i looked at my mum's mum death certificate but not gone far so i started on my dads , ,my dad did;nt know much about his family and was told his mum died when he was 7yrs . I send of for my dad full birth certificate and his mum name was on it. I have found out that his dad was married twice . Know his dad's family but i am having problems finding out what they do and if they married or died early. Have just today sent of for a full birth cert to see if can get me any where.

 

[tiddy30]

i got ADDICTED after i tried to find out about my grandfather,as kids we were told how he had been put in a kids home by his parents.When we would ask about it my grandfather would say he didnt want to talk about it,so we never found out why.Because my grandfather woulddn't talk about that we never really asked about his family as it upset him so after he died i started looking in to his family and found that his name wasn't what he told everyone it was.I also found out that he was 1 of 9 children which even his children didnt know.It has been 3 years since i started my family history and i have since found 1003 rellies and i now tell my son about his ancestors.It is hard sometimes trying to find ppl when u come to a brickwall but u just have to keep trying or ask for help from the nice ppl on here .
HAPPY HUNTING EVERYONE!

 

[crankypants]

I have always been interested in Family History but my “addiction” started in 2001 when my sister-in-law sent me a few BDM certificates telling me she was stuck with the family tree and could I help her. So I thought I’d give it a go, and yes this is when my life changed significantly. You know you’ve got it bad when you go to bed at 3.00am and actually start dreaming about what you were searching.
The worst thing is I live about 10 minutes by car from www.gould.com.au
now can you understand my dilemma. :biggrin:

cheers
crankypants

 

[MartynWilson99]

I've only just found this site, and am really enjoying it. Another fix for my addiction.

My mother-in-law died in February this year, and while tidying her flat my daughter and brother-in-law came across various old records and decided to start a family tree. They asked me to help out and bingo, I was hooked!

I think part of the pleasure is in the detective work, putting two or three clues together and managing to track down an ancestor as a result. It's also quite fun to find skeletons tumbling out of cupboards and seeing how they were dealt with.

Mind you, I live in France now, and it is frustrating that I can't easily go and look in old records and archives. My wife is not amused by my idea of a touring holiday travelling around various villages where my ancestors lived.

I've also come into contact with some cousins whom I had not heard of for over 40 years, which is lovely: sad that we waited until we are in our 60s and 70s before it happened.

Good fun all round.

 

[deisel]

Hi i have been hooked at looking at my and my hubbys family tree . Everyday i come one here or other web site's and can be on them and here for hours. I like this web site as you can ask other if they can help you find a person. So keep it up everybody and looks like i will be on here for a nother hours of so. :2fun:

 

[watkinwitch]

Hi, I started about 3 years ago. All my grandparents died before I was born. My father died in 2000 and he never talked about his grandparents except to say his father (my grandfather ) had fallen out with his family. All I knew was my paternal grandfather had two half sisters who were both doctors, but I do not know if they were older or younger than him. I have managed to trace my maternal ancestors back to 1795 !!!
I am totally addicted as I want my children and grandchildren to know of their ancestors.

 

[nainmaddie]

Hi there
My addiction started with the Family dresser !! I knew how it came down the family but whose cottage did it come from originally. That is how I started on my Welsh family history. I am pure Welsh. There are times when I wish I hadn't started. Most of the records that I need now are in the National Library in Aberystwyth. What a journey from Devon.
I have found a lot of skeletons in the cupboard !! Such as finding an aunt I never knew about. My grandparents never married because they were both called Jones. I could go on and on .

I have now started using the Web for the first time to start my late husband's family tree and now that is what I call addiction. Help!!!
nainmaddie

 

[familyman]

i can see what you mean very clearly .i have now started doing 5 different family trees as i am so intrigred to find out more about my other familys past

 

[KCW]

I, like others, grew up with the tale of a famous ancestor. In my case it was Sir Francis Leggett Chantrey, the British sculptor. Apparently all records of the family connection were lost with a family member who set sail for Australia but who perished on the way. I always wanted to know if the story was true and when a period of ill health meant I had to find something quiet to do on the computer, I started looking. Ten years later I've still not got to the bottom of the story, but have found hundreds of other ancestors instead so it's fair to say, I am now well and truly hooked.

 

[susanwillis59]

my ex husbands sister was a geneology librarian for the church of latter day saints {mormons} and had done her family tree way back to 1600s.Was facinated, this was in the days before computers,.i still use there website and have just traced my freinds family tree back to 1736 thanks to that website.must admit being a bit of an addict and if i cannot find someone im like a dog with a bone and nothing gets done,much to my familys disgust haha.

 

[sue ault]

Hi Yes
when i was 16 my gran gave me her fathers birth,marriage and death certificate. She also gave me her mother family bible, all of which I stored away as i wasnt interested. Until in the 1970s I lost both my parents. My parents had divorced in the early 1950 so i didnt see much of my father up until his death. It was at this point that I felt the need to find out where I came from and who my family were.
I detested history at secondary school, i found it so boreing yet now after 12 years of researching it facinates me. I not only find my family members but find out their occupations clothing they may have worn and areas where they lived. I have trawled so many records centres over the years, this i miss because i now live in lincolnshire and not my original base London.
I recently held a family BBQ no one knew each other it was great and I highly recomend people do this if possible. I now have loads of new releatives.



all the very best


Sue Ault

 

[dave6023]

Been hooked for about a year now. I just decided that I wanted to produce a family history book for my sons.
My mother, who died in 2003, told me that my paternal grandmother was related to the Stuarts (Stewart, Steward and other variations) of Bute. As yet I haven't found the link back to Bute. I've only traced my grandmother's family from Lambeth (mid 1800's) back to Axminster\Kilmington (c1766).
My research has turned up a few surprises, such as two Uncles and an Auntie I didn't know about. I've also traced my father's paternal grandmother's family back to c1565.
My mother also said that her family was related to Thomas Cook the travel agent. I've only got back to 1807 with the paternal side (Cook) of her family but have had better luck on the maternal side (Bierton) getting back to the early 1700's.