Time Machine-What ancestor would you like to meet?

[admin]

Hi all,
I have a few "Wanted Names" or "Brickwalls" and would love to go back in time to meet and discuss. For example, my Great Grandma and Great Grandad had 3 children (1908, 1909 & 1911) after they were married (1906). From then on (1911) they have gone completely missing!! One son died, the other two were split up from each other and brought up seperately. Every record, marriage, death, war (first War), courts, local newspapers and all have been checked - They have completely vanished!!

So I would love to go back to .. to meet them both and ask them what happened? What was the problem? If only I had a time machine

So good folks, if you could go back in time to see one of your ancestors - who would it be and why?
Tell us who you would like to meet.
Get that time machine out
​

 

[juliejtp]

Hadn’t really given much thought to who I would like to meet. But with further thought it would have to be my grandads mother Elizabeth and her family . Theres no family jewels, money, they were just plain working class people, who I have grown fond of during the course of research.

 

[lizanne]

I have a few that I would like to meet .
One of my g grandmothers to ask who my grandmothers father was.
Also one set of my ggg grandparents to ask about their parents. I have their names from my gg grandfathers death cert but no further information on them.
That should help to bring down a few brick walls.

 

[patrickw]

What a good question and topic. After much consideration (ok, about 30 seconds) I think the answer has got to be ME. I'd like to go back and meet the fifteen year old me, to tell myself to talk to all the last surving members of my family that knew the family history first hand, esp my grandmother who died aged 100 and whose memories would be invaluable to my research today, and also to ensure that I kept the photos and documents that I know were lost over the relativly recent past.
I s'pos the moral to this, if there is one, is to be sure to tell our kids and grandkids what we are doing and what we have found to ensure that in future all research isnt done just with a modem and technology but also with memories, word of mouth and a real sense of conection. Or am I just going too far now,
all the best
Pat

 

[lizanne]

I know just what you mean Patrick.
I wish I'd paid more attention to the stories told by relatives when I was a child there must have been a wealth of information there , but only now years later when it's too late do you realise.

 

[admin]

Spot on there Patrickw

It must be the main thing when you start our family history research - alas as you rightly say, it may be too late!

A lesson to be learned

 

[joyceawood17]

If I could go back in time I would love to have met my grandfather, he had died when my mother was just 4 years old and with this we have no information on this family infor that makes it real hard to trace. But even more than me going back in time I really wish my mother could go back till before she or my grandmother died. My grandmother had another child in between her to marriages and had givin this child up for adoption. My mother and two of her brothers never even knew that they had another sister, my mother's other brother (Wood) died two weeks after meeting her, he was the end of the Wood children and they never knew that their mother had another child. Joyce

 

[lizanne]

I can understand where you are coming from Joyce.
My grandmother had a son before she married my grandfather he was given up for adoption at birth.
We got a letter in November of last year from a lady saying that she thought she was related to us. It turns out that this was the daughter of the son that my grandmother gave up for adoption.
Sadly he died in May last year so he never got the chance to meet his brothers and sisters, but my mum and her siblings now have another niece and two nephews .

 

[prefabkid]

That is easy,if I could go back in time I would love to meet my paternal grandmother.

I have researched many branches of my family,with one branch back to the 10th century.Unfortunately my grandmother died 10 years before I was born and both my father and grandfather died before I became interested in my family history and never asked them about her.

As a consequence I have only her year of birth,marriage and death.Her family details and where she came from remain a complete mystery and has become my most frustrating 'brickwall' for the past 3 years of research!

Just 5 minutes with her would answer all my questions!!

prefabkid

 

[sterico]

Hi all
I personally would like to meet my grandmothers on both sides of the family, the reason being that I would be able to get all the paperwork for the previous relatives on both sides of my family before they were destroyed by both my grandmothers. I know they had at least 5 generations worth of certificates in their possession up to their deaths which were then destroyed by some of my aunts and uncles who cleared their houses and thought it was just rubbish!
OH THE PAIN!!!!!!!
Regards StericoO0

 

[Hugo Donnachie]

Like most people, I would like to go back and meet my most remote ancestors in my paternal and maternal lines and ask what part of Ireland they came from and what they knew about their ancestors.

Oh, if only!

Hugo

 

[pejay]

Hi, yes I think I would like to meet my grandmothers, and their parents. that would break down a few brick walls! - Ireland & north east England. They would be able to answer all our questions

 

[lizanne]

I'm also stuck with Ireland on my tree and the North East of England on my OH's tree so perhaps we could share the same time machine.

 

[Elanter]

There's so many ancestors I would love to meet but one little lad sticks in my mind. He was one of my g x5 grandmother's sons. It looks as if she was widowed. He was living in the workhouse, alone at 12 and described as a pauper. His brothers were living at various addresses and it seems rather sad that no one could take him in.

I'd also like to go back to the Victorian East End of London and see how my grandad's family lived in Whitechapel and Mile End.

But I'd be quite happy just to go back 30/40 years and meet all my aunts and uncles again and enjoy one of our fantastic Christmas parties. I miss them all a great deal. Of course, I would ask them all the questions that I want answers to now.

 

[AthenaLou]

I would like to meet my ancestor, Olderthen Barham, find out where his name came from because it's bugging the life outta me! lol done some extensive research on the Barham's and what a big family! Cant seem to find a death entry for him or a birth entry.....I have his marriage cert tho

 

[joyceawood17]

This really makes you feel sad for the ones that never gotten to meet

 

[Tom]

My 6x great grandmother, Sarah Timms, formerly Alvey.


Sarah married when she was 20 and moved to live in the village her husband was from - leaving all her own family behind.


Sarah is at the top of a lot of my research and I have done masses of work on her children and their descendents, so it would be nice to see her because of that. I would also like to know what she was like as a person. She was widowed for about 17 years before she died. I could also ask her about her parents and sisters which are real mystery to me.

I would also like to ask Sarah's daughter if a mystery photo we have is her or not. The time scale would fit for it to be her so it could be.

 

[horrobin]

Hi

I would definatley like to go back to 1714 and meet my 7th greatgrandfather who became lord mayor of leicester. And see Leicester through his eyes. I know how you feel Sterico, back in the 1980's my soon to be stepmother threw all our memories away.

Regards Pat :kissu:

 

[benny1982]

I'd go back and see my 3xgreat grandfather Thomas Roberts and ask where his father was born. Also, I'd go and see my 4xgreat grandfather George Coombs and ask who his parents were and where he and his family came from.

Ben