Can I ... Should I?

rosy18

Registered User
Jul 23, 2016
1,281
0
Blackpool
Sounds interesting Sam. I've always fancied doing family tree. Two of my cousins, one on Dads side and one on Mums both started family trees then stopped but I could get their info so would have a bit of a start. Both Mum and Dad were from large families so I've plenty of cousins but really only see 3 of them and am in contact with only 6 just at Christmas time, shame really.
It sounds like fun to go meeting your long lost cousins:D
Seems very quiet now my old school friend has returned home to Devon yesterday along with her 2 dogs.We were working out how many years we had been friends then decided that wasn't a good idea just made us feel very old:(
Checked out the links @Sam Luvit ....new neighbour :D

Hope you and your other half have a lovely break @Slugsta

Weather here has been really lovely definately makes you feel better:):cool:
 

Sam Luvit

Registered User
Oct 19, 2016
6,083
0
East Sussex
Morning @rosy18

The sun is out, but it’s biting in the wind here. Pooch is hiding in his bed pretending it’s still night time :rolleyes: I feel like crawling back into bed myself :eek:

If you do fancy doing your tree, a word of warning ... it’s adictive & you find you sat down for half an hour ... but 4 or 5 have gone by :eek: It’s fun though, finding out about people & meeting new relatives. I found it’s a great way to ask those questions you might think could be awkward, as you preface them with “I’m researching the family tree ..”. People seem happy to spill the beans on family secrets :D Some stories are fun, some are terribly sad :(

You could start yourself off, ready for the plunge, by finding certificates for yourself, your parents & their siblings and write a list of addresses you & they lived at. Have a separate sheet of paper for each person & write notes as you think of things. Ask your cousins if they mind sharing copies of any certificates & put them in a folder ready. You’ll be surprised at how much information they have (or haven’t) & how long it takes to find a birth certificate that they “know they have”. Getvany cooies you can from them, they can be ordered but are not cheap when you are needing 10 or 20 :eek:

I wouId listen to stories mum & dad told me & make notes, we’d carry on chatting & I’d forget the details. Later on I’d read the notes & type them up & stick them in a folder. I’ve been looking at that folder this week. Apparently mum told me she had two younger siblings, both died young. I’d completely forgotten her telling me. Notes are invaluable when researching.

I’ll happily go through it with you when I get up north next time. Just remember my warning ... you can lose yourself in it :rolleyes: However, finding parts of the family I didn’t know about & planning on meeting them is fun :D
 

Bunpoots

Volunteer Host
Apr 1, 2016
7,342
0
Nottinghamshire
On the subject of family trees: my mum and her twin sister had their family traced back to the early 18th century and then got stuck. I’ve always intended to see if I can find out more but never got round to it.

I had a letter from Fraser & Fraser a few months back (Heir Hunters feature them on BBC) which has found a few more relatives I didn’t know about as well as a very small legacy. Might be interesting to do some more research as soon as I have some time to spare..

Might have to pick your brains @Sam Luvit
 

Sam Luvit

Registered User
Oct 19, 2016
6,083
0
East Sussex
Might have to pick your brains @Sam Luvit

More than happy to pass on what I (don’t) know @Bunpoots :D

There is so much more info out there now, access to records etc. I’m looking back up the tree, as I find it a good mystery, but then down those bits to find living relatives I’ve never met.

It does take a lot of time ... you think you’ll just take a peep & suddenly hours have gone by :eek:

The motto is “start with what you know”, that’s you, your parents & siblings & hopefully your grandparents. Check everything. Don’t believe it just because you were told. Get records. Birth certificates confirm addresses. Marriage certificates give you witnesses & grandfathers. Death certificates can help, but don’t have a lot in them.

Ancestry has a free access weekend till Monday (for Easter). They do them every now & then to try & get you to join up. If you use it on the free trial, make sure you copy all the records you find onto your computer, with notes of where you got them from ... so a birth certificate record, from BMD (Birth, Marriage, Death) with the reference (column, page number, line), so you can find it again

It’s addictive .... I have warned you :p
 

Sam Luvit

Registered User
Oct 19, 2016
6,083
0
East Sussex
Happy Easter everyone absolutely glorious here, let's hope it last :cool:

Happy Easter @rosy18 et al :D

Fantastic weather today & yesterday ... supposed to continue until Tuesday, when it’s going to rain :eek: I’ve weeded a bit, repotted rather a lot & passed on some plants to the lovely J :)

Tomorrow I’m going to try to take some cuttings from mums garden, to take with me when I leave. It’s been bitter sweet doing the garden, as mum used to come out & watch me, or we’d take a walk round in the evening & talk about how this flower or that shrub was coming along. ;) I kept thinking about her while I pulled the weeds & tidied the beds. o_O
 

Slugsta

Registered User
Aug 25, 2015
2,758
0
South coast of England
We had a lovely lunch yesterday. It is a good job we had booked a table as everywhere was packed - the combination of sunshine and a BHol might have something to do with that! After lunch son and OH found a bar that was showing the football, I came home for a rest. Son is going back to London today, OH and I are going to visit a friend in Salisbury hospital.
 

love.dad.but..

Registered User
Jan 16, 2014
4,962
0
Kent
Happy Easter @rosy18 et al :D

Fantastic weather today & yesterday ... supposed to continue until Tuesday, when it’s going to rain :eek: I’ve weeded a bit, repotted rather a lot & passed on some plants to the lovely J :)

Tomorrow I’m going to try to take some cuttings from mums garden, to take with me when I leave. It’s been bitter sweet doing the garden, as mum used to come out & watch me, or we’d take a walk round in the evening & talk about how this flower or that shrub was coming along. ;) I kept thinking about her while I pulled the weeds & tidied the beds. o_O
I managed to successfully move some of my mum's favourite honeysuckle which covered an arch, some traditional primroses which remind me of my childhood and parents' garden, 2 roses in pots that they liked by their back door, some raspberry and blackcurrant bushes...she had loads... and a young cherry tree mum had planted a few months before she died. A few other plants not so important didn't make it.All of which have survived 3 years on and remind me of mum, dad and their garden...especially the cherry tree that I moved with a very strong iron support pole tied with some cuttings of mum's tights...a well known gardening tip:D

Mum and dad both researched their family trees and because they knew little about even closest relatives and in those days children weren't told what was going on...and even when I was a child that happened...things are so different now which is a good thing. ....However...they copied all BMD certs for us and importantly as they wanted to pass on what they rememembered of parents, grandparents etc as they didn't have that from their parents they wrote notes on the back. Dad had so many stories which mum wanted him to put to paper which he had started but then dementia intervened. So often I think I wish I could just ask when trying to clarify some thoughts but the opportunity has now gone and only us 3 sisters remain..no other family to ask. So I too am writing down for my children what I remember being told or memories from my childhood...teenage...to getting married etc and encouraging OH to do the same.

I hope the good weather brings our prospective house buyers for you.
 

Sam Luvit

Registered User
Oct 19, 2016
6,083
0
East Sussex
I planted seeds & started researching kitchens & bathrooms as I think a “doer upper” will be my next choice of home. At least I can make it how I want it

The sun wasn’t as hot, but it was warm enough to be in shorts @Slugsta :D