Genealogy Chat

Go out and hunt...its a s simple as that- a no fear policy helps when tackling the unknown ...below is a very typical day for me....

blimey you dont do much do you ????

Nice One Valerie !!!!!!!!!!!! Dea Xxx

Stepmother has commissioned me to doing a family tree for her and her mother who is knocking on........... Its her birthday and I phone her to wish her well and tell her that Ive got her back to 1675 in 2 hours-she is astounded and then asks about her fathers line-all she has is her fathers name and a possible name and occupation for his father- ie John Haslam -methodist minister.....she tells me her father was born 1917..thats it-no handle onto the census as yet. 1) find his birth ref-found it AMJ 1917 Charles Haslam born Wigton.......stepmother didnt even know this ,his place of birth. 2) if his father was a minister and charles was only child very likely his father was a minister there. 3) Google Wigton Methodist Minister- nothing concrete on any names but find a website about the Church and its present incumbent. 4)Phone the present day minister-poor bloke was cooking his lunch-I give hima quick speel-he tells me that if anyone knows it will be this bloke-Rev Dr Eric right-phone no given. 5) Phone Dr Wright-he is the local historian-he knew the name straight away and says that in 10 days he is meeting up with the local historical bods and will find out what he can about him ancestry wise-told that weslyan ministers at thetime could only stay for 3 years....handed him my phone no. and email-jobs a goodun. TIP- dont faff about-just do it-they wont bite your head off.!!

cheeky mares

Tee hee ! Xxx

hehehehe

Ego I have been doing my tree for nearly 40 years, on and off. But I concentrated on my main line which has a brick wall circa 1859 with barbed wire and broken glass on it. I got obsessed with this and did hardly anything else for 30 years and got nowhere, really. Finally, in desperation and right royal fedupness I decided to try another branch. Didnt hold out much hope as I knew nothing at all about these people, except my GGMs name. In one week I got them back to 1480 on the IGI, all in the same tiny village. I ordered the PR and checked everything, found some mistakes and a lot of untranscribed stuff. In just over one month I found nearly 200 relatives! So, I agree - seize the nettle, don't get hung up on one line, never assume that anything is impossible - it isnt! The tiniest clue will sometimes unlock a huge door to the past and chance remarks or conversations often do the same. What have you got to lose - the only thing that can happen is that someone is terse or rude - so what? 9 times out of ten they are falling over themselves to help. As an elderly researcher said to me 'Its 50% luck and 50% LOOK' I agree - someone out there knows something and is dying to tell you! OC

Hubby and I spent years and years trying to track down a tree completed by my cousin. He began it in 1882 (aged 15) and was still alive and beavering away at it in 1958, when he wrote a letter to my grandfather checking up on any new additions to the tree. We knew we had to find this tree as the letter was one of the few personal things to come from my grandfather after granny took his material life to the jumble sale after his death! So......we began looking for the tree in about 1985. Every lead turned up a blank.......years went past......then we found the cousin had had a family (we thought he was a bachelor).....but he only had a daughter and they had a commonplace surname........more years passed........ Then in the millennium year, a breakthrough........we ended up with a name, address and phone number of a grandson. So, there we were, 10pm and hubby says, ''I'm going to phone him''!!!!!!!!!! ''What????'' I said.....''Noooooooooooo.....he might tell you to get lost'' But of course, hubby did (whilst I looked up the divorce solictors phone number).....and hooray.......he had the tree.....would we like to borrow it for a few months??!!!!! Ego, I just read your story to hubby and he said, ''Good on 'yer'' lol Merry

You know what-that poor rellie- in those decades of time he spent-you could probably do the same in a fraction of the time now-at least he had the satisfaction of doing all the primary source digging ....no online parish clerks for that fella lol.

Ego You may well be correct. But personally I object so very, very strongly to complete strangers ringing me up for whatever reason that I am simply not prepared to inflict the same anguish on anyone else. I would be quite happy to get a letter, however. Letters are less invasive of other people's privacy, and give you time to think about your reply (and to consider whether the initiator is being honest about their reasons for contacting you). Neither do letters disturb you in the middle of preparing your meal, bathing the children, caring for someone elderly, or sleeping - not everyone works day-shifts. This is a hobby, even an obsession, but it is not a matter of life and death. I think one should take other people's lives into consideration. Fine to phone once initial contact has been made by letter and you know the other person is interested or prepared to talk. But I would not even consider making intial contact by phone - even if it means that my tree does not progess so quickly. Tina

By the time we had tracked down my cousin's tree we had covered the same ground as he had, on the ¼ of his tree to whom I am related (about 500 people). His information included things no one could ever know from boring old census records etc (!!).......info about peoples characters.....what they looked like etc......he had corresponded with people who were old when he was young and they had told him about their grandparents.....that took us back a long way. Had a rather bizarre phone conversation the other day.......a woman asked if this is the home of my hubby.....I said yes and she asked if my name is Jane.....I said that is my middle name, so she started rambling about how we are distant cousins blah, blah......I asked her some names and as soon as she said them I realised she thought she was talking to hubby's first wife (Jane!). Luckly hubby has done ex's tree for his children, so there was me, chatting to some woman about her tree as if we had known one another for years.......she probably thought I was barmy! Merry

I was phoning a historian -that is his lifes work- his local subject-he was very pleased to talk about it-I am not advocating phoning up anybody -I was phoning him like I would phone any academic or specialist- the reverend was happy to talk too-he wasnt being just polite- after all what use is there in having a phone or advertising the church-it probably made their day a little bit more interesting and a change from discussing daily matters. In the past I have tried emailing a priest at a clonmel church -a direct relative had done decorative work there-not even an acknowledgement.I also tried to contact a local church about my davies family who were all born and baptised there-no reply-I wanted to know if they still kept the catholic records there-I eventually found them in the cheshire records office.In this day and age when the church in general is trying to reach out to its lost flock,any sort of enquiry as to the church would be welcomed ,especially with regards a person actually served the parish . and on the subject of life or death -the tree is really for my stepmother to give to her 86 year old mother who is ill and whos birthday is on august 15th.....

Ego is such a lovely boy, I could do with a bit of that boldness kiddo. Well done you.

I was not trying to have a go at anyone, just to put another point of view. People do value their privacy - otherwise why do so many of us on these boards go under assumed names? As for strange women ringing up, quoting my middle name to me and asking if that was me, I would never in a million years admit to it unless I was 100% certain of who I was speaking to. Maybe I am just a nasty, suspicious, embittered old witch - but not everyone out there is nice or truthful. And at least if they write to you, you have concrete evidence to present to the police (or the doctors when they come with the straight jacket to take you away!). Tina

I still laugh at your cat photos Tina-they are simply the best on the site by far .....

Thank you, Ego. Despite my protestations, there are times when I wish I had your courage. Tina

i never got the chance to ask you if you got them from somewhere or arrange some of them yourself-the one in the alley is superb,and as for the one with no fur- priceless.

Regretfully, I cannot claim credit for any of the photos. They have either been sent to me, or culled from various websites. The no-fur one was sent by an old friend from our pole dancing days.................. Sighs wistfully! Tina

Nope, I must admit it wouldn't bother me someone asking if they have got hold of the right person on the phone.....even if I did give the wrong reply!! lol (but I'm sure you are none of those things you suggested Tina!!!!) Merry