Genealogy Chat

Janet Yes, I too remember being dragged off to visit other non-specified rellies and having to sit quietly while they gossiped. One time I remember, they pulled the bones out of one of their cronies who had been spotted out shopping - without a hat! Bold strap! The other thing which mortifies me, is when they finally died in the late 60s, my Dad and I had to clear their house. We PAID a man £10, I think it was, to take the lot - mahogany wardrobes, chaise-longues, pictures, ornaments, the lot. That house was purchased in 1845 and had had nothing much replaced since that time. Olde Crone

Hi Old Crone I remember being oh so bored when my Granny, who was from Skye, used to rhyme off all her family tree going back generations. It used to be a great tradition in the Highlands (don't know if it still is) for people to know their family history orally. If only she had written it all down, or I hadn't been a bored teenager and listened! Christine

I'm so lucky that my Dad at 87 remembers so much, not only our own history but all the neighbours,school chums, army mates, history of our district from settlement etc etc over his long life. He is a real people person and I've taped a lot of chats over the years. I only started organising paperwork this year, and my 14 yr old is dead bored with all the family stuff her Mum is collecting (and using her computer time for LOL) but one day it will all be hers (only child) so worth it. Dad's brain is worth bottling!! Best thing I did in my early 20's visiting England was get Great Uncle to write out his tree for me - I've confirmed it pretty much now back to 1794 ish. Also when my dau was born I got remaining Great Aunt to write her a letter about her childhood - now a lovely legacy. Heather in Australia

Oh but Adam Faith was lovely!! Some of the postings here resonate. I was always very interested in family history but didn't think to ask my Great Grandmother (born 1870) much about her family and she died when I was 17. Neither did I think to ask her son, my grandfather until it was too late. I left England in 1963 - and doing the family tree was no sinecure then. None of the things we rely on today was available. And no one could understand my interest either - my maternal grandmother thought me very odd! I think that growing up in a closeknit family and knowing all her relations made her unable to comprehend how it felt NOT to have that knowledge and the security that came with it. One night when her sister was visiting from London sometime in the '70s they named all the people living in their street (Harleton Street, formerly Harley Street, Battersea) on the night Mafaking was relieved (or it was known about in England anyway) and could not for the life of them understand why my mother found this funny! Victoria Canberra ACT

Your thread, My Lady Holden, has some poignancy for me also. For I have a very big 'if only'. I knew my father for 48 years, but not once in all that time did I bother to ask him anything about himself. When he died in 1999 I suddenly realized that I knew virtually nothing about him, and even less about his parents, grandparents etc. That's what started me on this road that is so familiar to all of us. With a lot of research, a lot of luck and a lot of help from so many fine people on here I have traced his lineage back to about 1770. But I know nothing of any of them, they are just names and dates on a bit of paper. To any of you with elderly relatives who are still alive, and who you have still not 'interviewed', I would say go out and get them now. For your opportunity can disappear in the blink of an eye, and you will always be kicking yourself with the words 'if only'.

.... and if only I had written down the stories that my Grandad used to tell me! I listened avidly, but didn't write them down!! He was born in 1880 and achieved his goal of reaching his 100th birthday. He joined the army in 1896 having given his age as 18, was stationed in Dorchester, and served in India. (Dorset Regiment: Primus in Indus.) Before then, he worked his way from Buckinghamshire to London, sleeping under hedges on the way. After the army, he was a policeman in the Met. Oh, the stories he used to tell!! :-) Joy

I used to visit my Great Aunts when I was younger and they always used to talk about family. Made a mental note of names, etc then when I got home wrote everything down. My trouble was in finding my notes after 20 odd years, found it eventually in my Mother's loft!!!!! Joy