Family tree

I have been researching on and off for 10 years. I have done my father's side of the family, going right back to the 18th century, but as my mother is Italian, I haven't been able to do hers (though I believe there may be records I could access if I chose to subscribe to a worldwide website). It's very addictive; I have researched at least 6 or 7 other families for my friends. Some of the things you find are really interesting - one of my friend's Victorian relatives buried 2 husbands, both died of poisoning! Not that she actually murdered them, she was a herbalist and (from memory?) I think one died of lead poisoning and the other from some herbal concoction that was tainted!

I have been doing my family tree on and off for a few years. I can't find anything about my mother's grandparents who were Swedish as my grandfather was a 'black sheep' who changed his name. Then to compound it he disappeared at the beginning of WW2 only for my grandmother to be informed of his death in America in 1944. I've gone back to the 1500s on my my mum's English side and almost as far with my dad, it's a time consuming fascinating passtime.

Pastime!!!

I've found some fascinating photos of my close family on Flickr from a branch that emigrated to Canada. They were obviously sent these from England over the years.

nananet01. It does depend on where you live and where your recent ancestors lived. Different sites have their main customer base in different countries. It also depends on what you want to know.
I had my DNA done on 23 and me as I was interested in my health. It told me that I had neither the Alzheimer’s gene nor the breast cancer gene both of which was extremely reassuring. As an aside I was presented with a huge list of “cousins” who had registered with the site. That got me interested in tracing my family tree.
You don’t have to join a site and to begin with I used free sites. Eventually I chose Ancestry but it is appallingly bad with Scottish records so I think I made a mistake there.

My son and I have been tracing our tree on my paternal grandfathers side. Got back to 1630 when two brothers emigrated one to Barbados and the other to Jamaica and had sugar plantations. We were upset to learn they were slave owners and profited after abolition when the slaves got nothing. My forename appears through every century.

I have been researching my family tree for 10 years, mainly using Ancestry as its records are very comprehensive. It is expensive but probably no more than other hobbies. Lots of good advice has been given here on Gransnet. If you make your tree public you will get a lot of useful links from others, but do not rely on their trees, they are often wrong. Living people can only be seen by you and those to whom you give permission. I have found local newspapers of the time useful for additional and often colourful information. I think some of my ancestors may be turning in their graves at what can be discovered about them on line. I’m researching for my children as when I’m gone, so will the knowledge I hold about our family, but they can read all about it on Ancestry as if you close your account your tree remains on the site and you can still see it. They aren’t all that interested at the moment but they maybe later in life they will be. Doing your DNA will open many doors and put you in touch with cousins you never knew you had but you can ignore them if you wish. It’s a fascinating hobby and one you can do from the comfort of your home but you can still augment your research with trips to graveyards and churches if you wish.

Hi Hejira , thanks for that link , I found it interesting as I started my family tree a few months ago and came up against a lot of brick walls as my family are Irish so it makes sense to me now .

I signed up to Ancestry, but found it a bit difficult, because on my fathers side the eldest sons were all named John Sutcliffe, going back hundreds of years and on my mothers side, my Grandmother married her cousin. I found it quite confusing and gave up but I would like to have another go!

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Bijou those were the social norms of the day, no need to feel that it is any reflection on you. Why not plan a trip to the Caribbean to see where your ancestors lived?

Familytreeforum is a great free help website where you can post any queries or ask others to look things up if you cannot, especially on other genealogy pay websites. The people on it are very friendly and will help smash your ‘brick walls’ when you get stuck.

Ancestry dna tracked down my first husband’s family via dna. He knew very little about his father because of illegitimacy.

My DD found her half uncles and their families. She wrote and explained the situation. Family photos were exchanged and I was lucky enough to visit them with my daughter before COVID-19. One uncle was so like my ex in his mannerisms and face. It’s very addictive

I haven’t done any during lockdown as I’ve been helping looking after GCs.

fuseta

I signed up to Ancestry, but found it a bit difficult, because on my fathers side the eldest sons were all named John Sutcliffe, going back hundreds of years and on my mothers side, my Grandmother married her cousin. I found it quite confusing and gave up but I would like to have another go!

You will find in most families the son always had the same name as the father down the generations. I then add their year of birth to their name, so John Smith 1838 is the father of John Smith 1864 for instance. It helps.

Don't give up! Research a family with a more unusual name first, which should be easier, and save the more difficult ones for later when you are more experienced. Every problem you solve adds to your knowledge and helps you next time.

Collect the census returns and study them because they give you a timeline for the family and also the names of siblings which can be important. The lives of family members are often interwoven with each other. Your filing system is critical! Name everything carefully i.e. '1881 Census John Smith' comes before '1891 Census John Smith'. I always name my documents with the year first then everything sits in the right time order.

As others have said don’t take what ever you see in others trees on Ancestry, as a lot of the time it’s nonsense.
I have been researching my family tree for 40 years and it still annoys me to see people copying my ancestors from other trees all who are incorrect.
Years ago I found a tree on Ancestry saying my gt grandfather’s uncle was his father etc.
I contacted this person and sent him the correct details as I had all the proper evidence to prove it BC,MC.DC etc.
He contacted me back and it turned out his wife was the granddaughter of my Gt Uncle.
We are both gt grandchildren of the same ancestor.
We were both thrilled and have met up on many occasions and collaborated on our trees.
So if you see someone has got the wrong information contact them,you could find they had just made a mistake and you end up with delightful extra relatives.
But also you might just come up against an idiot who has just put you ancestors on his tree without any evidence at all.
When things get back to normal it’s worth going to the local records office for where you folk lived,they have the original documents which are worth seeing if allowed.
Not everything on Ancestry or Find my Past have been correctly transcribed.The original documents are they only ones you can believe and put in your tree.
The Family History society’s in the areas where your people lived will have loads of information and people are very helpful and kind in these societies.
To the lady who was worried about others seeing her information,the answer is don’t put your tree on Ancestry
you don’t need to it’s your family if you are researching for your own pleasure and for your own family there is no need.
I haven’t put my own family on Ancestry because I saw early on that people stole info then they meddled with it.
Good luck it’s a great hobby.

Ah thank you Sugarpufffairy I have just signed up to that and found it quite useful

Hi Shandy57, I started doing my family tree about 15 years ago and found some of my grandmother's siblings had been born in India in the mid 1800's, which was something I never ever knew. Her father was in the Army so I guess that accounts for it. Good Luck.

Hi Madwoman11. I see you have signed up for Scotland’s people. (Free for those who are thinking of researching Scottish records). May I suggest you always use the “search option” drop down menus next to names and put it onto “fuzzy options”. So many searches fail when you try to find the exact name. Fuzzy options will pick up more potential matches. Using wildcards is helpful if you know how to use them. Easy to read up on.
I did a free Strathclyde University course online which was a great help. You sign up on the site Future Learn.
You can PM me if you have a specific question.

I have spent years researching my family history and I have spent hours wishing I had asked a lot more questions when those family members were alive. Apart from the well-known websites, you can strike lucky with an individual who has complied lots of information on a small site of their own. One of my Great-Uncles' piloted Avro Lancaster bombers. One evening a few of them were waiting to take off from Lincolnshire for a bombing raid on Munchen. My Great-Uncle's plane crashed 3 minutes after take off. 5 of the 7 crew were killed but my GU and another crew member survived. I found a site dedicated to Bomber Command and found the typed report on my GU's crash from the pilot in the following bomber. The big sites are good but smaller ones put some meat on the bones.

Its great fun.
I am wondering where my mothers airs and graces came from - her ancestors seem to have been labourers and coal miners.

I haven't read further down the thread than your first comment, but recommend that you should join FIBIS Families in British India Society. They have an immense amount of information, it's not expensive and they are incredibly helpful and always friendly.

My paternal grandfather was a “son of the manse”......or so I was led to believe.
In reality my dad was last of a whole line of plumbers.?

Esspee
Hi I have just gone on Scotland’s People and it’s asking me to pay for credits.
I thought you said it was free [I was researching my Scottish ancestors],but it’s not I initially thought it was a different site from the one I had used a long time ago but couldn’t afford the fees,but it’s the same one.
I am confused are you referring to a different site with a similar name.
I would happily pay for a years subscription but they way they do it’s just too much as in the past my credits have run out before I could use them up.

Not everything on Ancestry or Find my Past have been correctly transcribed. The original documents are the only ones you can believe and put in your tree.
Very true, but I'm finding lots of the original parish records are now online for marriages and burials which is fantastic as it saves you buying the certificate. Birth certificates still have to be purchased but are only £7 now by PDF instead of by post.
By the way, if you're researching Welsh ancestors go through Find My Past. Lots of original records on there. Ancestry doesn't seem to think Welsh records are important.

I started in 1996, just after my parents died. As with lots of us, we start just after we have lost the very people who could have answered lots of our questions. The advice I was given was, 'just be very nosey'. I guess that is me! I have used software but prefer paper so I type it all out and file it, also saved to computer.
I am currently trying to identify a child in a photo sent to me by a distant cousin in Australia. She has been told this girl is on our side of the family and I have found a cousin of my mother's who married into a family with the same surname so I feel as if I am nearly there but she is very elusive. We know the name of the child but no dates and the dress she is wearing could put her in 1930s, 40s, 50s or even 60s so no help from censuses and I can't find her on the birth register index. I really enjoy the time (lots of it) I spend on family history. I just hope future generations will hang on to all my information.

Thanks Chesnut, my mother's side was Welsh.