Family tree

I’ve been doing it for years and have a cupboard full of files of research. Lot of it is probably irrelevant though but don’t want to throw it away just in case.

I have been doing mine and DH's for over 50 years ever since we discovered a church with several graves with my maiden name (turned out they were g.g.grandparents.). It is a hobby which can be left for years then picked up again. There is always something new to discover.
I would recommend Ancestry out of all the sites. You can keep it private if you want to. We also both did our DNA through them which has come up with several useful links including a recent one with a photograph of my paternal grandfather and a photo of dates in a Family Bible.
My DD has been on at me for ages to get all my files documented but I never had the time. Since lockdown I have written two books, one on DH paternal family and the other on my paternal family including information from old newspapers, wills etc. and now on my third of my paternal grandmother's family. It is amazing how much information is now available on the Internet to use as illustrations. I used Blurb which can produce some very professional looking books.
Just two warnings - it is very addictive and get as much information from older generations while they are still with you.

Thank you Septimia

My OH found his grandmother's family after a DNA test before that she was just a name on his father's birth certificate, having died soon after the birth and never spoken of again.

Has anyone done the Ancestry DNA test? I bought one as there was an offer on but it's still sitting in the drawer. Who gets to see the results of this. I'm a member of Ancestry but does this mean that everyone will be able to see this too? My aunt did this once and was contacted by a stranger from America. My friend's son was contacted by a previously unknown half sister at his father's funeral (also in America!) That was interesting! So really, should I leave the test in the drawer or will I find out something interesting about my family?

Madwoman11 - One of the good Scottish websites is Scotland's People. I dont know the costs.
PP have mentioned things that they were not aware of from their family history. I was the opposite. I had memories of a very distinct house but no-one else could remember it. I had memories of another house with an unusual feature. By this time my parents had died and I could not ask them. I did ask one of my parents for information about my great grandparents house as I could not remember things about that house. I would have been about 7 when I was last in that house.
Eventually I remembered the details of the house with the unusual feature and who owned it and where it was.
It was only last year that I found out about the very distintive house. A distant relative asked for information on a local site for the area my ancestors lived in. I mentioned about this distictive house and it turned out to be his grandparent's house. He then sent me photos of the house. It was amazing to make all the pieces fit together

You don't have to share your Ancestry research with anyone if you don't want to. I opted not to, except for those people I invited.

Am I right in thinking that if I join Ancestry that my success will be shared with other family doing the same family tree. I ask because I know my brother was interested, but we haven't spoken for 20 years, but I got an email from Ancestry asking if I wanted to wish him happy birthday and presume he had the same.
Some of the things I'm finding out I really wouldn't want to share even with family.

I knew quite a lot when I started out thanks to research done by my dad's cousin - who had to do it the hard way by going to the churches and record offices. I've filled in lots of gaps and discovered things that I know I would never have been told!!

I like Ancestry but often supplement the information using Scotland's People and Find Your Past etc. I also like looking up the places where my ancestors lived - especially using online maps - and have been able to get photos of some of them.

May I ask Esspee what have you signed up to to research your family tree. I ask because my ancestors are Scottish.

My maiden name wasn’t very common in the North of England and years ago a man contacted me through Friends Reunited to say that his wife had the same name and he was doing a family tree. It appeared we shared a set of great great grandparents. I supplied him with as much information as I could and eventually he sent me the finished tree in a huge roll. I was interested in how often names were repeated down the generations including names that my sister and I had given our own children without knowing our ancestor’s names. I then started to research my mother’s side and sadly came to a complete blank since all of her aunts, uncles and cousins had passed away. Sadly I’ve got no further with that line. It’s so interesting delving into the past.

I have been researching my genealogy for over 35 years, and now that I have more time (especially in lock down whilst it is raining outdoors) am now focussed on turning that knowledge into family history. I have written a book on the lives of my maternal grandparents and am now starting to dig deeper into the lives of my paternal grandparents.

May I recommend that those interested in learning more have the DNA of their oldest family members tested. This will be a huge help in your research.

Please always remember the need for discretion and gentleness when talking to older family members in case you stir up those skeletons hidden in the wardrobe.

A relative of mine sent me a copy of my supposed 'ancestry'. I was devastated by the inaccuracies. I read about myself that at the age of fifteen I was 'on the streets'. There was much speculation most of which was awful to read. Once printed and distributed there was no opportunity to 'right' the 'wrongs'.

I also discovered family that had been in India which I didn't know about. It was my mum's great grandfather and I don't think she knew. I'm sad she's no longer here to tell. I'm also frustrated when I realise I should have asked questions when the people who could have answered them were still alive.

Which website would you recommend?

I am on Ancestry and I love it. Various other family branches have done it too. I also took the DNA test before Christmas and I am looking forward to the results. Ancestry has really moved on and now it gives you potential family members.

I've done this on and off for a few years....I've found it fascinating.
I've discovered on the paternal side of my family German and Italian ancestors.
Interesting in these days of Brexit!

i have been researching my family tree for over 10 years, when i first started it was exciting to find so many discoveries about my family history. i have used free trials for most sites and since lockdown have been using access to findmypast and ancestry via my library. i wish i had asked loads of questions when my dad and nan were alive but luckily sometimes a forgotten conversation comes to mind and sparks another round of searches. occasionally i do hit a brick wall such as trying to find my maternal grandads first wife and i only knew he had been married before because it stated widower on the marriage certificate when he wed my nan and unfortunately he has a common surname.

I have been researching on and off for years. Sometimes the big websites have free weekends which is useful as they often gave different records. You can also find some parish records online for free. I found an ancestor by chance on on Devon website, I hadn't found him on any of the big websites. Its never quite as easy as it looks on the TV programmes but fun nonetheless. Good luck.

Hejira

baubles. Sadly a lot of Irish records were lost or destroyed. You have probably seen this:

www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Ireland_Record_Loss

Thanks Hejira, I was aware of why there are so few records, it’s just frustrating.

My daughter does a lot of research and she is absolutely into it now. It started with her wish to colorize several old pictures just out of curiosity and then she ended up creating a family tree and looking for the information everywhere. I help her with the iformation I got and remember, but there isn't much anyway, so we both work on it now.
SisterAct we used www.family-tree.co.uk/, they have articles about building a family tree, restoring old photos, finding your family members, i.e. practically everything for the beginner.

You can become completely immersed in family history because everything you find raises another question. I started with one birth certificate and now have 12 lever arch files and over 7,000 files on my computer (I save all the census returns as well as pictures and certificates).
The key is to leave no stone unturned and to examine documents very, very carefully as there will be more clues there than you first think.

I have been researching for years and have transcribe. My elder granddaughter was thrilled to know she had the same name as a g g g g g grandmother ,who Married a man of the same name as my granddaughters partner , we didn’t know this when she was named.

baubles. Sadly a lot of Irish records were lost or destroyed. You have probably seen this:

www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Ireland_Record_Loss

Could anyone recommend where I can get my family tree typed up professionally? Thanks