Who Do you think You Are?

Yes, love that program. We are very much into family research. It is fascinating. Actually there is quite a lot on to watch tonight, so will need to start recording some. Love the Jo Frost Extreme Parenting that is on tonight too.

The programme about June Brown's ancestry was riveting, meticulously researched. A lot of family history is just dates of birth, baptism, etc but this was fleshed out with so much social history. My only gripe ... why did we have to see so many close-ups of June's hand clutching a cigarette?

I loved last nights programme, esp when June went to the grave of her great,great,great...... with the sunflower, I though that was really touching.

Tonight JK Rowling will be tracing her ancestry. Should be very interesting.

Darn, I missed it. Tell us about it!

Last nights was about Seb Coe, really interesting, if you get a chance to see it again, do.
Has anybody been watching Heir Hunters on BBC1 at 9.15 a.m. I have my recorder to tape the series as I am finding it difficult to watch the tele at that time of day, always something else to do. I find it so sad that so many people don't make a will, but it it is fascinating the lives that people lead and the reasons they lose touch with their families. Also you can get tips on how to trace your family tree, back to your grandparents and great uncles and aunts, cousins etc. and, you never know, you might get a knock on the door one day from the companies that do probate research!!

I started to watch it but fell asleep and missed the ending - quite a common occurence these days I fear.

I've found the first 3 in the series very interesting. Some that are coming up I don't even recognise the subjects so won't be watching all of them.

As a family we have researched back a little way with our family and have found interesing things. I laugh at my grans address at birth (on fathers side) and get teased alot about it. It is The Beach, Lowestoft. I've visions of the happening being in an upturned boat as in David Copperfield.

Strange how the subject has to jet off to the other side of the world to seek out their ancestor, nobody just drives to the next town. I think it is a good ruse to get a production team a nice trip to somewhere warm.

If the family tree is too boring, they don't make the programme. Wasn't it Michael Parkinson who was miffed when he was told there was nothing interesting in his ancestry? So no show about Parkie, sadly.

Sat down, after lunch.... big mistake....to watch Seb Coe's search on catch-up. Kept dropping off but managed to watch most of it.
Another one next week, yippee!
I'd heard that about Parkie, also that there are many celebs hoping to be chosen but many are rejected for the same reason!

I discovered that our library has free access to ancestry.com. Saves spending a lot of money to register with the site.We also have a member of the Essex archive office at the library twice a week, to help with research.One of my problems on my mother's side is the fact that she comes from south wales and her maiden name was jones!!I'm getting there though.

There is sometimes a bit of friction in our household as DH comes from a family like Parkies, living in the same area and being shopkeepers, farmers and postmen for generations the family names occur in parish records going back to the 17 century, while I am half Irish on both sides and two generations of the family were professional soldiers so as well as having family members born in distant places and all round Britain, the Irish side lived in poverty in London for several generations and the women, as well as men, worked in a variety of different manual jobs while the men were dockers. One of my grandfather's moved from dock work to become a private detective. Others joined the army.

DH cannot understand that coming from a footloose family, which I cannot trace back much before the mid 19th century and have not really 'belonged' anywhere for 150 years I find the idea of coming from a family who have always lived in the same area and can be traced back there at least 400 years is, to me, just as exciting as my superficially more 'exciting' background

Well girls, I hope you all enjoyed tonight's prog as much as I did. Larry Lamb was so enthusiastic. I do wonder how much time it takes those beavering away off-screen to research the 'connections', though.

I thought it was fascinating. Very different. His uncle looked more like a brother - couldn't believe he was in his 70s. What a story! - both exciting and very poignant.

It does amuse me when the person arrives to meet a relative or researcher supposedly unexpectedly and lo! all the necessary paperwork is either to hand or easily accessible on the PC

goldengirl ...I so agree with your last comment ...that meeting with his uncle was so false ...it spoilt for me, what had been a fascinating sequence of research ...so many twists and turns.
Yes Oldgreymare ...there was a lot of off-screen research in this one.
I did wonder why, there was no acknowledgment of never searching for/finding a death certificate for his grandfather ...because it can be hard to die without any paper work ...or were we to assume he died on active service??

I really enjoyed Larry Lamb's episode too. It was so unusual on both sides of his family, but the fairground history was especially interesting.

I have been having a discussion with a friend and she doesn't watch WDYTYA because of them being celebrities. She would rather follow the family tree of an ordinary person who can trace their family back to the middle ages say, or someone who is royalty or famous in some way. What do you all think of this idea?

They could start with me I suppose. I can trace my family back to Sir William Marshal, b:1146, Earl of Pembroke called 'The Greatest Knight', via the internet, but I would love to prove all the connections.

I suppose I will have to wait until I retire and then move in with my daughter in London for a few weeks and do it at the National Archives or the GRO. Oh, well, only 2 years to go.

I started researching my family about 15 years ago. No internet help for me then - I heaved enormous books from shelves to find birth, deaths and marriage certificates. I only uncovered poverty and hardship. A baby born in a workhouse, endless childhood deaths and a great-grandfather who 'shot himself in the brain whilst in an alcoholic mania.' I found his wife's grave (my great grandmother) and felt really connected to her - no material riches but yet I felt I knew and, if it's not too strong a word, even loved these ancestors.

Another good site is the commonwealth war graves. My grandfather was killed 27/09/1918 and has no known grave. I found, on this site, where his name appears on a memorial in France and was able to visit it. I was also able to print off a scroll which gives all his details.

I wish I knew who I was! The Adoption Act does not recognise descendants as birth relatives and therefore the law prevents me from finding out my paternal biological heritage because my father died without telling his family that he was adopted and he did not ask to see his birth records when he was alive. Unless I can get the law changed I will never know who my biologial grandmother was. My tree lists severely to one side.
In the meantime, I find my husband's family extremely interesting and he does not mind sharing his family with me.