Family Tree

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 10:39

I'm thinking of tracing my family tree.



Has anyone done this and can you offer some guidelines as to where to start?

simbas



Joined: 16/07/2007
Posts: 5943

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 10:54

Hi No1 , i found it very difficult , according to the census and church records , there were no details of my parents or grandparents births , marriages or deaths that could be found , and i had all the right dates to start off with . So i gave up in the end . Hope you have better luck

Take care , Simbas

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 10:58

Pat. Did you attempt this on-line? Where is the best place to start?

The-Wicks


Joined: 27/05/2007
Posts: 2279

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 11:01

Bill - try Genes Reunited (internet). They do charge after a certain point of investigation but unfortunately I don't know how much. Like Simbas, I gave up after a while because I couldn't find out very much on my grandparents. My brother-in-law is currently in the process of tracing the Wickenden family tree; I'll see how he's getting on and if I can, I'll let you have some pointers. Good luck.

Kind regards

Jean

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 11:02

Thanks Jean, I'd appreciate that.

simbas



Joined: 16/07/2007
Posts: 5943

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 11:15

i went through Genes Reunited internet . Then tried Swansea census and church records in the parishes of their births , marriages and deaths , no luck whatsoever . Does this make me a non person do you think ?? if you do it online it comes up with a chart , names of parents grandparents ect plus dob plus marriage dates . in essence it is quite easy to follow , but i could,nt find anything out about my family.

Good luck anyway , Simbas

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 11:18

Certainly seems strange Pat.



Someone recommended I use this site to start with:



http://www.familyrecords.gov.uk/

britvic



Joined: 05/09/2008
Posts: 3039

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 11:23

You could always start here, I know a few people who have had success with this Geneoligy site, always fascinates me why people want to do this, and I have several friends who have successfully traced family, the way some peoples names have changed over the years is unbelievable!

http://landing.ancestry.co.uk/offers/uk/learn/trial.aspx?o_iid=9972&o_lid=9972



Do let us know how you get on, although these things take up a lot of your time, should you find you need birth/marriage certificates, they are public records and can easily be obtained, the last marriage certificate I got for a friend was £10, you only need to ring up the registrar in the area and ask if they have a record of such and such, they let you know there and then, you then send a cheque! Easy as that. If you need help let me know.

Steve1953



Joined: 04/12/2008
Posts: 298

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 11:30

Dear No1. Try BBC's website - "who do you think you are" TV series - links + book,cheers,Steve

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 11:43

Thanks Vicki and Steve. I'll certainly try all sources.

chick


Joined: 02/07/2008
Posts: 323

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 11:52

Hi No1



I traced my family tree on the census records on line and also went to London ,it is very time consuming and expensive. I had all my parents D.O.B and places of birth and marriage but like Simbas they wer'nt showing. You have to buy copies of relevant certificates. I went as far as my Great grandparents and gave up.



Best of luck.

hattikins


Joined: 17/02/2008
Posts: 2793

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 12:05

Hi,

The Mormon church has records of all births, marriages and deaths, not sure if you can access them online but well worth a try.

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 12:15

chick. Hope you won't mind me asking but approximately how much did it cost you to get to that stage?

britvic



Joined: 05/09/2008
Posts: 3039

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 12:25

I have found it really depends on your surname if you have a surname like 'Smith' of course it will take longer, very easy if you have an unusual surname, just google it in the first instance, sometimes another family member is doing the same thing.

Also the web site I have given you has a free trial, go on this when you have collated a lot of information.

chick


Joined: 02/07/2008
Posts: 323

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 12:35

Hi No1



Off the top of my head I cant remember now it was quite a lot, and it is very frustrating. I was fortunate to live in London at the time and I used to spend all day at the records office, but they have now moved to Kew I think.

The census on line is good I went back to 1881 this when the cost kicks in buying certificates to cross reference.

CarrieRBag



Joined: 23/12/2008
Posts: 1374

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 13:12

I have done some of my family tree and would be happy to help if you message me on carrirbag@hotmail.com putting Family Tree in the Subject line so I don't delete by mistake. Its fascinating to do your tree and I get a gret buzz from finding another family member. Anything I can do to help, just contact me. Thanks

Macha


Joined: 18/01/2009
Posts: 650

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 13:31

simbas: "there were no details of my parents or grandparents births , marriages or deaths that could be found"



I find this very strange...

simbas



Joined: 16/07/2007
Posts: 5943

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 13:42

Yeh , but very true , i tried one of the links given again this morning , again no joy . I put my maternal grandfathers name , age , place of birth -- nothing . He then moved and married into a locally born and bred family , tried to find a marriage in the church where they did indeed marry , no record , tried to find a recorded death entry , again nothing . I must be doing something wrong . I thought as long as i had the name and place of birth i would be well on my way ???

Regards , Simbas

britvic



Joined: 05/09/2008
Posts: 3039

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 14:31

This is what I did to find my birth mother, (short version) found out what town she was born in, (a really good surname helps) found everyone in that town who has the same surname via the electrol roll, sent EVERYONE with the surname (25 in all) a covering letter to contact me, within a week, found her. This works with ancestors too.

ianwfs


Joined: 08/01/2008
Posts: 563

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 14:47

Like all pieces of detective work, start from the known and work to the unknown.



The first thing to do is ask your oldest living relatives what they know. (NB memories can be fallable) Then look at yourself. According to your profille, your birth certificate will take you back to around 1947. This will give you your parents full names if you didn't already know it. In scotland, it will give you the date of their marriage. In the rest of the Uk you will need to work that out.



Their marriage certificate will give you the names of your grandparents, and their ages at the time. (NB people often lied, expecially if under age!). This will probably take you back to around 1920.



You're trying to get back to before 1911. the census records for most of the country have just been released, meaning you can get much more background information about your family. >>>>>>>more

ianwfs


Joined: 08/01/2008
Posts: 563

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 15:06

<<<< This will not only give you ages, but addresses, occupations etc.



It's a steady trall back to the 1835 from here. Before that date, though, you have to rely on local parish records, and it gets morre difficult.



The web sites mentioned are a good start. Ancestry.co.uk, has extensive records which you can access on a PAYG basis, or subscription. try their trial to see how you get on.



The records held by the Mormons is extensive. have a look at their site, http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp Be warned, though, a lot of their information is submitted by members of the church, and it's not always accurate.



There is much available online, some of it free, some subscription. I see you are in Kyrenia, so if you want to have a look at some web sites, and the results of my research, drop me an email. (I'm away for a couple of weeks)



Ian

Teresa


Joined: 21/11/2007
Posts: 1018

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 18:08

I am a memeber of Ancestry.com and although it is a bit expensive they have millions of records.

Our family tree goes back to 1550.

If you need anything checking on ancestry drop me an email at teresacefa1@hotmail.com and i will have a look for you.

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 18:11

There has been some positive responses on this thread. Thank you all very much indeed.

scoobydoo


Joined: 10/11/2008
Posts: 2434

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 20:25

I used http://www.findmypast.com which charge a variety of rates but I chose £65 for a year as I was tracing both sides of the family and thought it would work out cheaper. As previously mentioned, it is a good idea to talk to your nearest and dearest if only to get approx dates. Be warned it is very time consuming working your way through all the records but satisfying when you find someone. you can then get copies of various birth, death and marriage certificates online, there is a link on the find my past website. These vary between £7 to £15 approx So far I have got back to 1835, i know the next generation is going to be hard as fewer records were kept. Good luck

kenny



Joined: 26/05/2008
Posts: 405

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 20:46

I found a village in Italy called Turicchi, my surname !

got back as far as 1827 in Tuscany.

best way i found was to go there.

w26kay



Joined: 14/10/2007
Posts: 479

Message Posted:
23/02/2009 23:25

Simbas, you may be surprised at the snippets of info your elderly relatives can give to you, dates, locations and occupations etc., all this info is invaluable. Start from the earliest date and look at the next census for the area. I am sure you will come up with something.



No1 - Collectively as a family we have traced our family tree back to the 15th century. Different people doing different things. The actual manuscript version is 25 pages of A4 paper selotaped together, and still info coming in, with news clippings and special events being logged on from various sides of the family etc., One of the best ways we found was to research to see if there is anyone with the same name on Facebook. Of course this would only work if you have a really unnusual surname (as in my case), but it's worth a try.We also established a group on Facebook called "relatives of XXXX".It has quite a following with people adding more info,and invite from various sides of family to events.

Good Luck

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
24/02/2009 00:04

Kay, that's fascinating. Thank you.

w26kay



Joined: 14/10/2007
Posts: 479

Message Posted:
24/02/2009 00:17

No1.

Just before I go, I had two cousins three times removed at my Mum's birthday party last year (all because of Facebook and the group). We now try and outdo each other to see who can get the most "removed" relatives to their special day! All the pics etc., are recorded on our Facebook group page for everyone to see.



Have fun. You will meet a lot of new relatives who also become friends.



It's a long and uphill struggle over the last 15+ years but the end result is a legacy for future generations.x

DutchCrusader



Joined: 19/05/2008
Posts: 11280

Message Posted:
24/02/2009 11:18

Two other journalists and I, in the "Doeleman" family in Holland, worked on a tree and we could go back as far as the year 1302. It's rather easy in Holland to go back in time, because around 1800 Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte forced his brother, Dutch King Louis Bonaparte, to force the Dutchmen/women to choose a permanent surname. All the records are kept.



But there the problems started... We had to check Protestant and Roman Catholic churchbooks and finally our searching stopped in 1302.



Anyway, it's fascinating stuff. You'll meet all kind of ancestors - good and bad. And you'll read about your ancestors who sometimes had 20 or more children (sometimes the same first name came back 5 or more times in one family, because the children died so young!).



I wonder how difficult searching in England will be. Didn't King Henry VIII destroy many Roman Catholic churches (including their churchbooks), monasteries etc?

phylray



Joined: 21/09/2007
Posts: 1727

Message Posted:
24/02/2009 15:15

I always mean to do this as my older cousin has family tree on paternal

(Scots) side bac several generations. There is also a story handed down

about a baby left behind at a coaching inn by a lady (said to be Swedish)

whose husband was in the Napoleonic wars. Money was also left & the couple

at the inn adopted the baby & named him after the River Tweed, which is why

they name Tweedie is still in our family (as a Christian name) MacGarth was the surname.