Genealogy Chat

Although my dad came from a family of 10 children, and 6 of them were male, only one went onto have boys to pass the name down. Nothing has been heard of this Uncle or his family since the early 1950s. All my dads generation are now dead and the important questions were not asked when we could have got answers. I have contacted all the possible candidates on GR and Ancestry but none are related to me. Where do I go from here please??? Kathlyn

Dear Kathlyn Is it an unusual surname? Someone on GR once suggested contacting people in the phonebook with the same name, sending out letters with SAEs and seeing what response you get. Did your family stay in the same area? I suppose this would only work if you have an idea where your uncle lived. What about putting an ad in a local paper? Wishing you the best of luck. Maria

Hello Maria, I know who that uncle married and his childrens names and birth years two of them were male, so hopefully, the name goes on. In the 1950s they lived in the Canning Town area of East London but as with many families after that time, children spread their wings and moved further afield. I am not able to afford adverts but getting hold of a London phone book could well be a route to go down. Kathlyn

Dear Kathlyn Just had another thought - what about 192(.)com - if you input name and area it gives you a list of names and there's electoral roll info as well - someone on here must have a subscription to it?! Best wishes Maria

Hi Kathlyn, if you PM me the surname I'll run a search on the latest elec register. Include what area you want searched if it is a popular surname. Shirley-ann

The phone book is definitly a good way to go. I did a search and found only one person in the area with that name so I wrote them a letter. It was a long shot and I didn't expect much but it turned out to be the right person! Good luck!