Genealogy Chat

Hi all, i just wanted to share this with everyone. I have just come back from a day in suffolk (i live in surrey). I have been saying that i must visit the villages in suffolk where my Storer ancestors came from for ages and today i finally went. I have walked down the aisle where my gt gt grandparents got married and found 2 graves in the church at fressingfield. I had found my 3x gt grandparents on the 1891 census living in a street in Dennington, not far from Fressingfield. The road is right opposite the church, so me and hubby went in for a look round, guessing that they were probably buried there, success!!!. We found the headstone, with all the names and inscriptions perfectly readable, and next to them was their daughter and son-in law.! I was so chuffed, i never thought that i would actually be able to see my link with the past. I have looked for more recent graves but with no luck so i didn't think there would be much chance of finding one from 1891! without a plot or grave no, i just sat there for a while taking it all in, I also went to the church in Saxtead where so many of my rellies were baptised. i feel so happy that i went. It was a long day but absolutely worth it. So the tip is, make the effort and trudge around, follow your instincts as you may well be rewarded thanks for reading yvette

Well done you!! And what a nice day you had for it.......I always seem to need wellies and a thick coat to go round a churchyard! Merry

Yvette, Thank you for sharing your day with us. So glad you got such joy and comfort from it - A long day - Yes! - but obviously a very worthwhile one!! Dea Xxx

hi all, thanks for reading my long post. just putting the piccies on the computer now!! Lots of gravestones lol. yvette

Hi I wish I could say the same for my trip to UK recently. Two trips to cemeteries. Adlington, Lancs I knew the plot no. etc and wouldn't you know it, NO headstone even though there are 3 people buried in there, got a pic of the grass patch! Preston on Stour, looking for any vague mention of the Garfield name and the older stones were so crumbled and worn they were unreadable. :-( Sylvia

well done yvette, glad you had such a rewarding day. i did something similar with my sister and we gound about 6 graves. some obviously not touched for years some had no headstones but we placed flowers on each one and said a little paryer for them and said hello to them. i know it sounds mad but it really did make us happy to find them and as if we were really part of that family . take care love linda xx

Very good .... :-) Would you like to add to my have you trod in their footsteps thread on gen ? Pat - I was in Woodbridge recently ... :-) Joy

Hi there I did this back in March at a couple of villages in Cambridgeshire. Most of the headstones were reduced to illegible slabs, but just as I was walking away from the graveyard, I took one last look back and found some family - three elderly spinsters all buried together - it was fabulous. Jeanne

As with trawling through census indexes, boxes of family photos, GRO indexes etc sometimes you hit the jackpot and sometimes you lose your pennies! I'm lucky in that many of my ancestors lived in or near London and home counties, where I live. In fact, I'd been to many places without knowing I had ancestors from there. I was most chuffed when I found the house where my gt grandfather was born is a gorgeous listed Georgian house - and next door to a pub where I used to go in my younger days! I have a photo of my gt grandparents' memorial stone (complete with wrong birthdate for gt grandfather!) which I took when I was on holiday aged 11 with my first camera. I also recently got an e-mail photo of a gt gt aunt's gravestone from a mutual descendant. On the other hand, husband and boys trailed after me as we looked for husband's gt grandmother in St Pancras cemetery - armed with grave number. We found the right section, but the place where grave should have been was just a patch of grass! nell

Morning everyone, thanks for all the replies it has been interesting reading about everyones experiences. I have had no luck at all with more recent graves from dates like 1959 as the stone has been removed by the cemetery officials, so it was just amazing to find one from so long ago. I wanted to put flowers on, but there was nowhere to buy any, but i did say my few words to them, it is mad i know, but i just feel the need to do that. I got some amazing photos and cant wait to share them and the info with other people on GR who are connected to my family yvette

Not mad at all, Yvette. I spoke to my family ... :-) Joy

Yvette I have spent most of this week trailing around cemetery's.. and I dont know what it is about them.. but you always feel so relaxed and not a care in the world..and your not bothered if anyone hears you talk to them.. I have seen a great Aunt and Uncle's grave this week..My great Grandmother's...and the best find this week was for my sister's husband's tree.. we have been stuck on an 1813 birth for a while.. have'nt been able to to take it back any further.. and by finding this headstone with around 7 names insribed on it... the dates start in 1843.. it was the missing link..and has jumped my late brother in law's tree back another 3 generation.. So yes I totally agree... Get Out there..and have a wander.. Mo

I would just add a tip folks - I am SO lucky to have returned to my Norfolk roots area having not even known it til I started this but anyway, due to one slut in the family of ag labs she had enough money to buy headstones for her parents and several of her siblings and herself in the local churchyard. The earliest is 1825. I go quite often and have laid flowers on my GGPx5 graves BUT THICKO OR WHAT - it was only on the last occasion a couple of weeks back that as I walked away I looked at the graves surrounding my lot and WHY didnt I notice before???? But the names were married ins! There they were, in laws of my lot and married girls of my lot with their married names etc. and I had never even given them a thought before. So if you are going to look at direct ancestors graveyards, do check out those around them for the surnames and likely as not they will be related to you as well.

Pat, Woodbridge is still pretty! If you go to the following site, you can look at photos of it even separate roads! Look on left hand side for the roads etc. http://woodbridgesuffolk.info/Woodbridge/Phot/index.html

When I visited Enland in 1997 I went to the Dilhorne graveyard in Staffs. and found the grave of my 3xgt grandparents (plus his 2nd wife and some children). I photographed it but also copied the wording in case it did not show up too well in the photo. Luckily it did but a relative has also photographed it and the wording is not legible. Unfortunately when I visited I did not realise that his brother was also a 3xgt grandfather. I think I saw his grave but ignored it. However the relative has sent a photo of his headstone with legible writing. I would have liked to have spent longer there but it was starting to rain.

Glad you had a lovely day, Yvette. There is nothing that compares with visiting the places where you ancestors lived, maybe seeing their houses and finding their last resting place. I was so thrilled when I found my first gravestone, especially when it dated from 1834!!! This is the really enjoyable part of family research, and brings it all to life. Like you, I was so pleased to be able to go into the tiny church in Hampshire where my ancestors worshipped, and to be able to write in the visitors book 'my great grandmother was baptised in this font in 1865'.