Genealogy Chat

I have noticed that some of my surname interests are registered on the website. I am thinking of contacting the members. What sort of information would they be able to give me? Thanks, Lucia :-)

I contacted the Guild Of One Name Studies for my family tree and had a fantastic response. They gave me information on my family back to 1783, and I didn't realise how big my family actually was. Maybe I was just lucky, but it is definately worth a try. They helped me so much. Heidi

Hi Lucia, I think it all depends upon surname,I contacted one for Titterton which gave loads of info and gave me another 3 generations of family,but also contacted one for Mellor and haven't heard anything after 6 months. regards John

WOW. Thanks Everyone. Will give it a go. Lucia :-)

I am helping to gather information for a One name study, though I am not the person who has registered the name interest. Before they can register they have to have quite alot of background information ( see their web site) and I thought they had a certain obligation to reply to e mails or letters containing a s.a.e. I should contact again if you had no reply.

GOONS do have an obligation to reply, but you get occasional blips where they do not reply, in which case we are supposed to let somebody know if we do not get a reply. The people who operate Goons have their names in books and agree to help all that ask. Janet

Just to let you know the member has replied and has said he will check his records for me. Lucia :-)

Members of Guild of One Name Studies do not necessarily 'do' family trees or pedigrees, although of course some do, rather they seek out and research all occurrences of a particular surname world-wide. Some GOONS may be interested in the source of the particular surname they are researching and the history of how it spread geographically, some may be interested in collating all the information on family groups. All members of GOONS have an obligation to reply to enquirers, but the response you receive may depend on your enquiry. An enquiry on the lines of..... 'You do the one name study for Robinson. My name is Jim Robinson what is my family tree. ... may well result in a response that is terse, to the point and involves travel. An enquiry giving details of some of you own research and outlining any particular area of difficulty may well result in your brickwalls tumbling. dave One Name Study EATLY/EATLEY looking for EATLY/EATLY any time any place. :-)

Hi, I have looked on the website and cannot find the surname I am looking for on either the registered names or on-line records. Does that mean that they wont have any records for the name I am looking for. Nicky

Nichola There is a book published annually of GOONS surnames and no they are not all there, not even some of the more uncommon names but there is nothing to stop anyone starting a onename study on a surname if they so iwish but if they are not in the book then it will be difficult to pursue an enquiry. Most family history societies have a GOONS book in their library. Janet

Hi, I have only just come across this message. How can a person get in contact with someone as regards the surnames that they are researching. ? I have no idea where it is or how you go about it. Thanks for any help Victoria

Hi Victoria, Do a google search for 'GOONS'. Nicky

"Do a google search for 'GOONS'." Might be worth filtering out Milligan or Secombe to reduce the number of false matches! Martin

Hi, Thanks for letting me know about GOONS...I shall give it a try Victoria