Genealogy Chat

At least all our children and grandchildren will have something to go on should they decide they would like to know more about their family history!

I agree i was very lucky to have a grandmother from a large family and they were very close, it was fascinating talking to her about her childhood, my g-gran died when she was 93 and told me names of aunts, uncles and where they also lived. Yet on my other side of the family i only knew my g-grandmothers name and the city she was born that was my lot!!. Now i'm doing my tree it's very difficult as i have nobody to run things past my aunts etc only knew, it appears the same as me. Yet i have old brown and white photo's and black and white which have been treasured from my grans family and their tree goes back to 1500's. Two diffrent side's of my tree and two diffrent stories, so i'm having to do things the hard way but it would be alot easier if we all took more time out and asked, unfortunatly when i wanted more info than just a name all those years ago as a child i was told "No, leave it alone", needless to say i have'nt and won't till that side of the tree is matched etc. Sad really is'nt it ?

Heike , you make me laugh, a relly sent me a photo of a great Aunt all very posed and pretty looking(As I have no photo of her sister,my grandmother.) I made the comment that she looked nice and she replied that actually she wasn't a very nice woman at all! What we think we want to think and what actually is real are too different things. Happy Hunting! Kim

I gave my mother a "Grandparent history book" two years ago, which she has still not filled in!! She has told me the facts she can remember but seems reluctant to record the stories. I think she is afraid of making mistakes in the book. Having said that, I am now a grandparent and I haven't done one. You can get one from Past Times.

My mother was visiting me over the weekend and she talked a bit about our ancestors. It showed me that one somtimes has an idealized picture of those dear old ancestors one only knows from census records and birth certificates. I had pictures my great-great-grandmother as a shy tender person, probably because her first names - Lily May - sound like a shy tender person. Now my mother told me that Lily May was quite a mean old woman, very small, very thin, with small round glasses on her nose, always a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other and always yelling at everybody if they touched something in her precious house. Ah, the joys of finding out more about one's ancestors ;-) Regards, Heike

Hi all, I really wish my grandparents were still around . I have one grandad left. I'm going to grill him next week, can't wait as I know he has lots of certificates and photos. Searching for my roots has also made me realise how important photos, documents and odd little bits and pieces will be to the future generations of my family. I'm divorced from my eldest sons dad but have put my wedding photos away for my son. I found a photo of my great grandmother yesterday and I was thrilled! I also wish I'd asked my mum how she made bread pudding. Kerry

I feel so lucky that I still have both my Nans around - aged 91 and 94, both in pretty good health. Hopefully some of the genes that have kept them going so long have been passed down to me!

my mother threw out every photo, every item eg bibles....absolutely EVERYTHING, when her parents died. Even their antique furniture went to the tip !! So I am really starting from scratch. Luckily I found a relative in England who had a photo of my Great grandmother, & even some pictures of my Grandma & me !!!

Wish I had the option of asking them now. Hindsight is a wonderful thing isn't it. My father can barely remember his siblings birthdates (he's only in his 50s). And it's info on my mums father that is really causing the headache... it's like he just appeared out of a cloud of mist in 1943, got married.. had a couple of kids and disappeared back to where he came from :S my great aunt is full of conjecture about his character but it is unfortunately all unsubstantiable hearsay. I'm waiting on a marriage cert and hopefully it will shine light. maybe he really was 112 when he married my nanna. lol Liz

Hi Heike, cant imagine how much time you have saved having all that info.It all sounds so interesting.Thanks for your reply. Bernard in New zealand

Yes, I know what you mean, because I was very lucky with my grandparents. My one grandfather (whom I never met because he died before I was born) wrote a book about his life, also covering the family history somewhat back to 1848, so that was tremendously helpful. His sister also gave me lots of information and old photos. Recently I asked my other grandfather to write down his life story and he send me a 20-page manuscript which I'm now typing into my computer. It is very sad because he had a tough life, but there is so much information there! Best regards, Heike

It is a source of regret to me that my father's parents died before I could know them. And now I have found out more about them than I think my dad knew and he is dead as well so I can't tell him! nell

aaah didnt mean that lol. Just read my message and what i meant was its hard to trace irish roots from here in england. Very proud of m irish herititage oh well serves me right for trying to do a few things at once lol x

I know what you mean.I wish my grandparents were around but they all died when i was young. Fortunetly my father remembers a hell of a lot and he has parkinsons. I have sat with him for hours writing down all the names in our family. Unfortunetly they are all irish but i wouldnt have got very far without him xxx His sister died recently which brings it home to you xx clare

I dont want to teach old ladies to suck eggs BUT, how I wish I could have talked to my grandparents about their mums and dads!They are the special link for anyone starting to trace their ancestry.They[unfortunately] may not remember what happened yesterday but its amazing what they recall 50 years ago!!and they enjoy remembering. Once they are gone the job is 10 times harder.I have almost given up simply because I cant'' find''my GGF.Websites are great but grand parents come FIRST!!!