Genealogy Chat

If your family is like mine and you are tracing your family tree you will find 1. An older living rellie who gives you "gospel" information about people you later find aren't related to you at all. Most of what they "remember" never happened, or if it did, it didn't happen where and when and to whom they said it did. 2. A family bible with lots of dates and names. They all prove correct apart from a really vital one in your bloodline. 3. Some of your ancestors have a really unusual surname. You think this will make them much easier to trace. It doesn't. 4. Some of your ancestors have a really common name. They come from a tiny village where at least 40% of the inhabitants have the same name, marry the samenamed wives and call their children the same names in the same birth order. 5. Some of your relatives completely disappear. They fail to be anywhere in a census year and apparently never died. If they are female they never marry or have children before they never die. 6. When trawling through records for a particular locality, you get very excited when you come across one of "your" names. Then you realise that that name is on the other side of your family tree and comes from a village hundreds of miles away. It's not "yours". 7. when you have a breakthrough and tell your husband and children, they give you that look that says "I think you're confusing us with people who are interested". 8. Yippee - you've found a site on the internet that lists all the marriages in the area you want. It stops the year before the one relevant to you. 9. Wow! Through Google you find someone searching for your family. When you check, its your message you posted a year ago. 10. Despite this, you still keep looking. 11. Oh, and at least half then men in your family are called William and the other half Thomas or John. Most of the women are Susan which they change to Susanna or Susannah whenever they feel like it. The others are called Eliza. Sound familiar to anyone? Or is that just my family?!

Hi Helen spot on .....do you think we might be related....lol Helen

Woooooooooowho ....................Helen we MUST be related you've just described my WHOLE ruddy family LOL!! It's just so frustrating ............... but sooooooooooooo addictive. Much happiness Debi

Hi Helen, That sounds just like mine. I have someone who is born, is nowhere to be found for 30 years and reappears again, in 1891 although in the meantime he has apparently married and fathered children who can be found. I have ggggrandparents who either never married or didn't marry each other. My gg grandfather apparently wasn't born and I also have my grandmothers alleged brother (who no-one knows about) who appears on one census and is never heard of again. He doesn't die either. Good isn't it....it certainly keeps you on your toes!! love Jenny xx

Oh Helen I can't relate to numbers 1 and 2 - but the rest - you have got it so right :-))) - especially numbers 4, 7 and 11. As my "private consultant" - we must be related - yoho what's in a name? Gaynor xx

HELEN LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL Wetting myself here laughing..... Are you talking about my family??????? :-))))))))))))))))))))))) Lisa xx

And there I thought it was just me who had relations that appear get married have 2 children then disappear, never born never die or if they are born never get married but produce children. I even have one the only place he appears is on his sons marriage certificate. My family are totally disinterested. but wouldn't our families soon be very interested if we found a connection to a multimillionair!!!lol

That was spot on and also when you tell friends about your family way back they look at you blankly and you say "Am I boring you?" But it`s the best hobby in the world especially for people who are nosy like me ! Rosalyn

Helen - And I thought it was just MY family - thanks for the laugh, spot-on!!

Think we must all be related on this site lol and i thought it was only my family that were magician's, dissappearing and reappearing when they felt like it....... as for my kid's and hubbie,(get a hobbie is the reply i get). shan

Helen, you are related to me too! My family don't tell me to get a hobby its "Get a Life!". Came back from HALs yesterday with photocopies of christenings and total lack of interest! Viv

Hi Helen Points 1, 4, 5, 6 & 7 describes my family tree exactly I have been told by older members of my family what certain people were like and been given details about incidents that happened whilst in their company. Then when I have checked records the people concerned had died before the others were born I have a Yorkshire family who through the ages all the male children had the same christian names in the same order and same for the females I have 8 people who go in and out of records first they are there and then they aren't I also have some who are complety untraceable although they appear on baptism certficates When to talk to my family about my findings they say Yes mum we know My husband wasn't interested until I found distant rellies of his in America Australia Canada and South Africa, these were all descendants of the Yorkshire family Bren

Hello again Helen My family just think I'm crazy. The raising of the eyes get me! The worse thing is when you have spent days looking at a certain family who you are convinced is yours and some bright spark gives you some more info, and you realise they don't belong to you at all. Still its better than watching the football! By the way the score is 0-0. regards Bored of Wales

Hi, the only difference in my family is that all the women are called Elizabeth and Mary. I have a great grandmother who was never born, but married, had 8 children and died. I have a photo of her, and my Dad is the spitting image of her - men in drag, Jean. Helen

Yes, this sounds like my family. People said to be born/lived in certain places and never were. Using the same christian names time and again on both sides. So it gets really confusing as to which person on which side I investigating. When I'm talking to the family they have a glazed look in their eyes. Disappearing relatives, my best one yet is a great, great grandfather who appears to have married and had children but wasn't born or died. Really struggling with that one.

Ha ha and I thought I was the only one who had done the bit about googling and finding it was your own message any way. Thing is I was even thicker and actually emailed myself about the info. Doh!!!!!!! Christine

ROTFL Helen, you got them spot on. 1 & 2 doesnt really apply but most of the others do.Especially not being able to find rellies who you knew started life somewhere but cannot seem to find them on a census at all. Jenny