Genealogy Chat

Firstly i would like to thank you all who replied to my message, it was very much appreciated. My research into my family tree is hindered a little as i live in germany, but my father is helping me to collate the information i need, by speaking to other members of our family. I did find the marriage certificate of my great grandfather, so i was quite chuffed. Anyway enough waffle, thanks again. Kim.

Kim I agree with Hazel as to where to start. Go and visit as many older relatives as possible. Ask them for their parents names and approx. dates of birth (maiden names are always helpful) siblings names and DOB. Can they remember grandparents details, occupations, etc. This information is all free and most people enjoy being reminded of their childhood. Also they will be interested in things you find out and this jogs their memories even more. My 92 year old Nan could remember an uncle & aunt who went to live in Canada. She recalled the uncle joined the Canadian army in WW1. You can imagine how pleased she was when I managed to get a copy of the papers he completed to join the regiment, available on the net for free! Once you are pretty sure of details 1901 and earlier you can access the info on the net as per the above replies. People on this site are always willing to give you a hand, either with advice or doing lookups, so don't be frightened to ask.

Kim, Welcome to the Club!! My 2pennyworth of advice (and I don't wish to seem full of doom and gloom)is to 'interview' (for want of a better word) all your relatives whilst they are still around. As I am cracking on a bit and an only child, there aren't many around to ask. How I wish I had asked my Gran so much more about her childhood; the same goes for my Mum (who now suffers from dementia). Get them all talking, showing photos and newspaper cuttings etc. Find as much info as you can from the 'living'. You can then refer to web-sites etc. once you have something to work on. Good luck Hazel

Hi Kim, Hows it going. Sally

Hi Kim I would start by enetering you known family on your tree here. Put as much detail as you possibly can. Oncer you have the starting point of your tree, I would suggest taking a look at the links page here on the left. Take a bit of time to investigate the various links and see what they may be able to offer you. The obvious sites are the Latter Day saints family search site(aka the LDS), which includes the 1881 census with free access, they also have the Interational Genealogical index (aka the IGI) which has alot of parish records and history details entered by their members- you will need to verify this data by other sourses such as census or certificates etc... The 1901 census is also available online but you have to pay to view individual records, although their are tools such as the 1901 decoder which can help you reduce the amount you need to pay out. 1837 online offers a complete record of all births deaths & marriages since 1837- when records commenced- to enable you to ibtain the references to apply for certificates. freebmd is a version of the above that is being transcribed by volunteers and is free, however the project is incomplete, so you may not find everything you need straight away, but the site is updated about once a month. There are also family record centers in most towns run by the Latter Day saints - these are usually excellent and the staff very helpful. There are parish records -ususally held by churches from present to 1900, records pre 1900 are ususally held by the county records office (access is often sited at your local main library) the main piece of advice I would give would be to take the time to read the help taext on all of these sites, as this can save you alot of wasted time (and money in some cases!) and enable you to utilise their systems fully to maximum effect. Finally don't forget us here! I have found that the people here are fantastically helpful and supportive, and whilst we can't guarantee a correct answer to a question, we will always try to help. Good luck with your searching , and shout out if you get stuck! Best regards Maxine

Hi Kim, we've not been doing this long either. If you tell me who you are looking for I will see if I can help. Best to start by looking on the 1901 census, if you go into links on the left of this page the address is there. Have just done a quick look for you, there are about 150 male Smy's listed in 1901. You need to narrow it down. Sally

Hi, well i never realised how much was involved. im definately boggled by it all. I have names and dob's,etc, but really dont know what else to do. must be really stupid, can anyone give me advice on the best way to start, and pls use laymens terms, hahaha. The name im researching is Smy, has anyone got any of these names on there searches. I would very much appreciate it if someone could help. Mnay Mnay thanks Kim.