General Chat

*long message alert*

This morning I was nattering to a friend that I met at a genealogy workshop many years ago. We caught up on family and friends news since we last chatted and she said she hoped to get back to her family tree sometime and perhaps order some films at the LDS. Like me she has a sub to various sites and she commented that it wasn’t so much fun now because it was “too easy”. Is she right? In an evening it’s possible to trace several families back from 1901 to 1841 with an ancestry sub. Using freebmd it’s now possible to find many references and we can order certs online. Those that aren’t on freebmd are freely available on ancestry. The 1901 census wasn’t available when I started so I bought the 1881 discs and found my relatives one at a time. Then I ordered the films of the 1891 census for each of the parishes in which they were living and in a period of months found them all there. Meanwhile I trawled for hours at the LDS through fiche of the GRO index and spent a lot of money on certificates. A couple of years passed during which I’d ordered the films of the other available censuses, a parish at a time and trawled through them to find my ancestors. I’d also made several visits to record offices (including Kew) and picked up lots of interesting stuff. And I’d ordered films of parish records, school records etc at the LDS. I spent a fortune when the 1901 census finally went on line – six months late. In between times I’ve subscribed to familyhistoryonline, familyrelatives, Englishorigins and bought loads of CDs and fiche from family history societies and Cdbooks. I’ve enjoyed every minute of my research, even though I’ve crashed into many brickwalls. By the time ancestry was putting censuses online I’d already got most of mine. I resisted subscribing for as long as I could but gave in eventually as some of my wandering Welshmen were causing me grief. I still get “Yes!” moments as ancestry puts more online but it somehow isn’t the same as when you get to the end of your third 1871 census film of Ebbw Vale and find your lot 6 households from the end. And that discovery gives you the birthplace of a very elusive ancestor whose birthplace was only given as “Somerset” on later censuses. That was a very loud “Yessssssssssssssssssssss!” moment and chocs all round the following week at the LDS. Which brings me back to where I started – it genealogy losing its charm? Is it all too easy now? Gwynne

It's not lost the charm for me Gwynne, I love finding out about my families..........and easy, sometimes, not always. Heather x

Not when you get stuck in the 1600's, lol

TOO EASY TOO EASY GWYNNE YOUR JOKING PLEASE SAY YOUR JOKING 3 OF US 5 YEARS TO FIND ONE MAN EASY

No, Gwynne, not when all your ancestors are Irish, going back to the Kings of Ireland...and most of them were fibbers! LOL BC XX

Interesting Guinevere....I don't think its losing anything, I think a lot of it has to do with television programmes showing people how easy it is to find their relations using census forms.... I was naive enought to think that......armed with old photos, word of mouth, wedding certs, and a couple of old rellies.....I was able to piece together a tree of sorts....and with help from the census forms, was able to go further back... ..but without any knowledge about how to obtain certificates....how to gain knowledge from distant church records and parishes.....half the fun of discovery is lost.... I am afraid Gwynne that I am one of those who have to sit at the computer, and exclaim Yesssssss.....when something comes that remotely looks like a rellie.......I have so many questions that I feel unable to ask all of them.....I would feel stupid going into this without knowing anything.....

I just wonder if I'd be as addicted as I am if it had been easy to start with as it would have been if I were starting now.......... Gwynne

It's all very well getting info from LDS etc - but it has to be verified. Having supposed info in greasy palm means some of us have more time to visit the parishes and check the parish records :o) maggie

Morning Gwyyne I think that depends on how serious you are about doing your tree. I started just as the 1901 went online. I use the stuff I find on the internet as a guide, but I like to confirm things with PR's and certs.......and believe me I have alot of confirming to do! The CRO is also a very good place to get background information to put flesh on the bones as it were. So it's still addictive as far as I'm concerned Jeanette x

No Gwynne---I am finding it just as hard as when I started out. Lol *wonders if BC and I are looking for the same ancesters?* lol C xxx

Hi Gwynne, I only started my research in 2004 so its always been fairly easy. I have to say Ive managed to trace alot of ancestors in such a very short time,and found out some very interesting things. Ive been in a lethargic mood recently concerning my tree,But Im back into it again. With me I think if it had been more difficult I would probably not have bothered as much. So for me its an added bonus its easier now. Roxanne:-))

Thanks Beryl....you have written so eloquently what I would have liked to say.....

Gwynne, I have not been lucky enough to experience the ' thrill of the chase' as you have done. I am very new to family history having only been doing my research for just over a year. I envy you...for I am sure that your efforts, gained by such hard work, brought you such a feeling of great satisfaction. Having said that, I too get satisfaction when I find another ancestor whilst sitting here trawling through the records now available the 'easy' way. I have had so much help from other people that my tree has grown and I have got back to my Great x 7 Grandparents. A half brother of my father (I found him through this site) has spent over thirty years doing just what you have done with great enjoyment, persistance and at the end such a feeling of knowing that he has done it all himself, the hard way! I will never be able to say that. Beryl x

Noooooooooooooooooo Gwynne. I love it and as for it getting easier.... well back to 1837 maybe but before that it is still a question of trawling parishes for births, marriages and deaths and living in hope that when they said on the 1851 census they were born in John O Groats they didn't mean Lands End lol. Surely you heard my yesssssssssssssssssssssss this morning when postman delivered letter from LDS telling me the parish records for Pencaitland had finally arrived after waiting for three months. Jean x.

Not for me Gwynne. I have found some bits easy but the majority of the time I can never find relatives on igi, ancestry or freebmd - and no I am not doing it wrong. The majority of my leads from more obscure branches have come from the wonderful people on here. I am still struggling with several lots but keep plodding on. The one that took me the longest was a relative I was searching for way back in 1989 and I eventually found her in 1901 - two counties away from where she and her family had lived for several generations. Plus, she had married for the third time which didn't help matters. So to repeat my view - no it has not lost its charm and in many cases is not too easy.

I suppose it depends on whose line Gwynne. I started my searches in 1980's going to library using fiches etc. and it was a hard slog. Have had my computer a few years,subscribed to various sites and I still haven't found my elusive grandparents, although I was fortunate in that my sil. was contacted on her sites and found a cousin for me.Her mother and my father were fostered to different families. However since starting my Mam's side of the family I have loads of info. possibly because they shared same 'life-style' ie working on the river/sea and living in same area. Only when I found my GGgrandfather came from Ireland does the search get harder. It is addictive like you say Gwyyne and I am an optimistic person at heart,ever hopeful! Mau

Thanks for all the replies - I popped away to do something H*worky. I still spend 2 hours a week at the LDS going through films of parish records etc and do still get a thrill when something appears, much more so than when it comes up on the PC screen. And I still go to ROs to ferret about or Brum library to look at wills indexes. I just think that if it had all been online when I started I might not have persevered with the tricky ones and I wouldn't get such satisfaction. The IGI has never been much use to me - a work of fiction for many of my Dad's families. It was fun proving it wrong, though. Gwynne

Gwynne I have done most of my tree the way you did yours - before the internet. But I marvel at how easy it now is, to look at something on line which previously took months of work - GRO indexes for instance, meant hours of peering blindly at microfiche and praying that someone hadn't pinched all the 'H' fiche, yet again! It does feel a bit like cheating though - instant results. And like you, my satisfaction comes from looking at a filmed parish register and going through it name by name and picking up the extra information which is not on line. I think the internet has brought forth a new breed of family historians, who are content to use what is on line and nothing else. That is a great shame - there is still a hundred times more information NOT on the internet, than there is on it, and those people are missing out on so much information. OC

I still get the same buzz as I did when I began 20 years ago. Census was only available up to 1881 and the BMD indexes were not available on microfiche. I was lucky enough to spend occasional weeks with my partner in Surrey. Used to go up to London every day to read nationwide census at Portugal St and then join the scrimmage at St Catherine's House to look at the BMD entries. When investigating Parish Records, you got the originals, not filmed copies! In between visits, I fleshed out at CROs and libraries, read books for background info and joined family history societies. That was all excellent practice in finding and using a range of sources. I enjoy and relish now being able to access some sources directly from the internet (what a saving in time and travel expenses) but I am so pleased that I also had to learn to get out and about and see what other sources were available. Pre internet, we probably travelled back through the first few generations almost as easily and quickly as people with instant access today, but we were also learning important research skills whilst we did it. I still love the thrill of the chase. I think my pre-internet experience has taught me patience, however, - I laugh when people say I,ve been stuck on this for 2 years: some of my problems are still with me after 18 years! Jay