What skeletons are in your cupboard? (Geneology)

Member Name: fluffy duffy

Product:	Geneology
Date:	10/04/07 (93 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun pastime that has grown into a rewarding hobby

Disadvantages: some cans of worms are better left unopened...

Inspired by television programmes like "Who do you think you are" and having realised by talking to family members that there was very little known about my grandparents' families, fluffy duffy embarked on the journey down the path of the family tree.

Cans of worms.....some family members report finding unsavoury deeds of ancestors. Older members of the family wanted illegitimate children, divorce and other details left undiscovered.

Would I recommend it? Depends what you want to know. Basically this can be a fun hobby. I have found a cousin on Genes Reunited who has a family tree with over 3000 relatives. Personally what I want to gain from this is a bit of family history I can pass onto sons of fluffy duffy and a little knowledge of what my ancestors did for a living.

So who have I found? At least 5 "live" cousins who I am in regular email contact with. The son of my half sister who has made me a great auntie! Lots of interesting information about occupations etc. (my great grandad was a horsekeeper for the freeman of the City of London)

Invitations and meetings: My mum has now met a cousin I put her in touch with who she thought had died. They had kept photos of each other since the 1930's. My mum's side of the family who appear to be the avid researchers have invited us to an annual get together of the family in September this year. Best of all is finding my nephew and his family, he has been looking for me for 20 years and I had not been able to find him either.

Useful websites: Genes Reunited You can search this site for free before you decide whether or not to join. I paid £9.95 to join the site for 6 months. WARNING: IF YOU JOIN, MAKE SURE YOU GO INTO YOUR ACCOUNT TO STOP THE SITE AUTOMATICALLY BILLING YOU AGAIN TO EXTEND YOUR MEMBERSHIP.

freebmd.com Excellent site where you can search birth marriage and death records mainly between 1830 and 1920 free of charge and view copies of scanned entries from records. You will even find handwritten ones.

Caution! This hobby can be addictive, but like all good hobbies, make it what you want and use it for enjoyment.

Summary: Answers to some of life's little mysteries (if you are lucky)