Genealogy is fun (Geneology)

Member Name: Mick-Gray

Product:	Geneology
Date:	24/04/01 (511 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Hobbie

Disadvantages: Very time consuming

If you are interested in tracing your family history but don't know how to start perhaps our experiences may help
People can become interested in the history of their families for many different reasons.

Our interest started in a mild way on a very enjoyable caravanning holiday in Perth , Scotland. Anyone who has holidayed in Scotland will know that the place is buzzing with people from all over the world trying to trace their Scottish roots. The gift shops and souvenir shops all cater for this and there is an endless supply of charts, maps, etc. showing the history of all the Scottish names along with all types of souvenirs with the family name and coat of arms. We noticed many references to the name Gray and bought the usual key-rings etc. and noticed that the name was associated with the Sutherland Clan. This started our interest and we wanted to know more. Little did I know that I would end up at the other end of the country in Dorset.

There are numerous books on the subject of tracing your family tree explaining how to proceed, but the most important message that they will all give you is to immediately talk to your older surviving relatives and get as much information as possible before it is too late. When I think back and realize how much information is now lost forever, I wish that I had taken an interest sooner. Also ask your relatives to show you any old photographs and documents, most important is for them to identify the people in them and to write the name date and occasion on the back. Also do this with all your own photos and documents. There is nothing worse than being in possession of an old photograph of somebody that you know must have been a relative but you cannot identify them. There must be millions of old photographs all over the world of people who cannot be identified because the original owners did not put a name on them. They knew who the person was and did not think about the people who might inherit the pic
tures. If you have old photographs there is a great site to send them to. Ancient Faces  This site is dedicated to recording old Photographs for others to view or you can submit any unidentified photos that you may have to see if others can identify the people in them. A Great idea for a web site and I would recommend as many people as possible to contribute their photos so as to build up a large Database online.

Having collected as much information as is available from your relatives the next step is your local Register of births deaths and marriages or best of all a visit to the Family records office in London. Find the earliest person you have exact dates for and obtain their birth certificate. This will then give you the mother and fathers name , the mothers maiden name , where they were living at the time of the birth and the fathers occupation. If you can arrange a visit to the Family Records Office you will be able to proceed a little quicker as you can search the volumes of indexes and order several certificates at the same time. You will have to guess at the probable marriage date of the parents and search through the volumes of indexes which are arranged in order of the year and then quarters of each year and then in alphabetical order.

Marriage indexes are cross referenced with both the bride and groom appearing under their own name alphabetically. They will both have the same reference number alongside so you will know you have the correct certificate. Once you have the marriage certificate you will then know the age of the couple when they married, the husbands occupation, The name and occupation of both their fathers and where they were living at the time of their marriage. You can then search for the couples birth certificates and so on and so on until you get back to 1837 which was when civil registration first started.

You will also find it useful to obtain the death certificate as this will tell you how they died
and where, what aged they were and where they were living. This will also have been signed by whoever was present at the death usually a close relative.

You will also find it extremely useful to look through the census records. A population census has been taken every 10 years since 1841. These are not open to public viewing for 100 years so the most recent census you can look at is 1891 although the 1901 census should be available soon. The census return will tell you who is the head of the household , his or her occupation, everyone who was living with the family on that day, their ages and occupations. Also in which area they were born. You can view the census returns for the whole country at the family records office but most local council or county record offices or Archives have copies relating to there own area.

 Obtain as many certificates as you can of your ancestors and their brothers and sisters. by having the certificates of Brothers and sisters you sometimes get extra information. For example occupations and addresses. As you get a picture of your family tree forming you will start to feel closer to these people who you may not have known and want to learn more about them.

This is the stage where research really begins. You may wish to learn about the area they lived in, the type of work they did, their social conditions, so as to be able to get a picture in your mind of what these people were like and how they lived. There are records kept of all kinds of information, the problem is finding it. If you join a Family History Society they will have all sorts of publications that will tell you what to look for and where to find it. It is up to you to decide which society suits your needs best or you may wish to join two or three. Another good site to go to is the Society of Genealogists they have a long list of publications for sale on most aspects of family research. If you are really serious about your research you will s
oon build up piles of information, Certificates, Photo's Etc. and it will need keeping in some sort of order. This can be done by hand but a good softwear programme is so much easier. There are several very good ones on the market. We use Family Treemaker and we are also trying out the Generations suit which also looks pretty good. But there are plenty out there for you to choose from.


This is the point where your research can become a little more difficult. Before 1837 records of births deaths and marriages were kept by the local parish and each event would be entered (hopefully) in the Parish record book. But unless you know where your ancestor was born , which parish record do you look in. If you have searched through the census records you may well have a good Idea of where to start looking as the place of birth was usually recorded by the census enumerator. But one of the best sources to look into first is the I.G.I the international genealogical index. This is an index compiled by The Church of Jesus Christ of the latter day Saints (Mormons) of millions of names extracted from many sources including Parish Records and indexed in Alphabetical order in each County. They will give you Name , date of birth or marriage, Parents Names including the mothers maiden name and parish. Copies of the I.G.I are viewable in most large Libraries or County Record offices or can be viewed at one of the Family History centers set up by the Church. But don't take these entries as fact, many mistakes were made in the transcription of these records. So having found an entry relevant to you , check the original documents to make sure.

Parish records are available to view at your local County Record office also at the Public record office. Many are also available to view along with masses of other genealogical information at the Society of Genealogists who's offices are quite near the Family Record Office.

Once you start searching you wil
l be amazed at the amount of information there is to be had. The problem is finding it. If your family came from a particular area you may find extra information at the local record office. Such as Parish relief books, Tythe maps, wills, Old Photographs of the area Etc. Or you may find that your ancestors were mentioned in a newspaper of the time, These can be viewed at the Collingdale Newspaper liabrary. Court Records and criminal records can be searched at the P.R.O at Kew or sometimes at the local record office. There are School records, Military muster lists,Passenger lists, Poll books. Local Directories. Indexes of all kinds built by people interested in Genealogy. Trade union lists, Railway workers , workhouse records ,Bastardy papers and so on and so on the list is endless. You just have to find the time to go and look.

You will also find it helpful to join a Family History Society, These can be particulary helpful as they usualy operate a members interest list where other members can see if you are researching the same family. They also usually have for sale indexes of various kinds relating to their own area as well as books and pamphlets on all aspects of Family history research. You will be able to select the best one for you and if you want, Join online. You can also search online and there are thousands of Genealogy sites out there. As yet there is not a lot of easily found data but this is improving day by day as more people index lists of names and make them available on the internet. As we come across them we will add links to them on our site. http://www.mick-gray.co.uk If you have your own web pages with your Family Names on them you can also have them linked to this site on the Surnames page. email your details and your web address and as soon as time permits we will add them, so as other searchers can have a look to see if you are researching the same family,

Once you have built up your family history to your satisfaction take
copies of it and lodge a copy with, either your Family History Society or the Society of Genealogists, or both. That way your research will always be available to future generations. Good Hunting
Mick Gray
P.S Dont forget to have a look at Micks Genealogy site at http://www.mick-gray.co.uk

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