Saturday 17 April 2010

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE

Hi there

I suppose we've all done it at some time, wondered where we come from ( I'm talking geography here not biology) and why we live where we do.  Well my journey of discovery only began about 18 months ago.
Somehow despite the fact that we didn't seem to have any relatives living anywhere near us, I never asked any questions.  Talking to friends of about the same age though I realised that you just didn't question your parents in those days. O no I sound like a real relic, but it was a while ago!

I grew up with my mum and five siblings, 3 brothers and 2 sisters and although I do remember odd snatches of conversations about Aunty this and cousin that I wasn't really that curious.

What a cute bunch we were, can you guess which is me?

My sister, who is 12 years older than me ( and still like a spring chicken) went away to the York school for the blind, now part of York University, when she was 7 years old ( no sympathy needed, she is more independent and more adventurous than any of us) and so was the only one of us to really correspond with and know anything about our cousins or any of our family outside our front door!
As mum sadly passed away years ago and dad died  when I was only 2 and the eldest 14, I did leave it rather late to start wondering, but such is life and me.

However every family should have an older sister with a memory that amazes me to this day. And so according to all the best 'Trace your Ancestry' books I have pumped her for every scrap of information memory and photograph until she must be sick of me.  Unfortunately my memory is a bit like a goldfish at times and so I'm sure I keep asking her the same questions!

Are you bored yet?? Sorry I do go on a bit.

Anyway if you've nothing better to do I'll continue, if you have and you can't put off that glass of wine a moment longer, I hope you'll come back later.

Any way!!  Needless to say half the people she remembered I'd never heard of.

So armed with this I started my research, bit posh that, actually I signed up to one of these ancestry sites and let it do the work for me. The 1901 census didn't help me much as although I now had people born before this I didnt have exact dates or their addresses at that time, so I nearly gave up before I started.  But wait...
the 1911 census was released early and now I could find both my parents and their families and the journey began...



It has been such a journey of discovery that I hope you will come back for the next episode.  I won't do them all in a run, I'm trying to build the tension here.... and perhaps gather a few folk on the way!!  But there were exciting finds, no murderers so far.. , but who knows what may be round the corner......

To be continued....

Back soon
Jenny x

15 comments:

  1. Hi Jenny

    A very interesting post. I love family history, something that I find very interesting. I don't like the idea of past relatives being forgotten about. I only wish more of of relatives were still alive, so many questions I would ask.

    I plan on doing a few posts about some of my relatives in the near future as it happens.

    Your sister sounds remarkable! Your photos are lovely, especially the first one.

    Good luck with your research, I look forward to reading more....

    Have a lovely weekend

    Warm wishes
    Isabelle x

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  2. Hi Jenny- how lovely to find your long-lost rellies.
    Mine came from Poland and Russia at the outbreak of war and surnames were changed for something more easily spoken, so tracing back beyond grandparents has sadly not been possible.
    I would love to have known more about them and often wonder when I buy old photos if someone amongst them might be "mine"!.
    Looking forward to your next instalment
    xx

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  3. Tracing your family history is great fun and highly addictive. Look forward to reading more.

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  4. This is interesting, I know nothing of my mother's background and have sometimes thought I would like to investigate - I will look forward to your next instalment.

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  5. My middle brother has traced all of my family tree way back and found family branches that had split from us (black sheeps and all that) and now they are part of the whole again...
    Mr P's family tree is a little more tricky... I have done some but it gets a little vague in places! but it might be worth looking again now the 1911 is out...

    x Alex

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  6. My Hubby's sister has spent years looking in to their families history and has gone back as far as the 18th century.
    Good luck with your search..x

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  7. Good luck with your search - it's fascinating finding out about your family history!
    Looking forward to reading what happened next!
    Love Kathy xxx

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  8. Thank you for a lovely read. It's a lot of fun learning about your family history. It can be full of surprises, and even explain some of the strange little quirks we all have. Have fun. I am looking forward to the next installment. Kim :)

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  9. With your way of telling things, you'll never get me bored.Love to hear the rest of the history.xx

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  10. Morning, I can't wait to hear all about your family tree, it's so exciting finding out what your ancesters did and where they come from etc. My hubby is currently doing both family trees, and one of the things I find amazing is the beautiful names. I had an old aunt called Ena (nice enough)but I've found out she was called Georgina...how pretty is that, then there's an aunt called Christiana. Love your summer house, Lucey xx

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  11. hi there, There's just so much info out there to find, good luck with your search, I'm sure it will be so interesting.
    BH x

    PS thanks for your comments on my last post - my camera is a Canon Power Shot S5 and I'm still getting used to it!

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  12. Just love the anticipation with family history, great post cant wait for episode 2. Since retiring to France and having far to much spare time my mum has started doing this, its fascinating. She gets copys of birth & marriage certs online and has even found a cousin she never knew! I'll find out the sites she uses if it will help because the success she's had is amazing. :)xxx

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  13. Thank you everyone for your support. It's amazing how this stirs everyones interest.
    Blueberry heart thanks for the info re camera I will look it up.
    Muddle Puddle Crafts, have done quite a bit now but always open to suggestions and help. Thanks
    Jenny xx

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  14. Its really exciting, i love family history. I'm helping my Mom research our family tree but we have got a bit stuck now. Good luck with yours xx

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  15. Hi Jenny!
    Many thanks for the lovely comment you left on my ever so moany post!! ...I really should pull myself together!! hehe!
    Your post is very interesting, I adore family history. If I had the time I would love to explore my own in more depth.
    I recently acquired a big box full of photos, letters, newspaper cuttings, war medals and certificates etc, from my Grandfather. I treasure them dearly and find them fascinating.
    I have written a few posts about tem if you were interested in looking.
    I'll be staying tuned for your next installment.
    xx

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Hi thanks for stopping by, but even better say hello. I love to read your comments and its also a way for me to meet you. I do read every coment but don't always have the time to find your email or web, so do pop back if you have asked a question as I will answer it here.xx