Anyone into that? I've been doing it for years even before the internet and found it fascinating to see the old documents and the handwriting.

Noticed a will of an ancestor on my husband's side has the name spelled differently 4 times on the same sheet. Also found a lot of skeletons in the closets. Unbelievable stuff.

Found a missing grandfather who changed his name before he married my grandmother and then disappeared. Suspect that he may have changed his name again.

Good idea for a thread, Packy.

I did dabble a few years ago. My parents emigrated from UK to Australia and then NZ, starting when I just turned 8. So I lost touch with all current family as well as past. It took a lot to just fill in current family tree. I did try and research back.. joined Genealogy sites etc... even applied for an old birth certificate form UK. It was a lot of work... but fun. Unfortunately I hit a complete brick wall at my Great grandfather. I traced back from there several possibilities, but really with no link back from GGF.. it could all have been totally the wrong people.
I did abandon efforts.

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Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Oh those brick walls. I have run into them on both sides. My mom's grandparents and my dad's mother's parents were all from Denmark and I could get pretty far back with those families. But one grandparent was from Irish ancestry and I can't get past this country (U S) for their information. Although I do have access to all of Ancestry's resources so I may find they updated some. I was able to get some censuses from the UK too if you need any look ups.

My GGF was absent during the Census... around 1900 I think???

I thought I was on to something when I found census details of who was in the Hanbury Arms that night (Historical pub near where the family lived)... but he wasn't in there or on any census... but he did live nearby.. (as did my GF and family including my Dad). I did track down his niece (then elderly) and she sent a photo of him (GGF). She had no other documents and sadly she died not long after we made contact. Nobody else from that generation anywhere to be found.

I don't want to start up again... but it was fun doing it for a while.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Yes...and no. It's a little more complicated for me. I'm adopted and have very limited information to go on. (I know my biological mother's name, the state she was from and her age. She was divorced, so I'm not sure if I have her maiden name or her married name.) A few years ago I signed up for a free trial at Ancestry.com. There were several people with her name in her state and I wasn't sure if I was researching the correct one. I abandoned my efforts also.

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Oh too bad it didn't go anywhere for you, Mal. We found my cousin was adopted and she found her family by finding the petition for adoption that was filed around her date of birth. It had a name of the people giving up the baby but not the baby's name.

I LOVE Genealogy Lol I know this is a bit of an old conversation. I get to obsessed with stuff... Attention Def .. Disorder. Funny thing, in school, I truly disliked history. Didn't make any sense to me. When I started doing my Family tree, which I am blessed in a way, to been so young that I still had GGparents growing up. Anyway, have a lot of info. But what is neat, you have to get into the mindset of how times were during an era. LOL USA States weren't the same states as they are today. Well Going to go check few other threads here. Hugs to all

Same here, Arkansasmimi, I hated history when I was younger and now can't get enough of it. We have a lot of ancestry lines in Arkansas on my husband's side btw.

Mal, if you see this there are free message boards on Ancestry and if you go to the surname, stete, county, or adoption topics you may find someone searching for you. Or you can put some info out there to see if someone knows you or the family.

I've always found American and some world history fascinating, but never really pursued it, if that makes any kind of sense - even "liesel-sense".

Our dad is big into the family tree, and has piqued my interest in it a bit.

Maltese Mama - if you were seeking history, that's one thing. If you were seeking a relationship, that may or may not be a good thing. We have a few friends with adopted children, some of whom have decided to track down their pre-parents, as I call them. Given their disappointing (at best) results, tread carefully, please, if you decide to take this up again, and be sure to leave yourself an escape hatch if you do make contact.

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All posts are my own opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of Random Topics. Differences are allowed here.

Anyone who has hit brick walls previously, try again. I too, hit brick walls, but have found with time, others who also have interest in their tree, thus my mine, have filled in many blanks over the last several years. Plus, the forums attached to those genealogy sites are a wealth of information. In a span of two years, a side of my family, previously sketchy in details, has now been filled in.

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Letting my Freak Flag fly!

Hi Hiram.

Yes I know new info was becoming available while I was involved. In fact I was at a forum where volunteers were helping transcribe old documents... deciphering the often scratchy hand written entries.. to make available online.

At the moment, though I am not driven to try again

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

As a kid before days of Internet my mom was insisting I join DAR and shoved a blue covered document in my face...ten plus years later & married, pregnant & bored I dragged it out. ROFLMAO reading about the horse thief my GGM used to swear about till her dying day. It goes back to 1560 Vikings on maternal side. My uncle has spent over twenty years doing paternal side making trips all over Europe and beyond chasing down tales that have been passed down here there & everywhere. He now offers to scan the old church registries he finds and others process for big data sites like ancestry.com. It amazes me to hear about these places he hunts up stuff or gets frustrated due to fires. Water isn't as bad but silverfish & mold are nightmares to hear him tell it. His bug started with him reading through my my sisters copy of the genaology which he assumes she left at my grandmothers and realizing he knew nothing before two brothers had a FU fight split their coins and went their separate ways at Ellis Island.

Thanks Packy! I didn't realize they had message boards.

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I was a genealogy nut for 35+ years. My habit started when my children were young and asked me something about a Great Grandparent that I couldn't answer. I started searching for the answer, unaware that for every question you answer 33 more questions turn up. It has been the most fascinating hobby I ever had. Of course mine started before the internet, digging around in courthouse basements, rolls and rolls of microfilm, tromping through old cemeteries, and corresponding by snail mail.

Internet genealogy wasn't as rewarding as the old fashioned kind. Ancestry is great if you stick to the original records, but the new breed of "instant genealogist" has ruined the trees you find there.

More recently I got into the DNA aspect of genealogy, but about the time I had that going good, all 3 of the major sites went to the "new and improved" version of their website, and I just got disgusted and quit.

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You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.

Very interesting zennalou.

I've never gotten into it. My family is relatively small. My dad's mother died when he was 5, father died when my dad was 11. He was murdered in Mexico and I've pretty much researched everything about that, through the trial of the two murderers. I know more than what there is to know about my mother's side.

My husband OTOH, at one time had 76 first cousins still living. I've thought about getting into his past but never started. Might be a nightmare.

I would like to do the DNA thing to see how much Irish I have in me. Last time I looked it was $100 for the test/results. Thought I'd wait until it went down in price a bit, but if there are three websites now, maybe there is some competition.

DO NOT submit your actual DNA to anyone at this time. It is simply being used to collect data. (the new saliva strip fad)

Stick with the UTAH based sites. They have been Mormon started and run for years. Forget what you think of the religion they have the best records on earth at this time and they are not in league with the DHS or anyone else. Well..... for the most part.

https://familysearch.org/

https://www.mormon.org/values/family-history

http://www.ancestry.com/

FYI: ABOUT:

https://familysearch.org/about

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The most fundamental and major decision that you have to make in your life is this: Do I live in a friendly or a hostile universe? Which is it?

Thanks, WKC! I will remember this, I had no idea.