General Chat

Hi people, Thanks very much for looking this far. I have just started my family tree but unfortunately I can't go back any further than my Paternal Granparents Parents. My Paternal Grandmother can't remember any further back. Both of my Grandfathers have passed away and my Maternal Grandmother can't even remember her own year of birth. What would be my next step? (I am currently between jobs so wouldn't be able to afford spending too much money). Thanks very much in advance, Lee John Andrews.

Hi Lee It's a hard one as you would really be needing at this stage to buy some certificates, if you are not already lucky enough to have some. Do you have any of your grandmothers?? i.e her birth or marriage. Getting info off of these would be a good start. good luck Diane

Lee, I'm sure there are lots of people on here willing to help but we would need names and approximate dates, as much information as you have please. June xx

HI Lee my starting point was my grandparents, but they were all born, around 1900, and that is you key, try looking them up on the 1901 website, I am on benefits and cannot afford much but once you have the bmd no and there is a free site that will help you with that, the certificates only cost £8 and I put £2 a week back and treat myself to one every month, also you will find that single certificates tend to come quicker than multiples, this may take longer than for most people butit still give a great deal of pleasure. if I need to pay for 1901 online or 1837 online I save up for that as well. good hunting Linda P

Ask your grandmothers about their maiden names, where they think they were born and roughly when, and what were their parents Christian names. Were there older or younger siblings, (this will give you an idea of when to look for a marriage of their parents) If they have their marriage certificates, your grandmothers age will be shown. That should give you a guide but be prepared for the facts to be unexpected sometimes. You will soon be able to get back to the 1901 census, with a bit of work. Main libraries and record offices have the GRO biths, marriages and death index to view for free, once you have gathered some information from your relatives.

Lee, there are many people on this site that will do look ups for you... I strggled to find my GGrandfather for 18 months and yet i asked for help and someone found him within an hour.... If you go to the records boards, and put all the info that you have on... surname, forename, area lived, area born then people will make every effort to help. Good luck

Lee, I was never any good at this myself, so I'm the last person to advise anybody, but your grandmothers are the people to ask. There are lots of books on local history. Get one from the library. Preferably one with lots of photographs and not to much text. Or some family snapshots of when they were on holiday as youngsters. Discuss these with them. Ask them what sweets they liked, where they went on holiday - did they have holidays? Who their best friends were? Did they like school? What their dads did for a living. What Xmas was like when they were children. Once they start to think about the past, and enjoy doing so, they'll start to remember a bit more and you'll know a whole lot of detail that simply won't be in any record anywhere. B

Welcome Lee,Before the web,we searched in our local Record Offices.Every major area has its own RO. as FAMILY RESEARCH has taken off in a big way so have the resources become available in terms of different sites on the web.What you have to remember is that the information on these sites is only as good as the research of the people who put the information on did. So in tyical Computrt Spaeak Garbage In Garbage Out. Did your family live in the same area for years and years? If so research in that area should be fairly straight forward.Find the RO for the area and go and tell them what you are hoping to do and ask for help.That is how I started. When I used the Latter Day Saints site,which sadly so many people base their research on,I found numerous mistakes! Don't forget I had used the original Documents at the RO So be careful and always check for accuracy. Good Luck See if anyone has already done your family.It sometimes happens and you will get a lot of help from them. About five cousins and I have all found each other through our independent research of our family. There is an excellent book in libraries which can show you those who have listed their research. Another thing you can do is join a group in your area,or find a course.You will meet people who can help you there. Rose

Hi Lee welcome, ask your grandparents if you can see their marriage/birth certificates, if they have them and any old photos it some times jogs their memories,plus they may have ration books etc from the war.also where they grew up, what they can remeber about the schools they went to, if they can remember what their parents did for a living etc. a marriage cert will give you both peoples fathers and occupations and a birth cert gives the mothers maiden name. alot of us work on a budget, so we ask for help on the records board for lookups etc and the tips for advice, which i have found very useful. if you get stuck shout, one of us will always come running happy hunting sandra

Lee Have any of your known rellies got any old photos, letters diaries, Bibles certificates, cuttings etc or anything else that might have information written in or on them ... they are usually in an old case in the loft which has been touched for years!!!! It is suprising what info can be got from this. Martin

Blimey! What can I say? I am amazed at all the responses to my post so quickly. I was going to leave it for a day or two then come back here for a 'nose' but Kay just mentioned that I had some replies already, so here I am! Thanks very much everyone. all of your points have been 'mentally' noted and I hope to act on them over the coming weeks. Unfortunately, my Grandmothers have no records and can't give me anymore info than I already have. Deb...I am mainly looking for these Surnames: Andrews (Get away!!) Stanier (My Paternal Grandmothers maiden name) Alcock (My Moms maiden name) Kelham (My Maternal Grandmothers maiden name) As well as a few more distant relatives Surnames: Bradley, Read, Gee, Kimber, Shaw, Simmonds, Stevens, Leake, Lightfoot, Holland, Burgess and Mansfield. Most of my relatives are from the midlands area especially Birmingham & Worcestershire, as well as some being from Middlesex and Essex. Also, Deb...you said I should be a 'old hand' due to starting my tree in 2003...well...errr...Yes! I guess I should be, but after registering back then with Friends Reunited, I also registered with Genes Reunited as it was free. I input my details, along with my Mom's and Dad's and then left it at that! I only got back on the site after visiting my old friend the other day and he was showing me what he had started to do on here. So, it re-sparked my interest you could say! Just think of all that lost time, eh? Oh well. Thanks again! Lee.