General Chat

I felt youngish when I started doing the tree - lol now I feel ancient lol

Sarah, I've always considered 30 middle age lol no offence Lucia :-)

Just wanted to say to everyone that... I have no idea when you become middle aged or when you become old. A school friend of my sister (they're both 17/18) said at lunch only a couple of days ago that you become old once you're over 30! Its all a matter of point of view. As I'm sure has been said already, you're as young as you feel!

I tend to find family gatherings or walks around areas they know will jog the memory :) Got some more bits of information out of my Grandma about her husbands family on her most recent visit to see us. SOmetimes just having my papers out and reorganising them in front of people can help produce annecdotes :)

Well? Have you? I wish my grandad would but he's still busy at the age of 70 working in a care home. I often wonder if they get confused if he's a patient or carer. He married again in 1999 but I don't think any new aunties or uncles are on the way. (Des O'Conner springs to mind). I did send him a life questionaire to fill in a few months back but still had no reply :-( One day...

Has anyone actually got around to writing their life history and memories for future generations? Ann

I'm 27 and even some of my older relatives as me why I'm doing it, like I'm some kind of freak. They aren't interested in what I find out either which I think is strange. Louisex

im 30 (31 on sunday) and my 8 year old thinks im mad

I expect younger people are rather more busy with work, courting,raising families etc, so although the interest is there, it's more likely later on that they find some space to start their searching. What is middle age? when my mum was expecting my brother, she was referred to as that middle aged woman, and she was only 32. Val

just 30

i'm only 31 and don't think i'm middle aged.i think older people may have more time than us younger ones

Hi Sarah, I was in my early 20s when I first started, which was about 25 years ago and I still spend loads of time on it, and I'm STILL stuck on some lines. Some go back to the mid 1600s, some are stuck in the early 1800s and one is totally stuck in 1893. Like many others, for years I spent every day I could spare searching at local record offices and libraries. It was a slow process , but I loved every minute of it, even if I spent all day searching and came back with nothing to show for it. 25 years ago I hardly ever met anyone there who was under 50, let alone under 40! Most were retired, but it didn't stay that way for long, not once family history societies and magazines etc. started to appear. The internet has opened up the world of family history to millions of people, and I bet a good proportion of those are young people, so you are definitely not on your own. Carole

G'day Sarah. I think its a personal choice regardless of age. I was 21 years old when i became interested. That was 35 years ago now. I still love it, and spend about 3 hrs per day every day. I remember the mess i was in at first, with bits of paper all over the place, and 100s of surnames and dates that i could never find, all piled up ontop of each other.lol But as i gained patience with age, i learnt the word "Methodical". Being a bit older now and having my own home, i built a Study/Den for my research, and now have filing systems. But i still on the odd occasion have papers all over the place.lol Computers have made it so much easier, and a bit more A-Z at a touch of a button. When i first started at 21 it was a race to see if i was connected to the world, or wether Mark Anthony and Cleopatra were my relo's,(lol) but now its more the History side of my Ancestors, as apposed to how many. There is so much info out there,if you take the time to listen to the experts, and take notes. And personally for me now, i have found that its not always how many you have in your tree, or how long you have been researching, its what knowledge you have gathered along the journey. Again for me, its what i know about my Ancestors and how everything had to happen at a specific time and place for me to be here answering your thread. It makes me also feel that i am meant to be here. ( a good medicine for the soul.) Our Ancestors do have a story to tell, and if people take the time to listen, look, and learn, then you will succeed in your quest. You can complete your tree. Its a bit like gambling. You have to set yourself a limit. But then again, its also a legal drug!! Cheers. Tony Oz.

hi sarah,i only wished id started younger..im 27 but my 8 yr old loves sitting here watching me check stuff,add info on my tree,shes trult facinated with it all and hopes to carry on from me for her grandchildren(so she says).just think with jobs that are demanding and raising families people are to preoccupied until their thirties?!!

Notice Daniel said he has seen as young as 10yr olds in Record Offices. My g.dau was bitten by the bug when she was 8 and in desperation at the Record Office I asked what age they could research. No problem - every Saturday would see us there and with each week she grew in confidence - Miss Efficiency itself with notebook, fiches etc. Ended up telling me what I should look for. I recall she was especially interested in tithe maps and enclosures etc. Has lost interest in it for past 4 yrs or so - but the seeds have been sewn and will with the fullness of time, I expect return. She is doing A level history and has been charged with the duty of making sure my records are taken care of! Internet and GR has made life a lot easier as in the 'olden days' it was Record Offices and some of those were grotty - now so much can be done at odd times from home. Family history has been one of the fastest growing hobbies over past 20 years. Myself I have always loved history from an early age and like to know what makes people tick. Husband says I am nosey but I prefer the description 'enquiring mind'! Ann

I remember that article, Daniel!! I find people's ages vary from teens to 80+. Joy

I've spent some time this evening reading over what everyone has written. Its really made me feel that 'real' people do do genealogy. When I watched those BBC progs. recently I felt as though the genealogy bit was done 'behind-the-scenes' and we were treated to a 'heres one someone else prepared earlier' kind of thing. Results are good, but I'd far rather know how they got there! Funnily enough I rather think archaeology suffers the opposite when Time Team run around digging things up without showing any post-excavation work on TV! And thats all the fun stuff too :) I'd love to come down to London but can't commit myself right now. Although I currently live in the Midlands I've got a job interview in Scotland next week, so if all goes well will be living far too far away to meet up in London! Where I'm going it takes 2 hrs to get to Berwick-Upon-Tweed! Keep up your research everyone, you've been an inspiration tonight!

If teachers didn't torment you by making you write out your family tree in French, Spanish and German (to make you learn family vocabulary) then young people would be more into it; I shall never forget the trauma of showing baby photos in class and describing them in German. Seriously, until a few years ago, research meant going to libraries and record offices; only the retired had time for that.

Hi Sarah. I have been doing my tree for about 15 - 20 years and I am only 62, not yet middle age. Go to the meeting you might learn something that you can tell us about. :-))) Neil

Im 28 x