Family history

Paperchase ennit?

I suppose it wasn’t until my dear Dad passed 16 years ago that I realised how little I knew about my forebears, maternal & paternal. I knew or had met quite a few older relatives, but was vague about who was related to who. The old habit of calling close friends aunty & uncle, although well meaning made for lots of dead ends and false trails.

I have in the past 20 years amassed a large quantity of census records, family trees, papers & letters, photographs.

How much is enough information, do I want to keep it all? Yes I do want to keep it all, for those who have & will come after me. It is their heritage.

My Ancestry site has over 500 names on it, apparently.
I think, though, that I’ve spent too much time looking back

Re: Family history

Nothing wrong with looking back. In my quest for my history I found family members who came to New York from Venice in the early 1800's. Ancestry.com is a worthwhile site. It gives you a chance to connect with your past. As we speak me nephew finds himself in Naples connecting with our family member and our history.

One cannot evade or erase what circulates through our blood. Its a calling that we should not ignore

Re: Family history

Ask your nephew if he'd kindly pop over to Milan to find some birth information for me please!

Re: Family history

Extraordinary interesting topic for me, though I have not sought my own heredity. Having previously watched programmes on the subject, it does beggar belief just how many people claim and are proved to have royal connections. I WONDER?

Re: Family history

I will surely send him a email of your request...

Allow me to add that Milan is a beautiful place. There are many small towns in that area surrounded by lakes and chalets on the mountainside. A great place to live away from the craziness of the outside world

Re: Family history

Ancestry was always my preferred choice but I'm no longer subscribed and have been having a couple of years break from the family history.

The most annoying person has been OH's grandfather.

OH and siblings knew him well ... he died in the 1970s.
We have never been able to find him on a census (he should be on 1901 and 1911) and he was born in London. No birth certificate has been found either.

We reckon he must have changed his name ! WHY ?

Re: Family history

I love my ancestry and have done my family tree for about
8 years now. I also use Ancestry as they have the old church
records on there. I have researched my mostly Yorkshire family
back to 1473 and many others to about 1665.
I love imagining what they were doing to survive and when you
think they were alive when the Tudors ruled I think its amazing.

Rachel your relation could have been illegitimate that's why you cant
find him and maybe adopted. You need to search in different places
for adopted children. Does this mean you cant find his parents too?

Sometimes names were changed because the person writing them down
didn't or couldn't spell the names correctly. If he was a child in the 1901 and 1911 census as a child that might be his situation. If he was an adult he might have been hiding from his wife or the law as divorce was very expensive in those days?

I have been to Cumbria to find the one "alien" in my family. My
great Grandfather came from there and have been twice looking for
his parents and did find his house when he was a kid. It is still standing.

All the rest of the family are from Yorkshire and not many of those
houses are still standing, especially in Leeds.

Re: Family history

Hi Sandy
Gramps (OH's grandfather) was married in Scotland the second time after 'granny' died so we have the names of his parents. Scottish certs have more info.

BUT despite searching everywhere PLUS contacting people on GR, who have men of the same name etc. I have had to give up.

All his offspring are now deceased, so there's nobody left who might have known.

He was a director of the Nat Coal Board and spent 3 months in the USA during WW2 (must have had a passport or official papers) but ... no luck finding anything.

He also served in the Navy, Army and ? flying corps ? ... wounded twice and had to join a different service both times. No luck with anything

Re: Family history

If you're serious! please, I am.

I'd like information on John Peter Boldetti, born 1801 in Milan.
The name may be varied, like Boldeth, Boldatti. An enormous thumbs up if someone can find something on this ancestor who, I understand, may be a British subject. He died in London. Many thanks.

As I've said before, I use Ancestry at the library as the service is free. I later plan on visiting the London Metropolitan Archives for more information.

Very time consuming but so interesting. I found out, not long ago, that my paternal grandfather had been in a work house. I have to look into that too. And I want to find information about Leeds Gaol.

Re: Family history

Mum's mum's mum was in a London workhouse in 1901 and died there, just after the next census (1911).
I should really order the death certificate and determine the cause of death but I was assuming it was some kind of dementia, otherwise why didn't any of the family take her in ?