Many of you will have enjoyed the BBC TV series 'Who do you think you are?' It fits nicely with my current train of thought because it is the essence of inquisitiveness and a love of history. If you have access to a computer it makes things much easier but even if you haven't, it's well worth having a go using whatever you have. Sort out all the old family pictures (and, like me, regret that many of them have nothing written on the back to identify who is on them) and try to match what you know to them. If you have older members of your family ask them as well and note down what you find. If you can access the web (the library can help if you haven't got your own machine) start using the specialised sites to look for things like census returns, War Service Records, birth details and burials in church records and general references in newspapers.
You will be amazed how much advice and information is available and I promise you will get surprises and even shocks. When I got together with my children to research my father we found that as well as being a deserter he was also a bigamist and that everything he told us about his service in the Great War was a legend. This didn't affect my regard for him, he was just a man who had had to cope with a very difficult life and had taken wrong turnings along the way, 'There but for the grace of God.....'.
You might also get a bit annoyed at the fact that almost all the records are oriented to the men! Women lost their maiden name on marriage and it can be very hard to trace them. I always bless the old habit of giving the first child the mother's maiden name as a forename, it can be an invaluable clue. I took my mother's maiden name (Challenger) as a forename when asked what name was to go on the graduation record at Lancaster University. It's quite legal to do that, you don't need any legal process. I urge more to do so because it will make any subsequent genealogical research much easier. If you do start down this road, get hold of some cards and build up an index of notes of facts. This will make it much easier to keep track of things because it can get very complicated!
If you are asking “Why do it?”.... Good question. What you will find is that the more you learn about your forbears, the more rooted your own life will be. They were the foundation of what you are and the more you know about them the better you will understand yourself. It is also a marvellous thing to be able to pass on to your children. I wrote a book for the family and self published it on LULU.com, got it printed and gave everyone a copy. My six grandchildren have been fascinated by it and eventually they'll pass it on to their children.
1936, four generations,I am the baby on my grandma's knee, Mother at the back and my great grandmother Shaw on the right.
