Genealogy Chat

If you have a large family to begin with, then you are bound to have a massive tree within the first few months. My Mum was the 7th Child of 11. I have 32 cousins, most have children, some have grandchildren. My Nan was one of 17, each had at least 6, some had 14 or 15, each of them had quite a few children. My g-gran was one of 10... and it goes on, so I only had to go to the 1891, to get a couple of hundred or more! I have been doing my tree for 3 years now, and only have my 'direct' blood line's/family names on this site. On my computer program tree, I have over 2,000, and yes, I do back up to cd regularly. On the positive side, I have 23 contact's on this site. All but 2 are related 4th, 5th and even 8th cousins. As we share tree's we all get new names. So your tree can really grow. I do spend a lot of time online, Ancestry has had a really hammering recently since 1851 arrived. Also I am lucky to have an LDS only three roads away from me, so I am up there twice or more a week, with various films. Sandra

Robyne, Don't feel bad. At the end of the day, no-one is forced to share their research with anyone else - if they choose to do so, accept it with gratitude. I am sure it is offered gladly too! After all, we are all happy to ask for and to accept look-ups, however long we've been at the game. jay

Robyne I have 500ish names in my tree after 3 years of research. Of my direct line I have certificates for the Births, Marriages and a few Deaths...As in my Parents, Grandparents and then Grandparents x2,3 ect back to to the start of registration. I too have to rely heavily on the Internet for research so the rest are those confirmed from censuses (1841 where I can and then Ancestry) where I have no doubt they are brothers, sisters et al. Must admit I also find an intresting line and then add and their kids...Hence why my head count may be a little high :) I also subscribe to other pay as you go sites to gain additional information. However, most importantly, I also have gained leads from those kind rellies who I have contacted, or who have contacted me and we have been able to firmly establish a connection.....And I don't mean a 'vague' you have John Smith London 1867, Dad John Smith 1847...So do I!!!! Like you I have difficulty visiting 'my rellies' local record offices....But I do make heavy use of my local LDS centre which, luckily, is only a 20 minute drive away and I can fit in the visits during my son's school time. Getting to Essex and Suffolk (Counties my Mum's side seem hail from) to research means asking my aged parents (unfair as they are in their late 70s) or paying extortionate child care costs as my son is disabled. I am sure that everyone on here will accept that people will only be able to research to their own ability and capabilities. Chris

Just putting your tree on here with 1,100 names for other people to chew over is a great contribution in itself. Anyone picking up the info. from it is going to check out the critical bits themselves, but it will undoubtedly save a few people a lot of time and expense.

Don't feel bad, I've been given a tree on one branch of the family. In 1969, 125 people gathered to write this tree by hand and attched all reference notes. So as you can imagine it's huge. But what stands out is this... 'Please keep these records safe. They will become more interesting as time goes by. And the future descendants will like to know who started the tree and how it grew to even the smallest branch, which will in turn send out it's leaves to a new generation.' There are requests on the side to follow-up missing links. I'm the next generation and hope that i can do the 125 people proud by honouring their request.

that sounds like an idea, i was thinking about helping with the freebmd one but wasnt sure what kind of commitment i would need.

You do research as and when you can. Everybody has different commitments, so it'll just be a bigger treat when you do finally get your hands dirty on some records. If you'd like to put something back, why not consider a bit of indexing? There are lots of projects around, geared towards people who can put in the odd half hour here and there. You may not be helping the same people who helped you, but someone out there will be delighted that you have indexed their ancestor.

i've got most of mine from people who have checked (or confirmed what i had found) which is why i feel a bit bad. A lot of mine are from the Channel Islands as well which my nan had already done from visits, so i know they are correct. There is also a lot (about 50%) on my husbands side and had these confirmed by her new family members. I often think its quite a lot, but my mums side was massive so that has added up the numbers a bit. Any comments on my tree are always greatfully recieved, im only a basic novice so im happy to take any comments as it can only help me grow.

You've helped me with searching the 1841 census, so don't beat yourself up! nell

I'd seriously question the quality of your tree Robyne........ With all due respect 1100 acquired in the last few months is quite frankly ridiculous from a serious genealogical position. Sources and and details need to be checked properly before racing on........quality not quantity is the nature of good family history research.

I've only been doing my tree for a few months and have got quite far, but i find myself relying on other peoples trees who have the same links as me. The thing that makes me feel bad is that i find it very difficult to get to a records office (due to family commitments and locality), so often use other peoples info yet cant seem to give any back. I dont want the people to feel like im taking advantage cause thats not the case at all, but i do feel as though i must be looking like that. Sorry no help needed really, just wondered if anyone who was on the recieving end felt like that.