General Chat

I didn't know my father til I was 23, and have never met his parents/sisters etc. But doing his side of the tree, its extremely interesting and I now feel I 'know' myself, I have a sense of belonging. However, Im at a dead end as his grandparents were Romany gypsies, and havent got a marriage record. Either they didnt register on the 1901 census, or were born after it. My fathers 84 yr old mother is the only person who knows info that is so invaluable to me; yet Ive cut all contact with that side of the family!! I havent got her address, but could write to my father (who Ive only seen 3 times anyway), he couldnt care less about family history. We had a bit of a fall out, as he wasnt the least bit interested in knowing me or my children, even though he's close to his other grown up kids - that hurt a bit really. His mum is elderly, so time is of the essence...should I write and ask him, how would I word it?

HGS have a member - Alec Magowan who holds and collects info on gypsy families. He might be able to assist you. If you got in touch with them - may be even their website might list him.

Thankyou. Ive been on the electoral roll, she isnt there. Im thinking she may have remarried after her husband died, so would have a different surname. I dont have my aunties addresses either, as I dont know their married surnames (looked on Ancestry but with the exception of one, they all have extremely popular first names for that time). The one I did find divorced her bloke apparently and took up with someone else, using his surname. Not an easy lot to track down! Thankfully as I say, I do have my dads address, presuming he still lives there! I'll have to bite the bullet, its just hard to swallow my pride and ask him for help! Especially after all this time.