I have heard some people say "I am interested only in the present and future not the  past". Others , just slightly interested in the work of a relative who has worked on their family history,  never contemplate discovery of the history for themselves. Still others , at a certain point in their life, decide they want to know more about their family origins to better understand who their ancestors were (including parents and grandparents)  and, perhaps, to see whether any traits (and names) have continued in helping determine who they are.

​

A family history has already been "created" before you even begin to research it. Lives have been lived , relationships (and enmities) formed and children born over hundreds of years and in many places. The search can bring you intrigue, excitement, anger, sadness and even amazement. Skeletons may come out of the closet and "family beliefs" may be verified, amended or refuted. (Just watch any episode of "Who Do You Think You Are"!)

​

So What's in a Life?

​

If you are fortunate you can construct a family tree of many generations and even thousands of people (mine has well over 2,000 and dates back to the 1500's) but , for most of us, it will mean much more if you can know or find out what people were like, why they emigrated to a far away country and where they lived. What work they did do and what sort of life did they lead? What were the great achievements, enduring hardships or tragedies? You may be able to visit the houses (or workhouses in some cases) where the people lived, the places where they were born and died, read letters that have been kept and look at photographs (from the 1850's at least) of people long gone. There may also be books, portraits or works of art. 

I do not have any photographs of my ancestors pre-1900 but I do have a priceless old letter describing what my great great grandfather was like. I have also been inside a 400 year old house where my grandfather and great grandfather were born.

​​

​

How Easy is it to get the information and how far back can you go?

​

Well, it has to be said, that it is a lot easier to get information now than it was when I first started fossicking around musty archives and ancient graveyards.

​

A certain persistence and ingenuity together with a fastidiousness with regard to detail and keeping records will help. You may find many paths that lead to a "dead end" and encounter "walls" beyond which you think you cannot venture.  But you may also find unexpected trails to follow and find markers to things you could not have imagined.

Transcribed records on the internet are considered well under 90% fully accurate and even hand-written registers and certificates often have spelling mistakes and suffer from degrees of illegibility. What must be taken into account are the illiteracy of many of our ancestors and the desperate efforts of recorders to come up with a close  phonetic replicate of a name, a place of birth or occupation when completing parish records, certificates and a range of other documents.

​

And How About sheer good fortune and intuition?

​

I have added several family history scenarios  where, in some, one or both of these factors came into play.
You certainly develop a broader appreciation of the possibilities when you have been researching family history for a while but there is nothing like that "eureka" moment when you are about to "throw in the towel" and it suddenly hits you what you have been missing!