Hello - I'm new!

[christiek]

Hi Everyone,

I've only been researching my family tree for a few months and someone recommended that I join here.

I'm researching the Knox's of Bamburgh/Wooler/possibly Scotland, the Vost's of Newcastle, The Smiths of Seahouses/Berwick/Ord and The Hasties of Berwick upon Tweed. So if anyone thinks they may have ancestors in common, feel free to give me a shout!

Also, any advice on where I can find information that's not already available on Ancestry.com and what would be helpful to look for would be great, thank you. I'm interested in the full story of my ancestors, not just how far I can get back!

[danuslave]

Hi christiek & welcome to Rootschat

You may find this site useful if your ancestors strayed over the border

www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/

If you have specific questions please ask.  The main rules are that we can't discuss living people on a public thread and 1911 census lookups are not allowed!

If you post anything else that's not allowed, someone will soon tell you   

Don't be scared - we're pretty friendly and there are lots of us willing to help

It would be useful if you edited your profile to show your location (country will do).  Then we won't give inappropriate advice like popping along to the local Register Office if you live in Australia   

Linda

[danuslave]

If you put the surname information in your profile as well, it will display on all your posts

You could try searching in the Surnames table (button near top of screen) to see if anyone already has information.

I have ancestors from the north east, but not the names you want  

Linda

[c-side]

Welcome from me, too, Christiek

You'll find a lot of knowledgeable Northumbrians on this board who will be happy to help you.

Ask away - and also read other threads as you can glean a lot of research tips as you go along.

Christine

[Ruskie]

Welcome to rootschat Christiek.

There are quite a lot of good records online for Northumberland, and many knowledgable people on the Northumberland board who will give you any help you need. A couple to start you off:

I'm not sure if you are already aware of this, but there are lots of parish records viewable here:
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0pn4/
(I hope the link takes you to the right place)
Coverage varies and you do need patience to trawl through the records, but they can be very useful.

Another decent basic site:
http://www.genuki.bpears.org.uk/NBL/
(can be tricky to find your way around it, but does contain some useful information)

If you need help with anyone in particular just start a new post and ask away. Try not to double up on any requests you have, and if you do have a number of related posts about the same person or family (which can happen) it is a good idea to provide links to all posts. This is to prevent anyone helping you from doubling up information and lookups which you may already have been given.

Also in any lookup requests you may have, it is advisable to tell us what you already know about the person, and exactly what you are looking for.

THis is a great site and you will get loads of help here.

[Phodgetts]

Hi, and welcome. As no doubt you are already aware, we Northumbrians are a pleaseant bunch and only too glad to help.

Philip

[Selby44]

But not as new as me! While you're now an old hand I joined only yesterday. This came as a result of googling 'Knox Blacksmith Bamburgh', when your thread on Rootschat came up, with its fascinating information.

We're related! My username selby44 gives a clue. In fact, my name is Selby Knox and I was born in 1944, in Newcastle. I'm a grandson of James Knox (b 1870), the eldest son of David (b 1844). Though the eldest, who you might have thought would inherit the blacksmith's shop, James moved from Bamburgh (I don't know when) to Lemington, just to the west of Newcastle and set up a blacksmith's shop there. He married Jane Alice Martin (b 1870, d 1949) and had four sons - Selby, Albert, George (my father) and Richard. My father told me that James called his eldest son Selby after his good friend Selby Morton, but that's all I know on that front. I'm afraid James abandoned my grandmother Jane when the four boys were very young and emigrated to the USA, never to be seen again. Jane brought the four boys up on her own, with the help of the community, but Selby and Albert died as teenagers in a bathing accident in 1916. My father named me Selby after his drowned brother. Keeping the name alive my son (b 1983) is Duncan Selby Knox.

I have lots of other information if you're interested. Like the fact that I met Lizzie Knox in 1977 and had tea in her house on Main Street. In there I took photos of her photos, showing her working in the smithy, and also of my great grandfather David. I can get them to you somehow if you don't already have them. She was delighted to meet and talk, and said she remembered the day that James left Bamburgh, never to return! I guess she was my father's cousin.

I believe you're descended from Lizzie's younger brother Selby (b 1917), whose gravestone I photographed in Bamburgh churchyard about ten years ago.

Any further information I can give either by this route, email or the Personal Message system (however that works) I am happy to do. And I would love to learn more from you.

[iluleah]

Hi Selby, welcome to rootschat  You have posted on an old thread from 2012 although christiek  is active on rootschat and so should get an email notifications of your post, so no doubt will be back to add to it.

Your post may be modified by a rootschat moderator as the rule is  we do not discuss living people or give details about them on open forum, that is what PM is for....and to get your PM working so you can contact others off forum where personal information can be exchanged you will need to post three times and it then becomes active for you to use, so it will be worth you posting in answer to this and again and you are then "rootschat PM activated" so to speak

[Selby44]

Ok, many thanks.