What family info did you have before you started genealogy?

[iluleah]

None!

My father, an only child who died when I was 17yrs old I knew his father until I was 5yrs old when he died, his mother had died of TB when my dad was 4yrs old and when I had asked him about his parents years before he always said he didn't know his mothers name.

At that time I had no clue about how to find out, never thought of asking my mother for or getting his birth cert, so 'floundered' for years. I only really wanted to find out his mums name 'for my dad' at that time I was not interested in FH research and if I had been told then I probably would never have researched.

My mother was no help at all and would just say "let sleeping dogs lie" whatever I asked about his family or hers. The only other person alive to ask anything of was her mum, my Nana but I had to find the right time to ask and ask in the right way or she just closed down too. That really made me more suspicious and it was only when I had my daughter years later and took her to see my Nana who asked "what have you named her" and when told she gasped and asked " where did you get that name from" ( it was an unusual name) I had never known anyone called that from anywhere and I am not sure where it popped into my head from.......... she went on to say "Granddad had an Aunt called that, it was a 'family name' but the last one to use it was that Aunt"

That gave me a way in to ask more and the information although it was very limited information about who his parents were and I later found what she told me was untrue and she would have known she was telling me lies but it enabled me to get started. I knew they were hiding things and knew I was not going to be told or helped. ... and to this day my mother will tell me nothing, she doesn't know that I know all the 'secrets' already all researched all proved.

About 10 yrs ago I was visiting and had left my FH folder on the coffee table, I walked in to her having a sneaky look, she behaved like it was on fire and was up and out of the room like a shot, but what she saw satisfied her I didn't know anything. What she didn't know was I had a real research file with all the information/records etc and 'what I was told' file which she had looked at.

Back then it took me two years to 'find out' and confirm my grandparents names, now with the internet and experience it would take me 30 seconds and my mum is still oblivious that for 30 years I have known that and much much more....the sad thing is none of which needed to be a 'secret'

[ThrelfallYorky]

Ity is sad that the various "shames" and problems that so many families seem to have encountered meant that they took measures that have made them so elusive. I've had some really good hel0p to find one line in OH's family history, that I'd never ever have thought of myself - my mob were all so straightforward - but another researcher applied lateral thinking that then allowed us to backtrack ona prove what had happened.
It was a simple straightforward family line that I was given long ago that got me into this .... but I've found that digging around in odd corners is totally fascinating, and done so ever since!