Don't be deceived - Research isn't always easy!

[kerryb]

Hi peteseaton

There's nothing wrong with getting your info off the internet anyway so blow that smart arse a big raspberry 

Now as parish registers are made more available online it is feasible to get back a long way without stepping outside your front door, just not as much fun 

When I started 3 years ago I got a lot of my tree from the IGI etc online and have spent the intervening years amending, correcting and adding to.  It was a good place to start and totally agree with your about taking your time, checking and cross referencing.

Kerry

[BettyofKent]

Ooohhh no no Pete, not that board, this is the real BBC Family History Board
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbhistory/F2233810

I hope we have got better manners than that on there!!

 
Betty

Over on the BBC Family History message board, we get a number of newbies each time a new series of WDYTYA starts.  Some stay the distance, but most seem to disappear when they realise how much work is involved.

I realise that the programmes can't show every minute of every search, but the way it's done is very misleading, they should make it clear just how time-consuming & frustrating it can sometimes be when you don't have a tame expert on hand!

Betty

well, i logged in and said that ive traced my tree back to 1540 in scotland.

then some smart arse piped up and accused me of getting it all off the internet and thought he was giving me advice, err been there, done that

anyway, not it isn't that easy, i began with one name, and very little info.

the best advice is to take your time, and keep on checking and cross-referencing, and go to the churches and look at their records.

[meles]

I've just had a look - blimey, what a ....robust... lot they are!

We're much more polite and (with one or two exceptions) sensitive to others' views 

meles

[peteseaton]

there are so many boards, BBC, Family Tree mag, but i do find Genes Reunited's tree a bit sexist as it won't let me add the wives of my Gt grandfathers beyond 1700 ??

[LoneyBones]

Well I don't know about WDYTYA but the internet has certainly boosted genealogy.
My cousin started researching my Dad's side of the family 40 years ago. She spent most of her money and all of her holidays travelling about Australia looking in old churches, graveyards and dusty government offices, went to England and Wales, met lots of friendly people and had lots of fun.
I've been following her vicariously for thirty years, keeping all the updates she sends to all of us who are interested.
Then seven years ago I got my own computer and discovered the internet.
I have duplicated all her forty years of research and then some, not just my Dad's side but my Mum's as well. But I've never been to England or Wales and I've never visited a dusty government office and I'll never meet all the wonderful people she met. (except on RootsChat  )
I enjoy every minute of internet research, hate dead ends and brick walls, love chatting on genealogy forums and don't ever expect it to be easy.
Who'd ever want to take up golf as a hobby?
Cheers,
Leonie.

[Willow 4873]

This looks useful:

Census Schedules & Listings 1801-1831
An introduction & guide.
http://www.essex.ac.uk/history/working-papers/MW-RW-BM.pdf


It lists what was taken & where, & where copies can be found, for many counties.

Betty

Thank you for the link Betty unfortunately Wolverhampton, Ledbury, Tibberton, Tamworth and Droitwich (my main areas of research) not on there lol - just my luck! 

Don't let anyone knock Internet research! - I don't have the time or the resources to travel around the country doing reseach as much as I would like to do it that way

And of course Rootschat is brilliant! - another pair of eyes on a problem has cracked a lot of potential brick walls for me (or me going braindead over a problem) - and going back to Internet research as much as I love you all if I didn't have Internet research I'm afraid I just couldn't afford to drag you all around with me to help 

Willow x

[Christopher]

You can get a good soaking playing golf or even trekking around graveyards looking for information about your ancestors. Research conducted by browsing through material in libraries, museums and public record offices as well as on the internet saves you from getting a chill following a good soaking

[pinefamily]

Genealogy certainly isn't a "quick-fix" hobby; it takes a lot of time, sometimes going over the same ground to fix errors etc.
I have seen first hand a person stroll into my local family history society library and ask for his family tree during his lunch break! Television programmes like "Who Do You Think You Are?" can only benefit our hobby in the long run, if only by making governments and authorities more aware of not destroying our heritage. Here in Australia, our archives have had "clean-outs" in recent times to save room on their shelves; also, our census records are destroyed once the data is collected.
As for the internet, it is a boon for those at a distance, and for the more seasoned researcher; however it can be a trap for the novice.

Darren

[Jillie42]

At the WDYTYA Live show on Saturday while we were waiting in the queue a young lady came around with a simple questionnaire asking what we were advice we needed so they could match the expert to the question. The lady in the queue behind me said

"My mother is English and I don't know who my father is". We were all rathger stunned. Clearly this lady expected the expert to discover the answers in her alocated 30 time. Needless to say the young helper suggested she did a little research of her own first.

I did wonder if seeing the programme made her think the professionals at the show would be able to discover background to her life for her as they do for the celebrities

And also on the point of finding answers and new research, as a result of purchasing a little book on WWII at the show written by the editor of "Ancestors" magazine, I emailed him with a question for which out expert didn't know the answer, seems the editor doesn't know either but is going to do some reserch of his own and run an article in the August or September edition. Lovely man and what a result!