whats your reason?

[MarieC]

One of my cousins decided to research a little known part of the family, and casting around for allies, picked on me!  Once I got into it and found various intriguing little mysteries, I was hooked!  I love wrestling with mysteries and trying to solve them.  Of course we have had some success but found a lot more mysteries!  I don't know whether to thank or curse my cousin - I've had a lot of fun (and a lot of frustration!) but I used to have some spare time once!!  (Sigh!)

MarieC

[r973g]

Just (originally) to lay the ghost of a family legend that my g'g'g'father had been cheated out of inheriting an estate, all he got was £10.
Ray

[chrissiepoos]

I started searching my family history as we wondered if we had any spanish ancestors,as my brother has dark hair and darkish skin,compaired to my brother and myself,  my great grandparents were from Cornwall and Mum said that the Spanish envaded Cornwall years ago, not sure when,anyway haven't found anything yet on that side of the family, but thought I had when our great grandmother on the other side of the family had a Arabic name on the 1881 census and I thought that was the answer but it turned out to be a spelling mistake, her name was Hannah, never mind I have had great fun and have got in touch with some distant family members.

[smokey]

My intrest was sparked years ago by stories my father told me of his life as a delivery boy for the family grocery business in somewhere called Parsons Green in the 1930S.
The vision of him struggling around on this huge bike with a basket stayed with me. A life time in the Navy prevented any resarch but a few months ago I thought why not and I have had lots of fun.

Smokey

[Willow 4873]

My dad had often expressed an interest in tracing the family tree and I brought him a book to start filling in. We both have a love of history

He died six years ago and I inherited the book (although he hadn't filled a lot of it in). I then started to pick my mums brains a bit about the family but let it drop again (I didn't have access to the Internet or the spare time to go up the archive office)

Following the death of my mum last year and the birth of my only nephew I decided to get my finger out and do something about it

Now my only regret is that I didn't do this years ago they would have both loved to know what I have discovered about the family

Willow x

[Nick Carver]

My dad lost his own father when he was 12 and his mother took him away from where he grew up to where she grew up. As a result, he knew nothing about his family other than the names of some of his uncles and aunts and two or three cousins. I transcribed our parish records with a view to raising some money helping out genealogists and after finishing that decided it would be nice to know about my own background.

Does anyone else share my experience that whilst young, the only thing that matters is the future and dreams of what you are going to do with your life dominate? As you grow older and have a family of your own and parents start to pass away, the past becomes much more important. Just curious.

[Floss]

People are always asking if my surname (McIlduff) was Scottish or Irish.  My dad's Scottish but his dad was born in Ireland so wanted to find out where the name came from.  When I hit a brick wall with McIlduff I decided to try my mums side.  She never got on with her mum and so we had no contact with that side of the family and I wanted to just find out about the relatives I never knew. 
From something that started out as just 'curiosity' it has now become an obsession 

Fiona

[Olly]

 About 18 months ago my daughter was asking about her grandparents (my parents) because she doesn't remember anything about them.
Hardly suprising! - she was 4 weeks when my dad died and 11 and a half months when my mother died. (She's 27 today!)

This got me thinking and I realised that I knew absolutely nothing, other than a surname about my own maternal granddad hence the start of my research.

And I'm totally addicted!!!!!

[MarieC]

Nick,

Yes, I really resonate with what you said - I think this is how it is for many of us.  I don't have children of my own, but I do have a lot of nephews and nieces, and as you say, as the oldies start to pass away you do a lot of thinking about the family and about where we have come from.

I am just sorry that I didn't start before my dad and one particular aunt died.  They would probably have had answers to some of my questions, and ways of banging holes in some of the brick walls!!!!

Still, better late than never.  I too am totally addicted!

MarieC