Worth all the hard work?

[busyglen]

I have done two historical and genealogical studies, both ongoing, and to date have taken nearly six years.

The first came about whilst I was a member of a mailing list and did some searching for one of the members regarding their Coastguard ancestor who spent time on our Island. I found it very interesting, and so I started looking around the area for the various places that the Coastguards lived. I had no idea that there were so many stations on the Island. I started to collect all of the Census information from the local library relating to these Coastguard families, and also births, marriages and deaths. Sadly a lot of the houses have either fallen into the sea, fallen into decay, or been pulled down. A few still remain today, and as yet I have to sort out some photos. I also started to collect all of the Coastguards in the 1881 Census for Kent, and these were forwarded to someone who was making a database. This collection has now been added to the Genuki Coastguard lists. Nowadays, there is easier access to Coastguard records at TNA, so a lot of the info I collected is not necessarily needed.....however......I have tried to include as many snippets of information that I can, to give an indication of what life was like here, and I have received lots of contact. One really made my day! A lady whose gt. grandfather was stationed on the Island contacted me and asked if I could show her where the cottages were, and the church he went to. I was thrilled to do so, and we spent a lovely day showing her around and the best places for photographs. It made all the hard work worth while!

I am also in the middle of another website which is dedicated to a village on the Island that was built in the mid 1800s and was then pulled down in th 1970s. Hardly anything exists (apart from various peoples' photos and memories) to show that it ever existed, so I have collected the Census details, deaths, whatever photos I can glean from people, and also their memories to show what life was like. Left much longer, there wouldn't be anyone who would remember. It is still in the early stages, but I had my first contact a couple of days ago from someone in Australia who found her ancestors lived in the village. She dearly wanted to see where they lived and was coming to the UK in two days time, but was really upset when I told her that there was nothing of the village for her to see!

So, I felt that all of the effort was really worth while, especially as I have saved this lady precious time, during her visit to the UK, that can now be spent visiting elsewhere. How sad it would have been if she had come and found.....nothing!

So yes....all research is worth it! :) Do other's feel the same with their projects?

Glenys

[stickymone]

Lovely story Glenys, 6 years though, a life sentence is only 12 years!

Just one point though, where is this Island in Kent you refer to?:D

Stickymone

[busyglen]

Lovely story Glenys, 6 years though, a life sentence is only 12 years!

Just one point though, where is this Island in Kent you refer to?:D

Stickymone

The Isle of Sheppey. (Otherwise known as the Isle of Sheep). Very small...blink and you will miss it! ;)

I guess I've got another 6 years to go then.

Glenys

[AnnB]

A fantastic achievement (so far ;)) Glen and yes, all the research is worth it. We have produced quite a few books for our local museum, varying from birth, marriage and death notices for the area, local shipwrecks, tales from both World Wars - all with information gleaned from old copies of the local paper. These books have raised much needed funds for the museum and have given us a lot of pleasure along the way. It's nice to think that other people get pleasure out of them as well :)

Keep up the good work
Ann

[busyglen]

Thanks Ann,

I know you have done a lot in your area,and you are to be congratulated. As you say, it does give one a lot of pleasure. There is a lot of information in the old newspapers if you can spend the time to wade through them, which is what I have been doing of late.

I can't see me giving it up unless my eyesight fails, or I can't use the computer! ;)

Glen

[Davran]

Well done, Glenys. I'm sure there will be a lot of people who will be very grateful for what you have done, especially your work on the village that no longer exists.

[busyglen]

Well done, Glenys. I'm sure there will be a lot of people who will be very grateful for what you have done, especially your work on the village that no longer exists.
Thank you, that's kind of you....I wasn't really looking for gratification, but wondered whether others that have done similar projects (which there are quite a few on the forum) felt that all of their hard work was worth it, and whether they got satisfaction from knowing that they have been able to help people solve riddles, or give them an idea of what went on in the early days, etc.

That one contact email, that stopped someone from travelling miles to see a non-existent village and wasting valuable time, made all my efforts worth while. Six months earlier and it would have been a different story. :(

Glenys

[christopher_n_lewis]

That one contact email, that stopped someone from travelling miles to see a non-existent village and wasting valuable time, made all my efforts worth while. Six months earlier and it would have been a different story.
Glenys

I had an elderly relative who thought her brother was buried in an unmarked grave at Gallipoli, and always felt sad that there was nothing to see. I was able to discover that he was named on the monument there, and to give her a picture. She was very happy to learn about it. A few months later she died. So yes, it was worth it.

Christopher

[michaelpipe]

And the village website is indeed a mine of information for the descendants of the locality - valuable work Busyglen, I have just looked at it.

[busyglen]

Thank you Michael. :)

I hope that in time it will contain a lot more information and it is certainly a learning curve for me.

Glenys