How long have you been 'AT IT'?

[Copper]

I started my research in about 1970 when I was a teenager. I asked my maternal gran about her family and made lots of notes. At that time we were too poor to make the trips to London to do any research. I picked it up again in about 1992. I have made lots of progress on my maternal and paternal lines but I still have lots to do and brick walls to knock down.

Most of my research really started from scratch as, apart from gran who didn't know very much, I knew nothing other than the names and birth dates for my grandparents.

[Thomasin]

In the 1070's I found out about dad's birth .... So, to the members here, how long I have I been involved? Pick a date

I would say that Colin definitely wins the gold cup!

[Waitabit]

I began asking questions of Parents, the only source I knew in 1952. I think I may have been the first kid o get away with asking alot of questions in a time of chidren should be seen & not heard.
Unable to 'check-em-out' until later I still kept a note of who said what about who.Wondered about a lot of thingsin the meanwhile.

Good hangin' in ther Colin. Are you tired yet?

[Waitabit]

I was a hyper-active child - without the benefit of "E" numbers. I slept from 10:00pm to 2:00am - that was it. Mum used to get up with me at 2:00am and look after me until 6:00am when my Gran, with whom we lived, got up and looked after me so that Mum could go back to bed for a couple of hours. This continued until well after I had started at school.

In a valiant effort to try to wear my brain out, Gran used to tell me stories of her family and, the precocious child that I was, I would be asking questions all the time. Gran was one of 13 children, the eldest having been born in 1885, the youngest in 1906, and she was born in 1894. As you can imagine, there were a lot of stories and I just listened enthralled.
I am one very lucky person to have had a Gran who was also interested.

So, Pam keeps telling us you have a predisposition to chat! Do we pin this on your Gran?

[Jan1954]

So, Pam keeps telling us you have a predisposition to chat! Do we pin this on your Gran?

Oh yes - and Mum could also talk for England!

[Waitabit]

So, how did you get a look in?

[Colin Rowledge]

I would say that Colin definitely wins the gold cup!

Proof galore that I can't proof read.

[Thomasin]

Proof galore that I can't proof read.

An easy typo to make. I always remember reading (in 1986) an advertisement for a history teacher, to start in September 1086!

[LittleSpark]

I started in 1989 the year after my father-in-law died when we were looking through old photo albums and wondered who the people were, what they did and how they were related to us.
After researching for about 5 years - the old way of trawling through the Parish Registers, I had a break for about 10 years until we finally had a computer so started again - and found my way to Brit-Gen and its friendly and helpful members.

I've still got a long way to go but still find it as fascinating as when I first started all those years ago.
I must try and remember to stick with one family and not get side-tracked into starting another when I spot a surname that's also related to me....

Sheila

[Sandra Parker]

I must try and remember to stick with one family and not get side-tracked into starting another when I spot a surname that's also related to me....
Sheila

Oh. Is that what you are supposed to do?

Sandra whose spectacled aura can spot a family name in almost any context.