When we stop to think where we came from ,we generally don’t think farther back  than our grandparents ( unless you are already interested in ancestry of course). By the time we are even remotely interested in our ancestry, our great grandparents are long gone.  At least that was the case with me.

I love history , especially the Tudor period.  I believe this fascination stems from my grandfather and my father’s interest in history also.  I have read many novels covering this period and watch any shows to gaze at the splendour of the costumes and the way they lived,  despite none of our modern conveniences. ‘Outlander’ being one of my current favorites (not Tudor time period)

Like some ,I consider their toiletry requirements.  I’m not sure why I turn into a 10-year-old boy ,but I have to wonder how they managed !

That aside,  I realise in the last few years that if you want to get to know where you came from ,you have to ask now.  Your parents are a mine of information.  If you still have grandparents, try to get information from them also. A lot of pertinent and valuable information goes with them.

Getting an old photograph album passed down to you when someone dies is a treat to look through, but if there is no accompanying information (for example : names and dates on the back of these photographs), it’s just old photos.

Word of mouth  is so much better , as the joy from your relatives expressions and memories are priceless.  You can ask for peoples names and with that will come a funny story about that person  that has perhaps never been written down before.  Even some old family secrets might pop up changing the course of history! Whaaat? She had HIS brothers’ baby?  Think bad soap opera ! It could get juicy!!

From the age of the Internet and into the future , these ancestry searches will be easier, however, prior to the Internet , it’s a case of searching censuses ,old photographs in attics , and the hall of records or churches.  Someone like myself, who moved away from my country is less likely to have access to these records.

I was given a large manila envelope that contained birth, marriage ,and death certificates from a few of my relatives from my father.  When I open them and started reading them ,touching papers back from the 1800s I started to cry .  I’m not sure what I was crying for ,but I believe it was a sense of loss, happiness and finding missing pieces .  I didn’t find anything juicy, scandalous or mind blowing, but it affected me.

There is a show on tv called ” Who do you think you are” that I enjoy immensely and always wish that someone would do the work for me and discover I am a Viking kings daughter from days of old but alas, no one will. That’s up to me to find it all out.

Some people don’t want to know what was in the past , but I do ,and so this year , watch out relatives, I’m coming to a city near you, with my notebook in hand to interview you. Great excuse to travel and reconnect also!

Ancestry.com you are about to have a new subscriber  😃

I want to know who I am.