[Z]

Has anyone here ever researched their family tree before? I've always wanted to look into my family history because I barely knew my grandparents and they were all dead and gone by the time I was 16 so I've always had this desire to learn more about them and my great-grandparents etc... Any tips on where to begin? I've done a few cursory Google searches and a lot of what's come up seems to be either going to some facility in London or paying through the nose for very little return, but I've not looked into it properly...

Anyone got any interesting stories about distant relatives that they know about? Anyone related to anyone interesting?

[Jake.]

I'd love to do this, I find it so fascinating

[Ellen]

Originally Posted by Zee

Has anyone here ever researched their family tree before? I've always wanted to look into my family history because I barely knew my grandparents and they were all dead and gone by the time I was 16 so I've always had this desire to learn more about them and my great-grandparents etc... Any tips on where to begin? I've done a few cursory Google searches and a lot of what's come up seems to be either going to some facility in London or paying through the nose for very little return, but I've not looked into it properly...

Anyone got any interesting stories about distant relatives that they know about? Anyone related to anyone interesting?

You could try the free births/deaths/marriages.
Also genes reunited is really good & you can pay per view now rather than monthly/yearly same as Find my past.
Ancestry.com is expensive but sometime they do a free 2wk trial, you do have to sign up but if you cancel before your trial is up you can get lots of info for free.

[Marc]

Well I never met my grandparents as they died before I was born, so I would absolutely love to. I think my mum looked into it a few years back, but don't some websites charge you for research?

I bet I'm related to royalty.. I just feel it

[Z]

Originally Posted by Ellen

You could try the free births/deaths/marriages.
Also genes reunited is really good & you can pay per view now rather than monthly/yearly same as Find my past.
Ancestry.com is expensive but sometime they do a free 2wk trial, you do have to sign up but if you cancel before your trial is up you can get lots of info for free.

I'll have a look into those just now! I want to know the little things... like where were they born, what did they do for a living, where did they live, that kinda thing. I know my grandad on my dad's side had lots of siblings and that their families moved to locations all around the world after WWII and that I have relatives in Australia, but I don't know a thing about them and neither does my dad, so I'm curious to find out more about that side of my family as my grandad died long before I was born, when my dad was in his early 20s.

[Ellen]

Originally Posted by Zee

I'll have a look into those just now! I want to know the little things... like where were they born, what did they do for a living, where did they live, that kinda thing. I know my grandad on my dad's side had lots of siblings and that their families moved to locations all around the world after WWII and that I have relatives in Australia, but I don't know a thing about them and neither does my dad, so I'm curious to find out more about that side of my family as my grandad died long before I was born, when my dad was in his early 20s.

Definitely try Ancestry.com if they have a free trial going. They have a massive data base from all over the world. You may even find someone doing a family tree that your family are in

[Z]

Originally Posted by Ellen

Definitely try Ancestry.com if they have a free trial going. They have a massive data base from all over the world. You may even find someone doing a family tree that your family are in

That'd be fantastic, would save me some work! Haha!

My grandfather was raised in this tiny village in the north east of Scotland about an hour away from where I live now - it's at the bottom of this very steep hill and it's so steep that cars aren't allowed to go down beyond the half way point where there's a car park... and most of the houses have been converted into sea-front holiday homes. The house my grandfather was raised in is now a pile of ruins set back slightly from the other houses, I've always wanted to know more about that.

[BigSister]

I should do this really but like you zee I don't know where to start. My dad loves who do you think you are and programmes like that so maybe he could be the first person to ask

[Ellen]

Originally Posted by Zee

That'd be fantastic, would save me some work! Haha!

My grandfather was raised in this tiny village in the north east of Scotland about an hour away from where I live now - it's at the bottom of this very steep hill and it's so steep that cars aren't allowed to go down beyond the half way point where there's a car park... and most of the houses have been converted into sea-front holiday homes. The house my grandfather was raised in is now a pile of ruins set back slightly from the other houses, I've always wanted to know more about that.

There is a separate section for Scotland so look in there first. Also try www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk This is births/deaths/marriages & i think census's just for Scotland.Its free

Ancestry.co.uk/Scotland are doing a 14 day free trial if you want to check it out.

[Lee.]

Ill help anybody that wants a hand getting started

[Z]

Ahh thank you Ellen!! Lee, you might just get a PM or two once I've got stuck in...!

[Lee.]

Ill definitely help if you get stuck! Start by joining ancestry.com, then scotlandspeople.com is a huge help as is the church of Latter Day Saints' website.

[Ellen]

Originally Posted by Zee

Ahh thank you Ellen!! Lee, you might just get a PM or two once I've got stuck in...!

You are very welcome zee, good luck in your search & if you get stuck let me know, i'll try to help

[hijaxers]

Just a thought - sometimes whilst the tv shows are being aired - ' Who do you think you are ' they have really good info on their web pages on getting started.

Is that where you pretend to be a doctor and mess about with lady bits?

[Z]

Originally Posted by Jesus.

Is that where you pretend to be a doctor and mess about with lady bits?

Yeah I'm really interested in getting to know my great-grandmother

[Indy]

I started trying to find it all on my own, and ultimately ended up joining Ancestry.com simply because everything was linking me there, but I couldn't see any of it without joining.

As it turns out, there's someone over in the UK who had already traced my father's side back about 300 years, and published it years ago. From there I found a colonial war hero who is apparently related to millions of people here in the US (he went through 3 wives and had about 17 children total), and his line traces back to a Scottish clan, then back to when there aren't even any dates to reference anymore.

It's easier if you do find someone famous, but it also takes a lot of the fun out of it. Apparently I'm a direct descendant of Olaf II, and there are some other titles around 1100-1200, but I haven't had time to actually research what they are. Same with the different clans and the marriages between them. So far they're just names on a tree, and I'm in information overload.

My mother's side is a LOT harder, but every bit I find feels like more of an accomplishment.

[LemonJam]

I know my mums side of the family were smugglers... no idea about my dads.