What have you found?

[brickwalls]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I've found some pretty upsetting stuff during my research.

However, not missing an opportunity to do a bit of word of mouth research, I spent some time yesterday questioning relatives and family friends.

One thing I had suspected, but only found out yesterday, was that my aunt got married (inadvertently) in the same church as her grand-parents. She didn't know this when she got married, and only found out as a result of my research. So that was something which I think is nice to have found.

How about you? Have you found out anything which has made you feel warm inside?

[snoopysue]

I always feel a bit emotional when I found out something new. I was a bit shocked when I found out my gr gr gr grandparents had 3 kids before they got married and had been living together for at least 6 years. I didn't expect that - as it turns out later generations were no better, there was quite often a bun in the oven on the wedding day!
One several times gr grandmother had a daughter a year and 3 days after he husband died - no father mentioned.
I always feel sad when death certificates come through - bit daft really, as I already know they're dead - it just makes it more real somehow. One death certificate made more of an impression: my gr gr gr grandfather died of kidney failure - this may be connected to two of my mums cousins who died of a hereditary kidney disease. I don't know if there is a link, but it certainly makes you think.
My relatives seem to be ordinary working people; a few may have had a little money; there is a rumour that someone got transported (no record of who or when!); in the main the sort of people who built the UK with their hard work.

[brickwalls]

I always feel a bit emotional when I found out something new. I was a bit shocked when I found out my gr gr gr grandparents had 3 kids before they got married and had been living together for at least 6 years. I didn't expect that - as it turns out later generations were no better, there was quite often a bun in the oven on the wedding day!
One several times gr grandmother had a daughter a year and 3 days after he husband died - no father mentioned.
I always feel sad when death certificates come through - bit daft really, as I already know they're dead - it just makes it more real somehow. One death certificate made more of an impression: my gr gr gr grandfather died of kidney failure - this may be connected to two of my mums cousins who died of a hereditary kidney disease. I don't know if there is a link, but it certainly makes you think.
My relatives seem to be ordinary working people; a few may have had a little money; there is a rumour that someone got transported (no record of who or when!); in the main the sort of people who built the UK with their hard work.

Shocking! I do know what you mean about finding the little scandals though. I've found a couple of those, and it normally makes my family laugh, which is good. It certainly puts things into perspective.

I also know what you mean about the death certs. I had to think long and hard about getting one certificate but when it finally arrived I did feel a little sad but then happy at the thought that at least someone now still cares about that person. Somehow it feels like they're not being forgotten, long after they're dead.

I'm yet to find anything other than ordinary working people on one side of my family, however I'm currently looking into a link with the Scottish 'settlers' of Northern Ireland, it's slightly unclear as to whether the Johnston surname ended up in Ulster because of the plantations, or because my family fled Britain. Turns out that when James VI of England, I of Scotland declared the reivers to be outlaws who were to be "hounded and persecuted, imprisoned and/or hanged, or sent into exile". Did find out something interesting today though just by watching T.V.. It turns out that my ancestors were cursed by the Bishop of Glasgow because they were border reivers, taking advantage of the lawless nature of the border between England and Scotland.

[snoopysue]

I always try and research into what the people did for a living, where they lived etc etc - it makes them more real.
I can't imagine what it would have been like for some of them. I know my grandmother shared a bedroom with five brothers and sisters, and her grandparents lived nextdoor but one - and they had twelve kids living at home at one point in a similar terraced house!

[MarkCDodd]

As I mentioned in another thread, finding my G G Grandmother has over 20 pregnancies and only three children lived past 5 years of age was a bit upsetting.

Found out my Father In Law is adopted. That stirred things up a bit as he had taken that secret to his grave an my wife and her family never knew.

Found my mum had two birth certificates. Only one mentions her father.

Found Great Grandpa Dodd spent over 100 days in Hospital in India with various types of VD. You can't blame a soldier for partying but the treatements, including mercury, are a bit scary.

I look forward to the death certificates arriving as it is part of their life story. How they died is rarely a surprise anymore as I can predict fairly well depending on where they lived and their occupation.

So many of them who worked in the smelter in the Black Country ended up with Throat and Lung Cancer that I rarely get to see "Senile Decay" as the cause of death.

No Princes or Kings or anybody who is going to disturb the Historical Scribes. Just hard working people who I am proud of.

[snoopysue]

Found my mum had two birth certificates. Only one mentions her father.
Just hard working people who I am proud of.

How did you find out there were two birth certificates? I would have stopped looking after I found the first (assuming that the details it held were beyond doubt).
As for being proud of your hard working ancesters - I totally agree.

[MarkCDodd]

In 1926 the Legitimacy Act was introduced. This Act allowed children to be legitimised by the subsequent marriage of their parents, provided that neither parent had been married to a third party at the time of the birth. When this occurred the legitimised birth was re-entered in the birth indexes for that year (sometimes many years after the original birth). The original entry would be annotated to refer to the new entry.

i.e If you look at the index page for my Mother's first certificate in 1936 it has an annotation pointing to the second certificate issued in 1940.

Unfortunately the annotation does not go the other way so if I didn't know about the first issued in 1936 I would assume she was born in 1940.

In the 1959 the Act was changed to allow the same for children whose parent(s) had been married to somebody else when they were born.

Legitimacy is important when it comes to probate and other issues of inheritance, such as military medals, and pensions etc.

[snoopysue]

In 1926 the Legitimacy Act was introduced. This Act allowed children to be legitimised by the subsequent marriage of their parents, provided that neither parent had been married to a third party at the time of the birth. When this occurred the legitimised birth was re-entered in the birth indexes for that year (sometimes many years after the original birth). The original entry would be annotated to refer to the new entry.

i.e If you look at the index page for my Mother's first certificate in 1936 it has an annotation pointing to the second certificate issued in 1940.

Unfortunately the annotation does not go the other way so if I didn't know about the first issued in 1936 I would assume she was born in 1940.

In the 1959 the Act was changed to allow the same for children whose parent(s) had been married to somebody else when they were born.

Legitimacy is important when it comes to probate and other issues of inheritance, such as military medals, and pensions etc.

Presumably you had to apply for this? Did the father have to agree to it?

[MarkCDodd]

Both parents had to visit the registry office at the same time and sign a declaration.

[mikleed]

Through research I found that my GG Grandfather had 17 children only the eldest girl emigrated to Broken Hill Australia, children from her married into the BHP dynasty. most of the other kids went to Canada and USA inc. my G Grandfather who died of yellow fever in Nova Scotia.
Mike.

[snoopysue]

Through research I found that my GG Grandfather had 17 children only the eldest girl emigrated to Broken Hill Australia, children from her married into the BHP dynasty. most of the other kids went to Canada and USA inc. my G Grandfather who died of yellow fever in Nova Scotia.
Mike.

BHP dynasty???

[kiansmom]

I'm probably going to sound totally loopy but here goes. I have this urge to walk where my ancestors walked. I have visited a few towns I know they lived in and walked the streets gives me a warm glow knowing they must have done the same many years ago. I also have to visit the churches they were married in (if they are still standing) and I always stand at the altar and imagine them standing there on the wedding day.

I found my great grandparents grave and took them flowers, couldn't help myself I stood there in floods of tears. A bit stupid been as they died 30 years before I was born. I suppose from following their lives it made them very real to me.

As stated on a previous thread I found a very rich family only to find my descendant was the one cut out of the will.

one distant relative was a mormon pioneer and had 3 wives and 27 children!!

[snoopysue]

I'm probably going to sound totally loopy but here goes. I have this urge to walk where my ancestors walked. I have visited a few towns I know they lived in and walked the streets gives me a warm glow knowing they must have done the same many years ago. I also have to visit the churches they were married in (if they are still standing) and I always stand at the altar and imagine them standing there on the wedding day.

I found my great grandparents grave and took them flowers, couldn't help myself I stood there in floods of tears. A bit stupid been as they died 30 years before I was born. I suppose from following their lives it made them very real to me.

As stated on a previous thread I found a very rich family only to find my descendant was the one cut out of the will.

one distant relative was a mormon pioneer and had 3 wives and 27 children!!

I can follow you there!

[MarkCDodd]

BHP was one of the larger Aussie companies mainly involved in steel.

They are now called BHP Billiton and if it can be mined, they are into it. Diamonds, aluminium, coal etc.

[mikleed]

Mc It was one of my G Grandads sister's family that were the early partners in BHP when the mine was discovered at Broken Hill
Mike