Family History Hunt Part 1: The background

As a librarian, my family assumes – rightly, alas – that I am interested in family history and, therefore, I have been the depository of many a box of memorabilia and photos. Recently, this collection has been augmented by that collected / inherited by my mother, as we now share a house. And there’s a lot! My paternal grandfather was into Family History AND pack-ratting documents.


The re-purposed linen cupboard

As is the case for many, I’m sure, you know bits of your family’s stories and history – the official and the passed-down / not verified.
There are things I’ve known for years: my family is complicated and relatively large. There are multiple marriages; children adopted out and in; and lots of children.
In primary school, I remember doing family trees for a couple of years, and coming home distressed. Just how much of our complicated history did I share?

I’ve dabbled in family history research over the years – more off than on, admittedly. I even, many, many years ago, bought family tree software (on a floppy disc!) and despaired! I’d paid money for this product which limited the information I could input – only three marriages a person allowed! I have a couple of nieces interested in our shared history. I feel obligated to do some serious work. It’s time to put it together; answer some questions; fill-in some gaps. As my progress continues, I’ll be sharing my discoveries and experiences – good and bad.