Re: Hey Farml, Rob, David and All..

"Terryc" <newsthreespam-spam@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> FarmI wrote:

>> How I wish I had your Mum in my family!!!!  I'm the family historian
and 
>> the >> only person like that in our family with that sort of knowledge 
>> has died.
>
> Well, what is funny, is that I could get both families history from both

> sides, or parts of it, because dad's mothers line and mum's fathers line

> both came out of Victoria together and the great-grandfathers were
mates.

Ah, that's useful!

My family is somewhat similar in that 2 brothers married 2 sisters so the 
cousins can sometimes remember stories about one or other of our mutual 
ancestors that weren't told in my family and vice versa.

> I have been extraordinary lucky that I started when I was in my 20's, to

> try and understand who was who of the living, which made it easier 
> intially, plus a few older people have done their families before.

That is a good age to start.  I started when I was about 40 I think.

> Pretty full back for 6 generations and patchy up to 10 generations,
which 
> is interesting research. Luck out in no money anywhere and no convict or

> notoriety either.

LOL.  I know exactly what you mean!  Mine are a dull lot generally - lots
of 
non conformists so missing records all over the place and others of other 
forms of religious zealot but a few people of historic interest which I 
still can't connect into the family.  That sounds totally daft coming from

someone who claims to have an interst in genie, but from 2 widely 
geographically dispersed sides of the family who never had any contact, I 
have the same stories about a Lord Mayor of London who was a rellie,
however 
the stories they have told about other things have al been deadly accurate

so I'm not prepared to yet discount the story.  Besides which there would
be 
no kudos at all in claiming him unless he was related as other than being
LM 
of L, he's as dull as ditchwater.

The other connection which both sides also told me about and which I
really 
would bust a gut to claim, is a family connection to Jane Austen. I nearly

fell off my chair when one old dear told me that and said that she had 
bought Jane Austen's book.  When I asked which one, her response was "You 
know, the one she wrote.".  I still don't know which of Austen's books she

has :-))

> Farmers and gardeners basically, until after 1950s.

Snap!  But in additon to Farmer's (and Lace Manufacturers), one lot were
the 
dreaded Ag. Labs. and I have had no luck so far in getting very far with 
them at all.

> The only tip I give people is to sit down with people and just get them
to 
> take about what they remember and tape it. Do not do question and answer

> stuff. So many people learn their family history as stories, or sayings
or 
> yarns, which they can repeat very easily. I did that with my fathers 
> parents for a couple of sessions and I'm still have eureka moments when
I 
> work out what some phrase actually meant. Things like "he stood up for 
> him" turned out to be that the great-grandfathers above were bride and 
> groom at a wedding. No one younger realised what it meant but just 
> repeated what they were told.

:-))  I know exactly what you mean by all of that!  I still go back to my 
earliest notebooks and go Ah Haaaa!  I also frequently go back through my 
certificates of BDM and notice something I've missed before too.  I have 
developed a great sympathy for the police and the process of detection as
a 
result :-))

> After that person dies, then you can pass a copy of the tape/CD to their

> children (unless there is a reason to hold it longer).

Yes, that is a very nice remembrance to ahve of someone.  I have a tape of

my mother and it brings back such memories to hear her voice.