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Well i had a go, just submitted my e-mail,and name etc, put in me dads name and were born and search, it said no-one of that name listed,utter rubbish asking me to submit a different name/spelling.when it was 100% correct, so stuff em.:(

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I did that too, but with a bit of tweaking it brought up pages and pages of results.
In fact I have segs on my behind from sitting and googly eyes from scanning the results.
Using the site takes a little getting used to Cashy.

Rowlf, most of the info I already had was from the Parish registers and the BMD website.
I have not been able to access census details before...but today I have.
The census details have filled in a lot of the gaps in the info I had, and I have been able to go back to the mid 1800s.
Really enjoyed it in a sadistic sort of way.

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All well n good Margaret, but if yeh enter correct details, i'm not of the mind to have to fiddle about, if i had paid fer service like that,i would be livid.

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I don't need to search according to most folk I meet I'm a Barstuared and come from a long line of ancestors that plied the same trade!

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Well 'most folk' are wrong Less. Everybody has grand parents and great grand parents even if they were not married or whatever. I still find it interesting to find out who they were and what they did for a living and where they lived.

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I am glad you were able to find things out from the census Margaret. It can help a lot to know where they came from and what occupation they had. (No lay abouts in days gone by)

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Retlaw, I fell into the research by accident(if you can call it that)

My niece in Australia had started trying to research both her mothers past and her husbands too(he was,by all accounts) descended from seafaring stock who were on the transport ships taking criminals to the colonies.

Then I started out trying to find out something about my side of the family.
My Ma was under the impression that her father was South African, but it turned out he was from a large Lincolnshire family(but he had spent much of his life out in SA).

My research has also shown that many of the weddings were 'shotgun' affairs...with babies arriving just a few months after the nuptials.

I don't know how future generations will research their ancestors. Fewer of them seem to want to get married.

I am sad that I did not ask questions of my grand parents while they were alive, but when you are young you do not have any grasp on what you will want to know in the future.
My maternal Grandfather died when I was very young and my paternal grandmother died when I was nine.

I know exactly what you mean when you say that each time they update the websites they seem to make it harder.
I found that fewer details gave better results on Ancestry.
I had never before been able to look at the census details and these proved to be really interesting(though the copperplate was hard to read...but as you know I have a little bit of a head start in that department. Anyone who can read the writing of Doctors is going to be ahead of the game).
Yes there were some questionable results, but cross referencing details helped get to the info that was relevant.

I might do a bit more today.

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Do you not mean you are a Bar Steward?

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I don’t think many people did discuss family history years ago, Margaret. I certainly didn’t know much about mine. We watch the ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ series and this is also often the case with the people on these shows, they know very little about their ancestors.

I’m sure it’s addictive though and that there’s no cure once you catch the bug. I started off wanting to know just one detail that I was curious about, then when that was known it was just another and then another, and here I am some years and many, many, hours later, still addicted to finding out more. I do have a huge amount of information now both for him and for me, going back hundreds of years in some cases. But I want more!!!!

A bit of ‘detective’ work is required sorting out fact from fiction. Can be very rewarding, can be frustrating at times, but definitely enjoyable.

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I was using the local and ancient spelling of the word 'Barstuared' as what I had found on a free search somewhere.

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yes I think you are right Dotti.
Though I do remeber seeing old pictures of my grandma's relatives....and I am sure my grandma told me who they were, but I did not commit them to memory.
Asking Ma is hopeless she can't remember(sometimes that it) what she had for her dinner!

Yes you do need patience and some detective powers, but it is excercise for the old grey cells.

This morning I have found the ship that my husband went out to Australia on when he was a 'ten pound Pommie' in 1950.
I have also found his parents marriage record and his grandparents on both sides.
I am going to have to give it a bit of a rest as my bum is numb from sitting.
Very interesting...and yes the hope of finding a little bit more is tantalising

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Ancestry over here advertises that they can trace your ancestor(s) providing you give them a "DNA". The kit for a DNA is bought from them. My question is how can they trace your ancestors through this when all it can do is trace what tribe , area, ethnic group etc you came from, can trace a relative who was born in the early 1600's even the name and where they lived?.

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No Keith I don't think that is entirely true.
What they are saying is that they will trace where your ancestors came from in the world.
They will trace your ethnicity, not specifically your ancestors.
The work of tracing your own specific ancestors is down to you...you have to do the brainwork.

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What happens when both you and one of your 'children' send off for this DNA background and compare notes, discovering that in actual fact you aren't related at all?

Maybe better to love the child in ignorance than to discover the deceit of ones spouse?
:eek: