Genealogy Chat

The 1911 census for my dad shows him with his mum and siblings. .his mum was head of house because grandad was in the merchant navy and was at sea

The sad thing is when gran filled in the sheet as married she had no idea her hubby would be lost at sea in July 1911

My maternal grandparents too are on the 1939 register only for grandad to pass away later in 1939

I have been looking at oh maternal tree too . I know his gran married at aged 18 cos she wanted to get out of the family home . She was the eldest but her parents had umpteen kids and not many survived . I did know her and she had told me she married to get out the home cos as the eldest she had to take care of her siblings . So many died soon after birth it must have been traumatic for her that the babies died

Records area great source of info but the facts behind them are really the family history

The oral history often makes sense of the written records. As you say looking back, knowing what was to happen, can be very poignant.

In 1911 OHs grt grandparents had a young live-in servant who was also a neice. A contact had been told that the niece was treated poorly by her employers. Of course, we don't know for sure if the employers were the aunt/uncle or someone different. It leaves an uncomfortable taste in the mouth.

You wish you could go back with hindsight and say noooo you have gone off track .but we are who we are because of the decisions they had to take at the time

Back up and help really wasn't there for our families in the 1800's onwards so folks went with what they could afford to do

My maternal grandad was widowed in 1905 and had no option to put his 4 children into the workhouse who were put in the associated children's home

He married nan in 1909 but sadly by a month didtnt managed to,stop his daughter being a BHC

So many lives split apart so many years ago