Genealogy Chat

Thank you all for your prespective its very helpful to a newbie like me!!

Of course it's your choice, but sometimes researching sideways and forwards, as well as back, can reveal all sorts of things........... plus if you don't, it is much easier to make a mistake, because you are not aware (for instance) that there are two cousins who share the same unusual name, because you have not searched the whole family.....you then rush off down someone elses tree, by mistake!! Merry

I find I need some details of brothers and sisters to understand my ancestors lives. For example my grandmother from Somerset married in London (it took me ages to find) as her mother had died and her eldest sister organised the wedding. In small villages you will probably find several connections between families as cousin marriages were quite common. if you just research your direct ancestors you will quickly come up against brick walls usually after you leave the census. I also try to find old postcards of places they lived or take photos to give some atmosphere to my research.

Thank you everyone for your feedback..... I ahd actually starting researching brothers & sisters as I ahve found a couple of interesting points....many thanks clare xx

I try and trace everything... I have my G grandfather's brother's wife's family on there. I think it can help you as it adds a bit of meat to the bones and can sometimes give you an idea of what type of people they were, by the people they married. xxx

Thanks Heather...its so confusing though with so many same names going down the generations, think I've already come across bigamomy & a tragedy!! Thanks everyone I had started doing everyone ie what I knew already & then going further I just wanted a view on what others are doing...this really is a great site for help!

It's entirely up to to you - there are no rules as far as researching goes. It all depends on what you want to achieve from it - just your immediate blood line, or the whole tree. It also depends on how much time and money you're willing to invest in it as the more you take on the more certs you will need to order. Many, like myself, end up going the whole hog and doing just about everything because you become addicted to the thrill of the chase and discovery. It's a bit like playing at detectives sometimes and when you solve one puzzle it's a real buzz so you just want more! It's not all about collecting names, though. It's a good idea to try to get some knowledge of the social history and as much info as you can build up about each family as that makes it all the more interesting. Happy hunting! Leah

It is entirely up to you - it is your tree. Liz

Well, yes, if you research siblings often clues turn up about your direct ancestor plus the more people you have that are connected the more likelihood someone will have them on their tree and may contact you with further info on the common ancestor.

I'm new to this & was wondering if any one could advise me whether I should research my great grandfathers brothers & sisters children etc...