I thought I would breakdown how I am doing in my research so far. If I can prove that someone is my ancestor then they are counted, those that I cant I haven't.
1st Generation: 1 out of 1 (100.00%)
2nd Generation: 2 out of 2 (100.00%)
3rd Generation: 4 out of 4 (100.00%)
4th Generation: 8 out of 8 (100.00%)
5th Generation: 14 out of 16 (87.50 %)
6th Generation: 23 out of 32 (71.88%)
7th Generation: 26 out of 64 (40.63%)
8th Generation: 11 out of 128 (8.59%)
9th Generation: 2 out of 256 (0.78%)
10th Generation: 2 out of 512 (0.38%)
Total: 93 out of 1,023 (9.09%)
Since 1960 our family has looked for any record of my Great-Grandmother's birth without success, she always would say that her Father forgot to register her which is why at generation 5 I loose 2 people - any wonder I would like a time machine for Christmas so I can ensure he remembered? However, if I was to assume that my Great-Grandmother is a full blood sister to her siblings then I would have:
1st Generation: 1 out of 1 (100.00%)
2nd Generation: 2 out of 2 (100.00%)
3rd Generation: 4 out of 4 (100.00%)
4th Generation: 8 out of 8 (100.00%)
5th Generation: 16 out of 16 (100.00%)
6th Generation: 27 out of 32 (84.38%)
7th Generation: 32 out of 64 (50.00%)
8th Generation: 15 out of 128 (11.72%)
9th Generation: 8 out of 256 (3.13%)
10th Generation: 6 out of 512 (1.17%)
Total: 119 out of 1,023 (11.63%)
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
In the beginning...
One of the very first assignments I can remember being given when I started Secondary School was to make a Family Tree. By the end of that same week; I had been issued the same assignment for no less than three separate classes (French, Welsh and Religious Education). So there I was 11 years old thinking how can I do this assignment when I thought I may as well start with what I knew. In the back of one of my exercise books I wrote my own name at the bottom of the page with my date of birth and to my right I wrote the same for my little brother and in just a few minutes I had three generations and had started adding a fourth.
When I got home from school I handed the book to my parents explaining what I had to do and asked them to fill in the blanks. We soon realised that my parents could only fill in some of the information that I wanted to use so my Grandparents were employed to fill in the rest. By the time I had 'finished' these assignments I had more questions than answers; When did Gran and Grancher marry? who were their parents? did they have any siblings? I was fortunate that my Maternal Grandmother has a family tree that her cousin had done many years before and sent to her Mother - I was given a copy of it and started trying to piece together what I knew and how some of that tree connected. For the next seven years I had to put my research on the back burner but updated the tree I had created when ever there was a significant event in the family.
Now 18 years later and I can honestly say I am well any truly addicted to rooting around in databases and records. I don't care that my brother has no interest in genealogy or that he refers to it as stalking the dead. For me it is so much more than that, I want to know the people that came before me, the one who made me, me! I wonder why my Great-great-grandfather listed himself as a bachelor on both marriage certificates, why my Great-grandmother said her birth was never registered and how my Great-grandmother felt when her Mother left town to move back 'home' with the youngest of her siblings. I know I might never be able to answer so of those questions but that doesn't mean I will stop looking for clues.
When I got home from school I handed the book to my parents explaining what I had to do and asked them to fill in the blanks. We soon realised that my parents could only fill in some of the information that I wanted to use so my Grandparents were employed to fill in the rest. By the time I had 'finished' these assignments I had more questions than answers; When did Gran and Grancher marry? who were their parents? did they have any siblings? I was fortunate that my Maternal Grandmother has a family tree that her cousin had done many years before and sent to her Mother - I was given a copy of it and started trying to piece together what I knew and how some of that tree connected. For the next seven years I had to put my research on the back burner but updated the tree I had created when ever there was a significant event in the family.
Now 18 years later and I can honestly say I am well any truly addicted to rooting around in databases and records. I don't care that my brother has no interest in genealogy or that he refers to it as stalking the dead. For me it is so much more than that, I want to know the people that came before me, the one who made me, me! I wonder why my Great-great-grandfather listed himself as a bachelor on both marriage certificates, why my Great-grandmother said her birth was never registered and how my Great-grandmother felt when her Mother left town to move back 'home' with the youngest of her siblings. I know I might never be able to answer so of those questions but that doesn't mean I will stop looking for clues.
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