General Genealogy Question

[Sheik Yir Erse]

I must admit to being quite amazed at the number of posters from far flung corners of the globe, who arrive on the Kintyre Forum in an attempt to trace their family history. I'm also equally amazed by the help offered by the likes of Iain and Shona to answer questions posed. Well done to all who offer their help.

Perhaps for those of us who are born, bred and still resident in Scotland, there is less of an innate desire to investigate the family tree, however it is something that has started to interest me recently (I must be getting older!)

Anyway I have a couple of questions for the resident experts, if I was to venture into genealogy:

Any Do's and Dont's for a beginner?
Based on an 'average' project, how much money could you realistically expect to spend?
How much time would you realistically to spend?

Finally what is the most interesting thing you've unearthed about your family tree

Thanks in advance.

[MPR]

sorry to say, but once you start it will consume you.... but the info is priceless. I suggest you go for it. start with what you know, Grandparents etc, many free resources out there to get you going, mormon site( family search.org), rootsweb, ancestry, they all have free message boards that are worldwide

[gizmo]

The most important/urgent thing is to speak to older relations. Get them to talk to you about their memories of family (and dont necesarily believe everything they tell you). Try to take notes, they will come in handy as you find information for yourself. Ask everyone for copies of old photos, get them to identify the photos and write names on the back.
My favourite discoveries involve the skeletons and info on war casualties.
I say dont believe everything you are told from bitter experience, it does not mean people are lying, but stories get twisted over the generations.
Get down the cemetery with a digital camera, take notes of everything and double check where possible. Enjoy.

[CaliGal]

Ask everyone for copies of old photos, get them to identify the photos and write names on the back.

Have them write on the photos in pencil. Ink (and ballpoints) can harm photos, unless they are archive quality.

As you compile information, mark your sources. This is so important later. It is interesting to compare stories from different relatives. I have 3 stories about a mystery ancestor who was born in Germany, England or Wisconsin, depending on the family member.

http://genealogy.about.com/cs/beginnerscorner/ht/family_tree.htm - a how to get started with genealogy page

Go carefully when talking to relatives. I've found that when I get them telling stories I'll hear details they say they don't know.

The cost depends on which resources you'll be using. There are many free websites, but you'll want to get source images which are mostly on paid websites. When doing my Scottish research I start on familysearch.org and my free ancestry.com account to find as much as I can. Then I go to scotlandspeople.gov.uk for the original images. When using Scotland's people, I always get as much for my money as possible... Broadening my search so that my result list contains 24 records instead of 1 (you pay the same amount for a list of one as a list of 24). And that list of 24 could include more siblings, cousins etc in the area that you'd want to get info on anyway.

A website with free bmd records, although it looks like they now also post transcriptions. http://www.sctbdm.com/index.php

[Iain]

I'm also equally amazed by the help offered by the likes of Iain and Shona to answer questions posed.

Hi ! Lol..., thanks for the comments !

As the others have said, it’s more urgent than you think to get in touch with the oldest members of the family before it’s too late. I'd even say this for people who are not interested in genealogy..., because one day, someone else in the family might sincerely appreciate that type of info. (and especially the photos..., and get them digitalized)
I’ve a perfect example of my still living Uncle Dan Black in Campbeltown, b1924 He’s the only living person who spoke and played with my Great Grandfather Robert McArthur 1860-1935. My problem is that there’s nobody in the family who’s interested in genealogy to ask him the relevant questions. (I’m in Belgium !)
And as MPR said, it will consume you. I know people on RootsChat who have over 17000 genealogical researched answers. This is half a lifetime donated to helping others. Lol ! That’s passion gone wild !
http://www.rootschat.com
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.ph ... board=87.0

As for the cost..., it’s "totally" free thanks to the Internet ! But of course, it's always better if you do belong to some site that offers you the construction of a professional tree and access to other members’ trees. I’m an Ancestry fan, but I was thinking of asking for a Christmas present membership to Scotland’s People. But much of what they provide is already mentioned on Ancestry.
http://www.ancestry.co.uk
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

It’s the “free” aspect that interested me at the start and I’m only sorry that I didn’t/don’t have a walk-around access to all cemeteries. This is one of the most valuable assets for a Campbeltonian genealogist. There..., everything’s written down for you. Personally, I must surf the Ralston site and although the images are free, it’s not that easy when there’s more than one person with the same name.
http://www.ralstongenealogy.com
Also, you have all the additional links such as libraries, museums, newspaper companies, town halls, to mention but a few.

Lol ! Like you..., I’m also wondering if there’s not a supplementary aspect related to age. At my age at least, I’m snugly fitting myself into the tree and providing future generations with a “oh what a wonderful man that was,” element. Everything positive...,

[FionaMc]

Hi
I too am very grateful to Iain and others for their help. They are so very kind. I have been to Scotland from Australia twice and have found that I arrived with incorrect information and found later I was actually staying in the village my grandfather was born and driving to the next village to look for clues. I took photos of my gggrandparents grave not realizing at the time who they were....just found the inscription interesting!

I was also offered help by a lovely man by the name of George McMillan (no relation to me) when I visited Campbeltown. I knocked on his door and he spent the afternoon with me introducing me to people he thought I may have been related to. In fact I think now I may be related to his wife!

I hope all the distant cousins from the far reaches of the world continue to be welcomed so warmly in Scotland because it is so very important to us to know where we came from. We are in fact displaced people.

Fiona McMillan