A search finds a couple of old threads but not too relevant now.
I'm thinking of retiring soon and I need things to keep me occupied.
I've always fancied doing this. Has anyone else had a go? And has anyone had experience of the specialist websites around at the moment? Good v bad?
Ta.
I've been doing this for a few years and it's fascinating. I use Scotlandspeople which would be no use to you, but look at it from the point of view of advice on how to start your search. There's also genesreunited which is handy for making contact with other folk from your bloodline and the annual subscription is small. Ancestry.co.uk is a bit more expensive annually and has a vast number of records. Totally free is the Mormon site - LDS. Truth is I'm much more involved with my ancestors than the relatives who still live.
Be prepared to become obsessed.
Who do you think you are?! 
My dad got a subscription to Ancestry.com for Christmas and he loves it.
Genes Reunited is a decent site but the documents they have can disappoint. I've been able to confirm that one of my grandfathers was born in 1889. I already knew his name and thought I knew his year of birth. There doesn't appear, though, to be any way on that site to find out who his parents were. So I am stuck!
I subscribed to ancestry.com a couple of years ago. (For 1 month)
I found it fascinating.
Be prepared for a few shocks on the way. I found out lots of things I never knew and only when I asked family members about what I had found, did they reveal more to me.
You are delving into a time where family secrets were never discussed.
For instance: I found out my granddad's job was self employed 'rag and bone' man. But he put things on his cart that the owners had not finished with yet. He went to jail 3 times for theft of copper boilers.
He was also married 3 times. None of this I ever knew.
I thought I was from centuries old Yorkshire stock but no, I am London Stock and before that from Scotland where my last name was originally Goodlaird...
Quote: Stephen Goodlad @ August 5 2013, 9:26 AM BSTI subscribed to ancestry.com a couple of years ago. (For 1 month)
I found it fascinating.
Be prepared for a few shocks on the way. I found out lots of things I never knew and only when I asked family members about what I had found, did they reveal more to me.
You are delving into a time where family secrets were never discussed.
For instance: I found out my granddad's job was self employed 'rag and bone' man. But he put things on his cart that the owners had not finished with yet. He went to jail 3 times for theft of copper boilers.
He was also married 3 times. None of this I ever knew.I thought I was from centuries old Yorkshire stock but no, I am London Stock and before that from Scotland where my last name was originally Goodlaird...
Yes quite. I found a community website in which there was a section called Memory Lane. A lot of people wanting to get in touch about a certain part of London in the 1940s. There were a few names my Nan had mentioned to me when she was alive. Mum, 83, expressed a little interest in the news but asked me not to get involved. Unfortunately I already had done, not that I could then say so. I'm now left with e-mails from people who moved to Australia and elsewhere. They have raised questions about all sorts from dogs and motorbikes to urban stables. She'd have some of the answers but I can't ask her and I haven't got a clue.
Incidentally, I was born in what is now Greater London. So were both my parents and all four grandparents. I have wondered what percentage of London's population could now say the same. It seems to me that it is likely to be very small. There is some irony in that I have a continental appearance in line with my mother's side of the family. Consequently, I have often been asked by strangers which country I was from originally. In fact, I was once told on a station platform that I shouldn't be wearing an England football shirt. One has to laugh at it. If nothing else, it's given me an appreciation of situations faced by those of ethnic groups.
Quote: Horseradish @ August 5 2013, 7:31 AM BSTGenes Reunited is a decent site but the documents they have can disappoint. I've been able to confirm that one of my grandfathers was born in 1889. I already knew his name and thought I knew his year of birth. There doesn't appear, though, to be any way on that site to find out who his parents were. So I am stuck!
I don't use genesreunited to access their documents, because I already subscribe to both Ancestry and Scotlandspeople where I can get most of what I need. As regards your grandfather I think the only way you'll get this info is to see the actual birth entry/certificate, which probably means forking out a chunk of money. I have one line of English ancestry and the only info I can get is from the censuses on Ancestry, because it doesn't seem to be possible to view other info online and I won't send for the birth, death, marriages etc because it's costly and I'd also have to be absolutely certain I'd picked the right person. Scotlandspeople is a fantastic site - at very little cost (roughly about £1 per time) you can download births, deaths, marriages etc. What you get is the page from the Registrar's and on it there are usually 3 entries, so you have your ancestor plus another 2. This makes fascinating reading - the young sister of one of my great-grandmothers died of cholera and on the same page are a brother and sister, children who also died of cholera - obviously there was an epidemic.
P.S. You could try the Mormon site - they don't have everything but occasionally you can strike lucky. It's https://familysearch.org/
I've used the (free) forums on those sites a couple of times, and found people both times who had started threads looking for people from my family. I got in touch with a second cousin I didn't know I had who gave me his decades worth of research on my family, so that saved me doing it. 
My dad is really enjoying correcting other people's errors when he finds someone researching the same line as him on Ancestry.co.uk. It's his version of
Quote: Kevin Murphy @ August 5 2013, 11:08 AM BSTMy dad is really enjoying correcting other people's errors when he finds someone researching the same line as him on Ancestry.co.uk. It's his version of
Quote: Oldrocker @ August 4 2013, 9:29 PM BSTA search finds a couple of old threads but not too relevant now.
I'm thinking of retiring soon and I need things to keep me occupied.
I've always fancied doing this. Has anyone else had a go? And has anyone had experience of the specialist websites around at the moment? Good v bad?
Ta.
First you start by asking your Mum & Dad & Aunties & Uncles for all that they know or remember. If you have been careless enough to leave it until they are all gone, you have made it much more difficult for yourself. Find all Birth certificates & Marriage certificate that have been left to you or your siblings or cousins.
Start with a loose leave folder and make up one sheet for everyone in your family that you know anything about.. Birthdays, Children, Parents Where born, Where lived etc etc. Give each sheet a reference code eg OR0001, OR0002 etc so that you have a unique identifier for each person.
In the early days it helps if you draw up a conventional family tree chart on the biggest piece of paper you can find. Do it in pencil and arm yourself with some nice rubbers. Later you may know of far too many relatives to be able to fit them on a sheet of paper.
~~~
The basic principle is that for each person you first try to get a copy of the Marriage certificate, That usually shows the Fathers name and age and there may be useful names as witnesses. From this you can search and hopefully get the Father's birth certificate, which will show his parents names and ages. So you can search and find their certificates etc etc.
In general the free websites will only be able to show you indexes not the actual certificates; you have to buy certificates at about £6 a time.
Soon you will need some Family Treee software to keep tracck of everything but remember this:
WHERE YOU OBTAINED A PIECE OF INFORMATION IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE INFORMATION ITSELF AND SO YOU MUST RECORD THE SOURCE OF YOUR INFORMATION WHEN YOU WRITE IN THE INFORMATION TO YOUR FILES.
When you get as far back as 1911, you can start searching the Census data too. Basically search for a location that contains TWO people you know of. If you are lucky you find the house. Check every detail matches before jumping to conclusions, but having found a house you will generally find names of brothers & sisters & sometimes visiting relatives and their approximate ages. This data helps you search for more certificates.
With a location you can also try checking earlier Censuses (they are 10 years apart) to see when they moved into that house.
I've just spent weeks doing this
Turns out Sootyj is my dad
That explains why I'm a mentalist
Quote: lofthouse @ August 5 2013, 9:07 PM BSTI've just spent weeks doing this
Turns out Sootyj is my dad
That explains why I'm a mentalist
'cos you always thought sootyj was your mother?
No I thought he was my girlfriend
The saucy little cow