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The BBC TV series “Who Do You Think You Are?” has sparked a huge revival of interest in the gentle sport of genealogy. While the personalities featured on the programme have the weight of the TV company’s research department and financing behind them, almost anyone can begin to trace their ancestors quite easily. Residents of the borough of Richmond have the added advantage of living on the doorstep of the National Archives facility at Kew. This is the official depository of official documents of England and Wales, and contains over 1,000 years of records for you to consult. (Scottish records are held at the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh).

 

Tracing your roots : Getting started on your family tree.

 

Start by speaking to your living relatives, particularly those in older generations. Keep a record of everything they tell you – initially you may feel you will remember it all but, as your investigations continue, the amount of information will become voluminous, and you will forget things. Take note of even tiny, or seemingly irrelevant, details because they may prove vital at a later date, when your informant may have passed away. Sometimes the best approach is to get the person talking about the “Old Days” and to record them on a mini-recorder. You can jot down essential pieces of information on paper at the same time, but can double-check the recorded version at a later date if necessary. If you get a digital voice recorder, you can easily download the recording to computer for later transcription.

 

Ask to see any old family documentation they may have – birth/marriage / death certificates, memorial / mortuary cards, old letters, identity or occupation cards of any sorts, enlistment or discharge forms from the armed forces, school records / reports, and so on. Find out if there is an old box / biscuit tin / drawer / suitcase where the family used to put letters, postcards, invoices, etc. Almost anything could contain the vital clues you are looking for now, or at a later date. Ask if you can borrow documents / photos to copy and return, or alternatively take digital photos of them on the spot.

 

Old photographs can be a fantastic source of family data, and allow you to almost feel you are back in the world of yesteryear, as you peer into the faces of your ancestors. They are also invaluable for jogging the memory of living relatives who may then provide you with information they had almost forgotten themselves. Ask for the people in the photos to be identified, and for place-names and dates where possible. Check for writing on the back of photos and inside frames. Camera shops are now often able to restore, or at least enhance, photos which have become faded or distorted. See if you can get a copy of the photos to keep for yourself.

 

The volume of genealogical material available online is increasing all the time. Once you have gathered as much data as possible from living relatives, you can expand it by using the internet. Old census records are a good place to start as they will give you the full list of the members of each family, with ages and occupations, plus their address. You can compare the entries from one census to the next, seeing how the profile of the family changes as people are born or die, move away from home, or change occupation.

 

You can enter your data into one of the many pieces of family tree software now available – an internet search will show up many which are free online. This will allow you to view your family tree in a user-friendly fashion, and the search facility will allow you to bring individual branches of the tree up on screen for closer study. You can then print out the different versions as you wish.

 

In summary, key information for genealogy consists of names, places and dates, but do also listen to the stories told by older relatives as they provide a context for the way people lived their lives in the past, and may provide explanations for some of the curious stories you are bound to uncover as you get started on your family tree.

 

So who do you think YOU are? Take a trip to the National Archives facility at Kew in Richmond  and find out. It could make for a fascinating and emotional journey with quite unexpected results!

 

                                                                                                                             Contributed by Iona deBogart