Searching your surname.

[postman]

Popular tv at the moment ,and following on from 'are you happy with your name'.
How for can you trace your ancestry?

For MEE thats the surname only as far back as Belper in Derbyshire.
Seems one's relation was a soldier boy's wild oats.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

This is a nice resource, originally developed by University College, London.

 

[accountantpete]

Early 1600's along one line but there's lots of dead-ends elsewhere usually involving Bastardy or strays.

 

[rh100]

Have traced various branches, for most detail I have them back to the early 1800's with the GRO and detailed parish records.

I've one branch in BHam back to mid 1700's. Names only really.

I've found other researchers who have a branch of the tree in Shropshire back to the 1600's. Again mostly names, but the other researcher has also found old wills.

I've also had some copies of old family photo's, one of my Gt,Gt Grandmother and some other's, such as a gt gt gt uncle from late 1800's.

 

[rh100]

Early 1600's along one line but there's lots of dead-ends elsewhere usually involving Bastardy or strays.

extremely common, isn't it? very frustrating

 

[summerdays]

Mine are are in Ireland so lack of census records is a pain but I'm back to about 1775 on one line.

 

[Brains]

On my Mum's side back to mid 1600's every single person recorded in great detail

On my Dad's side we know back to a single Knight who came across with William the Conqueror in 1066 but we don't have the detail and in 1,000 years there are thousands of us all over the world

 

[vernon]

Popular tv at the moment ,and following on from 'are you happy with your name'.
How for can you trace your ancestry?

For MEE thats the surname only as far back as Belper in Derbyshire.
Seems one's relation was a soldier boy's wild oats.

Genesis - the third son of Jacob and Leah.

 

[Perfect Virgo]

Early 1600's along one line but there's lots of dead-ends elsewhere usually involving Bastardy or strays.

extremely common, isn't it? very frustrating

Yes those infuriating dead ends! I have over 2,000 names in my database and my paternal male line goes back to about 1750 in London. The detective work is great fun isn't it. My new Canadian wife's family is comng under scrutiny now as I branch out over here!

 

[gaz]

back to 1279. i have a common name

 

[Globalti]

You need to be careful. My aunt, a seriously devout Catholic, started doing this and discovered to her shock that a couple of generations back were Methodists. The horror!

 

[Fnaar]

All I know is my mother's lot lived in a small town in Co Cork for aeons, with an injection of English genes by a Mr Porter who came from Somerset (not my surname). My dad's lot came from Glendalough in Co Wicklow, then 2 generations or so before my dad was born, moved to a house slap bang in the middle of Dublin... was a slum when my dad was born, now worth a blimmin' fortune!

 

[peanut]

only 1827 so far but allegedly my family go back to a nice chap called John who was the right hand man to William the Conqueror .......ahem

 

[rh100]

You need to be careful. My aunt, a seriously devout Catholic, started doing this and discovered to her shock that a couple of generations back were Methodists. The horror!

You're right - I found some Catholics in mine

 

[TVC]

My brother did the family tree, he got back to 1700 around Edinburgh. The most interesting part was the branch that lead to a family of German piano salesmen who set up shop in Scotland around 1850.