Genealogy Chat

My Tree, began nearly four years ago only has 231 names. I havent bought BMD certificates for each one and had I done so, the cost at to-days rates would be enormous and I feel sorry for anyone just starting.
By comparison, my Tree is quite small and I am well aware there are Trees with a 1000 plus names .....were BMDs bought for all of them ?

Highly unlikely, which is probably why errors creep in and are copied willy-nilly.

To be honest, a direct line ancestral tree is probably about the same size as yours. Its just that people follow each successive generations as far as they can, to the point where they have no direct relationship.

As long as they acknowledge that mistakes could have been made, its the fun of the chase!

For the most part, I'm only interested in a Direct Line which does restrict the size and cost fortunately.

Hi Alan,

My family tree on GR has just 212 individuals in it and contains only the direct ancestors of my wife and myself. I have purchased some BMD certificates but certainly not all that might be available.

A lot of the more recent family history was known to me and my wife and I think that took me back to the early 1900's with confidence. The certificates that I purchased were in the main for events that occurred 1870~1910 and these certainly helped to positively identify ancestors in census records ect. Details regarding ancestors born prior to civil registration and census recording were in the main confirmed as being accurate through parish records, family bible and wills.

Genealogy can indeed be an expensive hobby but it is an absorbing one. :-D :-D

Morning Dave, I agree with your approach. On another Site I spoke to a guy who buys BMDs for each individual beyond his grandparents. That is an expensive option!

The cost of suscriptions to web sites and visits to record offices mounts up as well.

My wife thinks I spend far to much time at the computer as well. She is interested in her family but won't admit it.

Andy

Hi Alan unfortunatley I started my tree without getting the certs and found I had the wrong family completley.....This was quite a few years ago....

I had to restart from the very beginning again in which Im glad I did, and last year I even found a living relative on here with more family members and certs I was soooooooo happy.....

It certainly is an expensive hobby at times but well well worth it :-D

"It certainly is an expensive hobby at times but well well worth it" :-D

- ab-so-lutely :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

Although I have access to other trees, I don't add info from them on to my own. I just add what I gain from my own research. That way I kind of protect my tree and I like the brain excercise and challenge. I have no reason in the world to think that anyone whose tree links into mine is anything other than efficient and genuine. So far I've not experienced (to my knowledge) one of those who are just after the numbers.

I only buy BMDs if I am totally stuck and there is no other choice. I have a small list of 'one day I will buy' but until I run out of other lines to look at, get the basics via the internet and have nothing else I need to spend the money on I can't justify the spend so I buy just a couple a year as a treat. I do include what I've found via the internet but in the 'notes' box I always include where I got the information from. Many of my family branches and those of hubby are in and around Birmingham. As I live a short train ride from there, before the kids came along I spent many happy hours in the Central Library looking at all the rolls of film for the various churches my lot were hatched, matched or despatched from.

I have no idea if the handful of people who have access to my tree have incorporated any of the info onto theirs. They are welcome and I hope that I've been accurate with any kin I've added.

I've got a Platinum on GR and that allows me to proceed pretty much without forking out for any certificates. I'm not able to spend a lot of time on my tree. Christmas is great because hubby gets a few days off so I can work through the night until maybe 3 or 4 am when usually we are getting up at 5.00. It's wonderfully quiet then too.

I think that like many hobbies, it is possible to do things reasonably cheaply. Of course it is frustrating not being able to buy a certificate as and when I want but I'm lucky to be able to research my family at all.

Jill

Just to add that if your lucky enough too have rellies that stay in the county that you live in you can search the parish registers. The marriage registers especially would only cost you the photocopy (50p at most). They are the same as you get from the GRO and first hand not copies ! Also you can see each persons handwriting.

What hobby doesn't cost money?

My husband is a skydiver! Tell me about the cost!

Ozi

This hobby is cheaper than online poker :-D

I started mine two years ago and bought my grandparents marriage cert unfortunatly from ancestry for about £20 just to find out grandfathers age (which did'nt help) so I then bought a birth cert for someone born 3 years earlier than he said, but had the correct father and occupation from GRO...it turned out to be correct.

Most of my ancestors came from London so I could view their marriages on ancestry also a fair number of baptisms too.

My paternal line was an unusual name so fairly easy to trace and the rest fell into place. I have not copied anyone elses tree and most lines go back to 1800 correctly as far as I am concerned.

I am not really interested before that, as it is just guess work and they did'nt have any money to be worth tracing :-D

I add a few twigs now and then and have 600+ in my tree

As for my subs to ancestry and FMP it is to really help others on here

jax

I am afraid the collecting habit kicked in so I have five certificates for parent's, 10 for grandparents, 20 for great grandparents and would have been forty for the previous generation but most of them were born before 1837, plus death certificates for earlier generations and a few wrong certificates and some siblings to get mothers maiden name. So I recon I could have spent a thousannd pounds but it is spread over six years so it is not too bad.

As Rollo says they are not proof and I know of one or two fibs and errors on the ones I have.

I like the comment 'its the fun of the chase'

Yes it is expensive but I don't know how anybody can confim facts without certs and other records. Ok if a family lived in one place all their lives and generations folllowed but not if they moved about.

Have to admit I spend money on certs and other records- some each month. However many people send me copies and visa versa. I often buy certs in exchange for photos of my direct lineage family. They are invaluable - good to see the resemblance going down the lines.

So much info comes from certs especially the old marriage certs.. Wills also reveal a lot of secrets. Actually found details of my father 1st wife from his army records. Mum would be so annoyed that something she denied turned out to be true.

Could go on and on - the person in my family who is most interested is my 7 year old grandson. The issue came up in class and he was able to explain it. Was so excited to be able to take to school an old photo of a sailor he called a pirate. Told he explained it as the son of his dead great great xxx (he couldn't remember how many times back though) grandparents. He cheekly told the class his nannies are white so that is why they are white. Got a star that day from his teacher.

Just last week he asked me if I''l keep all the dead family stuff for when he is bigger. :-D :-D :-D :-D

I have only purchased certs when I required info, eg mother's maiden name, and Mum knew quite a lot about our family. Also my 2 grannies were related so I had fewer roots to follow back. I had to buy more for OH's family as no one seemed to have any info, I had to find most of it myself.
But I don't have a problem putting uncertified people in my tree, I just put in my best guess. Many times I have found useful matches from these people.