I'm trying to dig a little deeper into my family tree but haven't much money to spend. Ancestry and Find My Past are both subscription sites; I was wondering if anyone has used either or both and, if so, which is better value please? Or is there an even better one I've missed? I've found out pretty much all I can using free online resources (freebmd, familysearch, wikitree, rootschat) so if I want to go back further I'll have to spend some money on certificates etc - but carefully! My direct paternal line has been traced by someone else, so I'm looking at maternal and paternal lines on both sides. Visiting places for research would be a bit of a toughie as the main areas of interest are Devon, Cornwall and Arbroath and I'm on Wirral. Any advice or info appreciated, thanks.
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i do this and help a lot of people with their searches too, i use mainly ancestry, with a combination of freebmd and family search (although you do have to be very care with that one as they tend to be mainly member submitted, so no checks if the info is correct or not, i also use the gro web site, which you can download the certificates cheaper than being posted out to you although takes a couple of days to be ready to download.
ok so you say your direct paternal line has been traced? i would suggest you start from scratch with that one and only rely on your own searches, this is often the cause for people getting brickwalled
oh arbroath! you need to use scotlands people web site for that, its a pay per view.
if you let me know your username on rootschat i can contact you directly and double check your tree if you wanted
Oh yes I'd forgotten gro - I've had a couple of certificates from them. I'm also on ScotlandsPeople and still have a small number of credits available. The man who did the paternal line was meticulous, his research was good; I don't have any problems with that. He traced the four branches of the family name, including mine, all originating in Devon. He got back to a marriage in 1737, in which year the church had a fire in which previous records were destroyed; I later found a birth date of 1717. I'm more interested in paternal grandmother's lines (back to Cornwall) and maternal grandmother's (mid Wales and Scotland). Maternal grandfather was illegitimate, so that's a bit of a dead end. I'm trying to focus and not chase up siblings; that would just be too complicated! There are some large families out there.
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ok well unfortunately getting back as far as he has done you will struggle, no certificates for evidence available beyond 1837, your relying purely on church records from there on back. and even then it didnt become enforceable until around 1870
as for large families yes mine on my birth paternal side grandmother had 10 kids! and i have a very common name for north wales of tracing davies! never mind my maternal side and then i have my adopted family too! so 4 times the normal amount of tracing, its a very expensive hobby if you want a set of certificates for each person!
For the Arbroath side, there’s a lot of free information on the National Library of Scotland site. www.nls.uk
I’ve use their map section to confirm addresses on old estate maps, for example. Wills. All sorts of information (can’t remember if it has census info or not but it’s free); a bit of a rabbit hole as I end up spending hours there.
Also online (free to view / copy down but not to print or download) have a look at the relevant Parish in the Statistical Account of Scotland (late 1700s) and the New Statistical Account of Scotland (early 1800s, from memory); each parish was written up by the local educated worthy - usually the school teacher (dominie) or church minister. Brilliant for context of life at the time.
Many library searchrooms have free access to Ancestry and maybe the other sites too. I tend to keep an ongoing list of required searches then wait for a freebie weekend now and then.
No certs to buy pre 1837, so that's not an issue, though I know little about Scottish records.
Yup, my Granddad was the youngest of 10, all boys. There was one girl but she died aged 12. Gutted? I bet they were. Further back on another line, some poor blighter bore 14 children, 7 of whom survived to adulthood. That sort of thing's hard to imagine, now!
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Thanks, I'll follow those up for the Arbroath connection - the couple actually came from St. Vigean's, which has now been swallowed up by the suburbs; I was lucky enough to visit in 2019.
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St Vigeans Part of a Royal estate, always a good start as there will be records. Church from 8th century { looks like you will be going on a deep dive ) picts before that. So time to get the history books out.
Be it for BMDs rents paid, bad lads, wages from the royal estate,parish poor law, they even had witches in the area. A lot of Scots came down for war or the clearances and never went home.
All likely sources. Your in for an exciting journey. Discount nothing from newspaper articles, legal records to folk lore. Even witch trials give names locations of witnesses.
So will the person you are looking for popup well documented unlikely, but can you find them and the family as a side note elsewhere hopefully.
Let us know how you get on, for me it's more about the stories than the dates.
------------- Yesterday is already a dream and tomorrow is only a vision, but today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Very interesting, I subscribe to Ancestry. I well know that I am Scots/Irish on Dad's side and English/Welsh on Mum's, with a bit of Scandinavian and Italian from somewhere apparently.
The site of St. Vigean's church looked very ancient, on a partly man-made hill, very imposing. I've worked my way back to a couple born in St. Vigean's and married in or around Dundee in 1824; I'd like to follow that up at some point. Thanks for the suggestions - so many stories still to be told!
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I'm mostly Brit, but my cousin (Dad's brother's son, last man standing on our branch) was persuaded to take a dna test and came out with some Scandinavian. Our name is common in Denmark and all of our name seem to have spread out from the South Hams of Devon at some point, which to me implies people coming looking for fresh land hundreds of years ago and fancying Devon, fertile land easily accessible from the coast. It's a nice theory anyway!
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The wifes been on 'Ancestry' for yonks. She can tell me what my ten times grandads, servants dog had for its last meal, before he shot it for not chasing poor people.
Nice one! It is amazing what can be found out if you persevere. I have managed to get back nine generations and into Cornwall on one of my family lines without parting with any cash, but my luck's run out and I'll have to throw some money at it soon. No news on any dogs though!
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When my dad passed my mum found an envelope containing some coins this was titled uncle Jack's coins.I did a search on ancestry dad didn't have an uncle Jack,or a John.He had 3 uncles 1 off which joined the army and was at the Relief of Mafekine,he also served in India hence the coins a Rand and a Rupee.One of his other uncles also joined the Army this time the 1st World war married before he was sent to france he was killed in the Somme.Found there papers and death reports Ketchum was well impressed she never met dad's uncles but heard about them.
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Topic: Any family history enthusiasts out there?
via mobile 05/4/2023 at 3:54pm
Nice one! It is amazing what can be found out if you persevere. I have managed to get back nine generations and into Cornwall on one of my family lines without parting with any cash, but my luck's run out and I'll have to throw some money at it soon. No news on any dogs though!
