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Crazy where family history can lead



Bevendean Hillbilly

New member
Sep 4, 2006
12,805
Nestling in green nowhere
I decided to stop delving when I found out my grandfather died in Auswitz.

He fell out of his watchtower.

Boom tish.
 




Bevendean Hillbilly

New member
Sep 4, 2006
12,805
Nestling in green nowhere
Thanks for that Mr Glasfryn, will try that Ralph de la Pomerai was from Saint Sauveur de la Pommeraye, La Manche, Normandy, France. So I would think they were land owners in Normandy and of some standing before coming over.

The Normans were Vikings ( the clue is in the name NORman Norseman) and hated the French. They assimilated very gradually but see themselves as different from other froggies even today.
 


Before 1538, there was no universal system of recording births or baptisms in England and it was only in the seventeenth century that parentage started to be recorded in baptismal records. What this means is that the only certain records of ancestry that go back earlier than that are the records of land ownership or other legal processes (and not all of those have survived). Aristocratic family records are generally more readily available than non-aristocratic records.

IF you can PROVE that you are linked to an aristocratic family AFTER universal record keeping came into practice (and this needs to be confirmed by working back, generation by generation, from the present day), then there is a chance that you can claim a reliable link to a noble family before Tudor times.

A lot of families have these stories, which could easily turn out to be complete myths. The tales often go something like this:-

“My surname is Shelley. This is the same name as Shelley’s Hotel in Lewes, which was acquired by the Shelley family from the Earl of Dorset in 1661. The first Earl of Dorset was the great grandson of King Edward III. Therefore, I’m descended from the Plantagenets”.

This may or may not be true. But there may well be a bit of a problem demonstrating the link between the current Shelley family and the Mr Shelley who acquired the hotel in 1661. Until you can do that, across each and every generation SINCE 1661, you are dealing with SURMISE, rather than FACT.

Sorry, Phil.
 


Shropshire Seagull

Well-known member
Nov 5, 2004
8,790
Telford
My paternal Grandfather was a brewer's dray and worked with horses. During WW1, pretty much every night, he led horses and carts full of fresh ammo up to the front line. He didn't do any fighting, but did this for the full duration of the war. [respect]

His great grandfather was head shepherd to the Earl of Chicheter on the Stanmer estate in the late 1700s.
 






What's the best free service to trace family tree on the internet?
The first thing to do is to ask your older relatives what they know about earlier generations - names, dates & places of birth, etc. If you can find out where they lived, and what their occupations were, even better - especially if you can get back to 1881.

Then look up their details in the 1881 census at:- 1881 census records | 1881 census records person search | Findmypast.co.uk

If this hooks you into searching for more information, it's probably worth subscribing to a site like Please sign in here - Genes Reunited (or take the free introductory offer), where you can get access to the searches that other people have done.

If you really get hooked, ancestry.co.uk has an incredible amount of information - but for a subscription.

If you want to search for basic births/marriage/death information, http://www.freebmd.org.uk/ is free.

I've found it impossible to do thorough research without shelling out for copies of birth, marriage and death certificates - just to fill in some of the details, once you have found the census data or the information about births, marriages and deaths that the free searches throw up.

Good luck.
 
Last edited:


Doc Lynam

I hate the Daily Mail
Jun 19, 2011
7,347
The first thing to do is to ask your older relatives what they know about earlier generations - names, dates & places of birth, etc. If you can find out where they lived, and what their occupations were, even better - especially if you can get back to 1881.

Then look up their details in the 1881 census at:- 1881 census records | 1881 census records person search | Findmypast.co.uk

If this hooks you into searching for more information, it's probably worth subscribing to a site like Please sign in here - Genes Reunited (or take the free introductory offer), where you can get access to the searches that other people have done.

If you really get hooked, ancestry.co.uk has an incredible amount of information - but for a subscription.

If you want to search for basic births/marriage/death information, http://www.freebmd.org.uk/ is free.

I've found it impossible to do thorough research without shelling out for copies of birth, marriage and death certificates - just to fill in some of the details, once you have found the census data or the information about births, marriages and deaths that the free searches throw up.

Good luck.

Cheers Bracknell appreciate the effort in the reply. This gives me a good starting point.
 


pastafarian

Well-known member
Sep 4, 2011
11,902
Sussex
What's the best free service to trace family tree on the internet?

i am not sure about the free stuff but i did subscribe to ancestry.co.uk. its a very interesting experience and managed to trace back to the mid 1700`s with most branches.however there are many red herrings and i learnt very early on you need to verify from more than one source.

Free Family History and Genealogy Records FamilySearch.org is free and gives a great amount of information(marriages deaths baptisms etc etc) if you know the direction you are heading. try searching online parish records and i found a few websites where people have photographed and documented graveyard headstones(slightly strange hobby in my opinion) but very valuable when i got stuck on one branch.
 




Tyrone Biggums

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2006
13,498
Geelong, Australia
One of my families distant relatives was an accomplice to John Wilkes Booth killing of Lincoln.

olaughlen.jpg
 










Insel affe

HellBilly
Feb 23, 2009
24,338
Brighton factually.....
The Normans were Vikings ( the clue is in the name NORman Norseman) and hated the French. They assimilated very gradually but see themselves as different from other froggies even today.

Thanks Mr Bevendean Sillybilly, I knew that as Wessex = West Saxons / Sussex = South Saxons / Norfolk = North folk and on
 


D

Deleted User X18H

Guest
I found I am related in some way to the late but controversial broadcaster Mike Dickin.
 










bomber130

bomber130
Jun 10, 2011
1,908
If the bible is to be believed I have a ancestor called Adam and one called Eve. Don't know the surname mind you. Can anyone help with that one.:banana::banana::banana:
 




HovaGirl

I'll try a breakfast pie
Jul 16, 2009
3,139
West Hove
My grandfather who was a priest traced his side of the family tree back to 1066 when Ralph de la Pomerai (Knight) came over with William the Conqueror and was awarded 57 manors in Somerset and Devon including the main seat at Berry Pomeroy and some intresting bits reading through the book including William of Orange. As with most people we can all make famous connections and as with most people our predecessors pissed any wealth away. Very intresting I have only just started to be intrested in it and may try and find out the other side of the family, Which came over from Germany & changed there name from schnorber to Shaw before the 1st world war and my uncle fought in Africa against the Germans and won a St Georges cross.

There is so much to think about, if I take Ralph de la Pomerai who was a Norman then there is a strong chance he is from Viking stock as the vikings settled in that part of France, so many directions one can go.


Ps anyone recommend a good website to do further tracing and how far back can one realistically go ?

Research your family history today | Online Genealogy | Findmypast.co.uk
GENUKI: UK Ireland Genealogy
Welcome to Cyndi's List
http://www.genealogics.org/index.php

Radulf De Pomerei was from La Pommeraye in Calvados near Falaise. His brother was William Capra and his sister was called Beatrice. He died before 1100 and was succeeded by his son, William, who died childless about 1114, and then by his other son, Jocelyn, who died before 1129. (See: The House of De La Pomeroi by E. B. Powley published in Liverpool in 1944.)
 


HovaGirl

I'll try a breakfast pie
Jul 16, 2009
3,139
West Hove
The first thing to do is to ask your older relatives what they know about earlier generations - names, dates & places of birth, etc. If you can find out where they lived, and what their occupations were, even better - especially if you can get back to 1881.

Then look up their details in the 1881 census at:- 1881 census records | 1881 census records person search | Findmypast.co.uk

If this hooks you into searching for more information, it's probably worth subscribing to a site like Please sign in here - Genes Reunited (or take the free introductory offer), where you can get access to the searches that other people have done.

If you really get hooked, ancestry.co.uk has an incredible amount of information - but for a subscription.

If you want to search for basic births/marriage/death information, http://www.freebmd.org.uk/ is free.

I've found it impossible to do thorough research without shelling out for copies of birth, marriage and death certificates - just to fill in some of the details, once you have found the census data or the information about births, marriages and deaths that the free searches throw up.

Good luck.

Good post, Lord B, as was your earlier one.
 


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