Researching your family tree

[VoluptuaGoodshag]

Anyone done this and what juice did you find out? Also, how do you go about finding out the more interesting stuff? I've done quite well at getting names, dates of birth, marriages and deaths but there is nothing to tell you what the person was actually like.

Bubblerock - Thank you so much for the help you are giving me. I am managing to flesh some of it out with professions, and correct dates. Bith of my nans are really keen to find out as much information as they can, some of it gets a bit messy apparently with remarriages and the like and they admit themselves that they may have gotten a little muddled on some of the dates. But as they are both 87 this year I tend to give them a bit of leeway. The inlaws are also really keen to see if they can uncover their family secrets. As soon as I get paid on the 29th I am going to upgrade my account on genes reunited and see if I can get anywhere using the hot matches on there.

I can't tell you how excited and grateful I am for all your help!

Lodge, Catherine Helen - 4 mos - 12 Dec 1940 - 59 Westbourne Ave, Sheffield, WRY - 2295

Lodge, Harry - 64 yrs - 12 Dec 1940 - 59 Westbourne Ave, Sheffield, WRY - 2295

Lodge, Leone Marie Clementine - 23 yrs - 12 Dec 1940 - 59 Westbourne Ave, Sheffield, WRY - 2295

That is so sad, just before christmas

OMG. That's them. I have one little photo of Leonne with the baby.

Thank you for finding this. Can I go further? I've always wondered about Leonne's family. My father called her 'Meus' (she was Dutch and apparently it was Dutch for little mouse because she was tiny). And the only other thing we know is she sang 'Over the Rainbow' over and over and over round the house.

Catherine Helen Lodge

Harry Lodge

Leone Lodge

How did you find all this so quickly? It's incredible I've been trying for weeks!

Imaginaryfriend - That is really sad. Your poor dad.

I've got to go for a few hours. Thanks again. I am shaking a bit though. It's incredibly sad. My poor father ...

Mummyhill - those hotmatches must be related somehow - It's such an unusual name, you've gone back really far with those as well - let me know how you get on with them!

Ok, Imaginaryfriend if you'd rather email me just use the addy down the page, I need to go and eat now too!

Thankyou I will.

As soon as I got back as far as Valentine Trent I got a bit stuck then I got a free trial period on ancestry and found a link to another gedcom which took me back to where I am now. Accorrding to fil there is a big secret/falling out in the hill line, I haven't managed to get any further with that one yet and it is causing a little frustration.

Nan Smith (nee Cooper) is desperate to trace her family and is nagging me about it as she doesn't think she will be here much longer bless her.

I am off to have tea and get ready for work. Won't be back in till after midnight so will start searching for more information tomorrow night when DH goes out to karate as he thinks I am getting obsessed.

imaginaryfriend - Thursday 12th Dec 1940 was the night of a major bombing raid on the Sheffield Steelworks so there is bound to be a mass of articles somewhere. My mum has done a lot of research in Sheffield so I will ask her for info, but it will be next week when she is back from holiday.

Here's the info you need to get the certificates(use the link down the page for the GRO - £7 per certificate)

Marriage certificate for Harry Lodge & Violet Isobel Thornhill

Married 1904 Jul/Aug/Sept
Sheffield
9c (Vol)
813 (page)

If you want to send off for Harry Lodge's death certificate, here are the details -

Oct/Nov/Dec 1940
Sheffield
9c (vol)
733 (page)

I have Violet + parents and siblings on the census - I can email you the entire page or just put them all on here.

Hi all - it's good to see everyone managing to find their family histories Imaginaryfriend I was so sad to read about your Father's family but at the same time it must be a relief to finally know about it.

I rang my Dad in Australia on Sunday and mentioned that I had been doing this as I know absolutely nothing about any of his family and he casually said "Oh I've got our family tree - goes back to the 1600's and we are related to Count Helmund Von Moltke and the person who made the Sunshine Soap Company" :O All those hours I've just spend looking for his Mum and Dad's name and he tells me that!!!!!

Bubblerock, you're so damned good at this! I'd love to see the page with Violet + siblings. My mum was saying (I've phoned her about 9 times today!) that my dad's dad, Harry, was brought up in an orphanage. I've always been so fascinated by him because he was, apparently, a member of the Magic Circle in his time. Strange how many little details my mum remembered (she's 73 now) once she got going. Including a very sad one about the bombing. Apparently Violet said they all went to the basement of the house when they heard the sirens going and Leone leant over the baby as the bomb hit and it was when she fell that her body smothered the baby rather than the baby being killed by the falling building. Violet was holding Harry's hand sitting on a sofa. he died and she didn't. My mum is convinced she was under the rubble for two weeks but I can't see how that was possible.

Saintgeorge, that would be wonderful, thank you. My aunt apparently went to an exhibition to do with Sheffield at War a few years ago and she thought there was a newspaper cutting about the bomb on my dad's house. She thought it was in the Sheffield Star. I'd love to see it even though I'm sure it's only very small.

Most of all I wish I'd asked my father about all these things when he was still alive. I know it pretty much broke his heart, losing Leone and their baby like that. 4 months old. it's so so so sad.

zephyrcat, I had something similar with my mum's side of the family. I was searching away when my mum remembered to tell me that my cousin had traced her family back to pre-1600!

I actually always wanted to do my dad's family but I knew it would be more painful.

imaginaryfriend - the Magic Circle will have an archive -- I don't know how they are with enquiries from the general public but it'd be worth emailing them at [email protected] giving them Harry's name and approximate year of birth and asking if they have any information on him.

It's amazing how much these old folk remember isn't it!? Right, there are quite a few of them, here and here is 1891 (split over 2 pages)
and
here is 1901

I've saved them to my computer if you have any problems or the links expire I can email them to you.

I can't seem to find them pre 1891 which is strange as they would have been together as the children are old enough to be shown on 1881 - I wonder where they were during the census?

Thanks lemonaid, I'll do that! Isn't it amazing and strange to piece together so much of a jigsaw?

Thanks BR, just going to look now. How exciting!

Are you a member of genesreunited? There are 3 people on there with a james Thornhill 1856 (born Derbyshire) - would definately be worth getting in touch asking if it is the same one.

I've found a potential James Thornhill in 1881 here -- age and place of birth about right. But Ancestry doesn't want to display the original image for some reason. He's on his own as a coal miner boarding in someone else's house.

Nah, it wouldn't let me look at them. I think I should register. I haven't joined Ancestry.co.uk yet.

BR, what did you find? Was it Violet's family? My mum thought she was the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy Jewish business man! But I think there was a bit of the old MIL-is-mad business going on with her.

May I just say (yes, I am being sincere), that's a brilliant name: Violet Isobel Thornhill. Cue the atmosphere of Agatha Christie books. You couldn't make it up, could you? Everyone should have a name like that on their family tree.