There is something magical about peering into the past through old family photos. My dad, Stephen, felt that spark and dived into the amazing world of ancestry! For years now, he has uncovered relatives left, right, and centre, proving our family tree is more like a forest with wonderful branches reaching all over the world. Are you interested in finding out about your own family tree? Get some tips from Stephen right here!
What encouraged you to want to learn more about your roots?
I guess I have always had an interest in tracing my ancestors and what sort of lives they lived. Although born in Brierfield, Lancashire my family moved up to the North East before I was two years old leaving behind most of my wider family. Growing up I heard a few family stories but I’m sure not like there would have been had I not been so far away from Cousins and their families.
What started as some initial exploring soon became an obsession and the things I learned were always very interesting. Building a Family Tree is not usually a quick fix and many hours of searching have been undertaken since I started out. My journey has taken me (although not physically) to the USA, to Australia and also South Africa. Closer to home, I have explored Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Parts of England and Cornwall as family members were spread far and wide during their lifetimes.
Photo to right: Stephen by Elinor Jayne Photography
Were there any specific tools or resources that were particularly helpful in your search?
I have been very lucky in my searching, as technology, particularly the Internet has been a great resource for me – something that hasn’t always been available to Genealogists in the past. Even in the early days, however there were limited records on line and many records were not available unless you actually visited the various Record Offices around the World.
Nowadays, there are commercial sites such as Ancestry, My Heritage and Find My Past where thousands of records have been transcribed and are available to everyone from the comfort of their living rooms (or wherever) … albeit for an annual subscription.
With these kind of sites you are able to build and maintain a Family Tree on line, however you are then restricted to that particular site. I also like to have a Tree on my PC and have tried a number of different software packages. The one I am using at the moment is Family Tree Maker, and am in the process of rebuilding my Tree from scratch in order to remove some of the mistakes I have included over the years due to not checking things carefully enough! A long and challenging task believe me.
What’s been the most common reaction you’ve gotten from relatives you’ve reconnected with?
I think it is fair to say that the majority of relatives I have found and reached out to have been very happy to hear from me (or at least they haven’t shot me down in flames!). There have been a couple who have not been able to understand why I have wanted to be in touch and after the initial contact have not made any attempts to stay in touch and I can understand that.
With other branches, however, it has been wonderful reconnecting and also bringing their different branches back together again where they have lost touch with each other over the course of the years. Everyone’s lives are really busy and fast moving these days and it is easy to drift apart, some would say there is no reason to keep in touch, some would even say there are good reasons NOT to keep in touch.
With this hobby you have to be aware of people’s feelings and try not to ‘upset the apple cart’ too much, whilst still trying to uncover and learn about how and why your ancestors did the things they did and how this affected your family.
Can you describe the most heart-warming encounter you had when reconnecting with a long-lost relative?
It would be difficult to pull just one out from the very many there have been. What always surprises me, however, are the similarities and traits that we share, even though we may have grown up many miles apart and never been in touch with each other at all. Sharing the same sense of humour and the way we say things to each other or relate things can be so surprising, it often catches my breath!
I have been lucky enough to actually meet up with some of these relatives and there is a definite Bond between us from the very first time. For others, our meetings have been restricted to Social Media (so far at least) and or Video Calls across the Globe, but again, in most cases you would think we have known each other for ever.
It’s uncanny! Stephen’s second cousin once removed, Thomas (1932-2006) (Photo above), looks just like him.
What advice would you give someone else who is hesitant to reach out to long-lost relatives?
Do it! However, be prepared to find those skeletons at some point. What you know through word of mouth and family stories may not always be the complete truth. Things in the past were often dealt with differently than they are in 2024 and remember it is only relatively recently that people have had ready access to many of the old records and, of course, the many things that DNA can turn up. You just have to watch any of the TV programmes, such as Who Do You Think You Are or Long Last Families that are on our screens these days to understand this.
Also, be aware that it is a totally addictive pastime and can easily eat into your spare time and your Bank account if you are not careful (these subscriptions are not cheap, and tracking down and paying for Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates can be quite costly too).
There are professional Genealogists out there who will provide you with a Family History service, however, I would encourage you to do the work yourselves. You will get so much pleasure out of the chase and finally tracking down those long lost relatives, learning their stories and how they ended up where they ended up in life and in the World.
Thanks Dad for opening up about your incredible journey. Your passion for our family history is inspiring! I hope others are encouraged to embark on their own ancestral adventures and discover the magic of the past.
