Presently there are numerous genealogy blogs online, it’s difficult to know which ones to follow. In today’s tech savy world, convenience and time are especially important thereby making us more discriminating when it comes to the look of one’s blog site as well as the actual content.
This blog is not meant to be ’unique’ per se, but just another reference for a beginner who would like to find out about online resources, articles focused on this subject, assistance, or purely for random comic relief or old political caricatures!
I will focus mostly on English ancestry, with the odd tidbit for Canada, Ireland and Australia as my ancestors have been connected to England for as far back as I have traced. I have annual memberships with both ancestry and findmypast, in addition to several Suffolk parishes on paper. In other words, if you would like me to look someone up for you then drop me a note and I will be more than happy to accommodate.
I began my family tree research over 16 years ago however, I didn’t spend the extra hours and due diligence until 2006 when preparing for a trip back to England to walk in my ancestors’ footsteps. It is a great passion and pastime for me and I have enjoyed sharing the fruits of my labour with my Mum, Aunt and Uncle.
Just to share a little bit of personal information about myself, I live in Canada but apart from my immediate family all my relatives live in England with the exception of my Mum’s eldest brother who emigrated to Australia in the early 1970’s. My Mum and Dad were married in 1951 and with career advancement prospects looking minimal and food rationing still in effect, they determined they would have to start anew in another country. The options were … Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Australia or Canada. My Mum wasn’t too fond of extreme heat, wild creatures or creepy crawlies so they settled on Canada. Mum and Dad embarked on their new life in April 1953 sailing on the passenger ship M.V. Georgic. This was back in the day where the men and women were separated so while my Mum was extremely sea sick, she was having to bunk with strange women and not her husband! They arrived on Canadian soil in Halifax and immediately took the train out west to Vancouver, which was a real eye opener back then. Mum was terribly home sick for years and believed they’d made a dreadful mistake emigrating to Canada, but they held off returning to visit family in England for 5 years in order plant their roots here and establish themselves within the local community.
Even though the blog URL is “dna testing”, I may not include too many personal articles on the subject. Yes, I have taken the DNA test provided by Ancestry however, I have a mixed opinion on it. I am looking forward to taking the 23andMe DNA test in the near future, when it is next on sale. I would love to hear other people’s opinions on the test results, in terms of expectations.
On this site, you can look forward to reading old newspaper articles, town histories and explanations of former occupations. I have a link to Amazon with genealogy related items for your convenience, and if I am able to offer or share helpful advice to even one person, then I will overjoyed!
