GSQ BlogcertificatesIn the beginning

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In the beginning — 6 Comments

  1. Hi Tiggy
    What first inspired me was attending my dad's funeral in 1987 and realising that there were only 2 close family members left in England who had been there before I came to Australia – my mum and my brother. Who were all those people I remembered from my childhood? I subsequently discovered that I'd only ever met relatives from my grandmother's side of the family. I still wonder why and whether I'll ever find out. I'm trying to gather as much information as I can from my mum about her side of the family while she's still around.

  2. Hi Tiggy,
    Just as your mother did, my mother often told us things and pointed out places of family relevance, but I was only interested in the 'here and now' – until I had my baby on my lap. A sudden compelling urge to bring her to God and find out where she came from took possession of me. My mother was happy to help me fill in Family Group Sheets (which I bought from GSQ in the old Post Office at Woolloongabba) which are a blessing now, but try as I might, I could not capture any family stories. As soon as I started jotting them down, she would already be heading off at a tangent reliving wonderful memories that were too ethereal to pin down; all I managed to capture were a few disjointed words and phrases. However, she and my father left a treasure trove of memorabilia in the house, and it was when I assembled two display books of old photos for a reunion at a cousin's house that THE BUG bit.

  3. I have been interested in my family history since I was 12 years old. While my mother's side told their stories really well, and I soaked up every detail I could, my father's response to my questions went a little something like "What do you know about your family history?" "Nuthin'!" "Where did your family come from?" "Germany." "What were your grandparents names?" "Dunno." It is only in the last five years that I have discovered Swiss, Scottish and Irish ancestry and a whole new world has opened up!

  4. Haha Lyndall, your father's answers sound very familiar. My mother often says 'dunno' and 'nuthin' when I ask her stuff, though I've found a way to sometimes get smaller details from her. You've done a great job to discover all that Swiss, Scottish and Irish ancestry. Thanks for sharing.

  5. Thanks for stopping by Anonymous. Those family stories your mother tried to share sound 'just' out of reach as she went off on tangents. So frustrating, but maybe you've found, or will find, some of those stories through your research anyway. Those display books sound great, and an excellent way to start.

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