let's axe the family tree

[rich]

What is the fascination of genealogy?
Getting lost in the branches of the family tree seems to afflict people over age 50 and, in my opinion, is as sure a sign of impending senility as taking up lawn bowling.
You think that is too harsh?
OK then I'll say it has all the scientific merit of astrology with none of the opportunity to pick up young women by asking their sign.
Looked at from a perspecive of DNA it makes zero sense.
Bear with my rudimentary and impaired arithmetic, a legacy of my math teachers at the Miller Academy.
50% of our genes come from Dad, 50% from Mum.
So the input of our grandparents is half that devided by two. (Bear with me, I am no numbers wiz!!!)
Is that 12.5 per cent?
Well you can see that the further you get into the thickets of the family tree the broader and broader things get. After a few generations you are related to everyody which renders geneaology absurd. (I have been reading Richard Dwawkins on the Selfish Gene but I could have got it wrong.) I am open to scientific correction. ANyway the whole thing is baffling and possibly fraudulent.
Remember the fuss about the math teacher in the mid west of the USA who was identified (wrongly? rightly? both?) as a linear descendent of Genghis Khan? Or how about that other great ancestor, Niall of the Seven Hostages?
One piece of my family lore says we are descended from Bloody Claverhouse the persecuter of Presbyterians who got himself killed at the Battle of Killiecrankie. Well, why not - everybody in Europe is likely related to him and we to them!
Let's not get into this "my ancestors are more colorful than yours'" discussion.
Just enlighten me.
Geneaologists ,why do you do this thing?
What is the alchemy behind it?
Whence the fascination?
Why are you not playing bowls with the rest of we drooling dotards????

[trinkie]

OMG I've got Sutherlands - I hope you are not one of mine !! he he he

In which case a gentle pruning will have to be done immediately!

Does there have to be a scientific reason - how boring !


Kindest regards and good wishes in whatever you decide to do with your free time.
Trinkie

[Bobinovich]

Kindest regards and good wishes in whatever you decide to do with your free time.
Trinkie

Maybe that's the problem/reason - free time. (Semi-)Retired fowk seem to have far too much of it on their hands (those who aren't trawling these message boards anyway - not looking at anyone in particular ) and genealogy is a wonderful way of whiling away a few days/months/years by all accounts.

[MadPict]

Some people just want to pin down their roots - not a crime.

Many people did not know their parents, for whatever reason and wish to find relatives.

Some may know half their family tree and wish to find out the other.

As families moved into the 19th/20th centuries they were not living like their ancestors did, all in one house or one street or even one village. They moved away to find work. They become spread out and maybe lose touch. They might move to other lands across the oceans.

As more records become available online it means people don't have to travel to the Central records Office at Kew to do research. They can do a lot from home. It's a hobby for some.

If you don't like it don't do it.

[rich]

But, my dear Mad Pict, the whole point is that geneaology does NOT put you in touch with your roots - at least not after the great grandparents - the thing is too diluted to be of any use. All you might learn if you are from Caithness is is that you are Caucasian, and that in itself is a dubious term.
I remain perplexed. And how can it be fun? Please let me know. I am ready to be converted....

[squidge]

Rich

did you watch the programme on BBC recently where some celebrities researched their ancestors and managed to find out some really interesting infomration about them. With a little hard work not only can you find out that fred Bloggs was your distant relative but what he did for work what their lifestyle was and even find them mentione din the newspapers of the time.

Thats what can be fascinating

[Naefearjustbeer]

What I find interesting is the fact that some folk go to great lengths to find distant relatives in even more distant lands when they hardy bother with the close kin they have in the county or even country. Either that they are looking to sort out cheap (free) digs for a transatlantic or global holiday. Big pinch of salt to be taken with this post before allowing it to simmer for 30 mins LOL!!

[paris]

As an adoptee, i grew up as an only child thinking it was just little old me and that was that. it wasn't untill i reached an age that i understood all the whys etc that i decided to look on one of the main genealogy sites put in my details d.o. b . etc and hey presto i finds out that im actually one of 12 siblings. I have met them all except one whom i just cannot trace. that is the fun of genealogy my friend......... jan x

[MadPict]

I'm not going to try and convert you - if you can't see any point in it, fair enough.

[brandy]

*laughs* umm as there are about 60 peeps in my immediate family.. from my great gran and grandad down.. whom we are all very close with.. even spread out on dif continents as i now am..
i still talk to all of them.. all the time.. know all the family gossip and everything.. and we keep our ancestors alive by talking about them and telling stories to the younger generations.. even thought they may not have ever met the person they still know them..

[golach]

Sorry Rich, I am a keen geneaologist, and CCWS has helped me greatly, I am finding out more and more about my family history, and I am enjoying it....got more than 210 in my tree, hope they dont all fall out at once

[Lavenderblue2]

I wish that I had more time and indeed know-how to pursue this most fascinating pastime - certainly not a task for drooling dotards.

[Ricco]

Sorry, Rich - me too. I have ancestors who were Huguenots and others who were Grants. Also, the family line is a long established and highly regarded one through history. Lots of intrigue and no doubt naughty stuff as well. It like digging into the sordid, seamy side of the Sun or the Daily Sport. Luvvley!

[susan.leith]

For us a family gathering means all 7 of us getting together!! No aunts, uncles or cousins as my parents are both only children. I reckoned there had to be more of us out there somewhere ....... and of course there are. I am in regular contact with "new" members of the family throughout the UK and in Canada, USA and Australia. Genealogy is my hobby - it's not just collecting names or finding my roots, it's finding out about the lifestyles of these people - deaths from measles or whooping cough, occupations passing from father to son, emigration. I've found bigamists, murderers, a multi - millionaire.... there's even a statue of one of my distant relatives in Wick. But if genealogy isn't for you, then that's fine, just as bowling or going to the pub isn't for me. BTW I'm not over 50!

[pultneytooner]

PAF is a task specific family tree database, I'm not sure about photos, but you could always put them in your data folder. It is a free download & the most used and therefore most sharable with other genealogists.

you can download it for free, here

[percy toboggan]

What is the fascination of genealogy?
Getting lost in the branches of the family tree seems to afflict people over age 50 and, in my opinion, is as sure a sign of impending senility as taking up lawn bowling.
You think that is too harsh?
OK then I'll say it has all the scientific merit of astrology with none of the opportunity to pick up young women by asking their sign.
Looked at from a perspecive of DNA it makes zero sense.
Bear with my rudimentary and impaired arithmetic, a legacy of my math teachers at the Miller Academy.
50% of our genes come from Dad, 50% from Mum.
So the input of our grandparents is half that devided by two. (Bear with me, I am no numbers wiz!!!)
Is that 12.5 per cent?
Well you can see that the further you get into the thickets of the family tree the broader and broader things get. After a few generations you are related to everyody which renders geneaology absurd. (I have been reading Richard Dwawkins on the Selfish Gene but I could have got it wrong.) I am open to scientific correction. ANyway the whole thing is baffling and possibly fraudulent.
Remember the fuss about the math teacher in the mid west of the USA who was identified (wrongly? rightly? both?) as a linear descendent of Genghis Khan? Or how about that other great ancestor, Niall of the Seven Hostages?
One piece of my family lore says we are descended from Bloody Claverhouse the persecuter of Presbyterians who got himself killed at the Battle of Killiecrankie. Well, why not - everybody in Europe is likely related to him and we to them!
Let's not get into this "my ancestors are more colorful than yours'" discussion.
Just enlighten me.
Geneaologists ,why do you do this thing?
What is the alchemy behind it?
Whence the fascination?
Why are you not playing bowls with the rest of we drooling dotards????

Of all the things in all the world to choose to have a pop at people you opt for this harmless activity. Your world must be very settled.

[scorrie]

What is the fascination of genealogy?
Getting lost in the branches of the family tree seems to afflict people over age 50 and, in my opinion, is as sure a sign of impending senility as taking up lawn bowling.
You think that is too harsh?
OK then I'll say it has all the scientific merit of astrology with none of the opportunity to pick up young women by asking their sign.
Looked at from a perspecive of DNA it makes zero sense.
Bear with my rudimentary and impaired arithmetic, a legacy of my math teachers at the Miller Academy.
50% of our genes come from Dad, 50% from Mum.
So the input of our grandparents is half that devided by two. (Bear with me, I am no numbers wiz!!!)
Is that 12.5 per cent?
Well you can see that the further you get into the thickets of the family tree the broader and broader things get. After a few generations you are related to everyody which renders geneaology absurd. (I have been reading Richard Dwawkins on the Selfish Gene but I could have got it wrong.) I am open to scientific correction. ANyway the whole thing is baffling and possibly fraudulent.
Remember the fuss about the math teacher in the mid west of the USA who was identified (wrongly? rightly? both?) as a linear descendent of Genghis Khan? Or how about that other great ancestor, Niall of the Seven Hostages?
One piece of my family lore says we are descended from Bloody Claverhouse the persecuter of Presbyterians who got himself killed at the Battle of Killiecrankie. Well, why not - everybody in Europe is likely related to him and we to them!
Let's not get into this "my ancestors are more colorful than yours'" discussion.
Just enlighten me.
Geneaologists ,why do you do this thing?
What is the alchemy behind it?
Whence the fascination?
Why are you not playing bowls with the rest of we drooling dotards????

You can trawl back up your family tree to the nth degree. You may find something interesting or nothing at all. The one thing that is certain, is that if those people had not met up and done what they had done, then you would not exist. I think that is 100% certain, better double check with the Maths bigwigs ;o)

[htwood]

What's your gripe with it Rich, maybe you're not happy for other reasons, so why blame geneaology. Maybe your complaint is with those who go beyond fact into speculation and fantasy?
Geneaology does put me in touch with my roots. There's nothing like standing at Harpsdale Hill, looking out over river thurso & golden fields of grain, knowing my own family stood there too.

Go ahead and axe your own family tree, but leave the rest of the forest for those who enjoy it. -H

[rich]

Scorrie, that's not a bad point.
To the rest of you:
I was querying the usefulness if any of going back beyond your great grandparents because by that time you are not carrying any of their DNA. In other words your ancestors are in one package and you are in another. I wish some maths person would do the sums for me on this.
It's a bit like a kid with a bucket filling it with sea water and saying this is my own personal little bit of ocean.
And why bother tracking down some obscure crofter in the parish records in 1815? Let the dead lie, say I
But please, what is this rare pleasure of delving into or up the the family tree? Can you share it with me????

[rich]

I am beginning to feel more and more like an axe murderer!
Htwood, I dont understand why it is important for you to feel that your ancestors are just a breath away when you see a view they once beheld.
The first time I saw Paris I felt as if I was coming home. But as far as I know none of my ancestors got debonced during the French Revolution and I regret to say that I am unlikely to be related geneticaly to Marcel Proust because he was from a Jewish family.
Let me ask you all how far back have you got on the ancestor trail? I gather most people run into a wall by the 18th century.