Family history story.

Well, what an exciting few days I have had. It was a bit of a difficult week what with exam results due etc. The week before I had been browsing the library shelves and picked out a book about Preston. In the back was a list of subscribers. I did a google search and it led me to the Quaker family history society site. They are having a one day conference on Saturday 18th April 2009 at Skipton Friends Meeting House 10.30 am til 16.00. There are going to be two talks, and the one I am most interest is is going to be talking about the Quaker archives at Leeds. (I think that after I am finished with Lancashire Records Office that is the next place to go looking.) It is free to attend and you do not need to be a member but you do have to let them know you will be attending and there was a form to send off. Which I did along with a letter asking if he belonged to the Wilcocksons from Preston. Now I am a very shy person and it took a lot of deliberation before plucking up the courage to actually send it. And I never even thought of the consequences of putting a phone number on the form, but he actually phoned me on Sunday.



I think I made a fool of myself. But I was so dropped on, and I am never very good on the phone. He was really nice and yes he does belong to our Wilcocksons. And he's going to be at the conference. I really really hope I get to go. I do not think he uses the computer much but if he does manage to find this site I'd like to say welcome to Richard. He did family history research during the 80s and 90s and has visited places connected to the family. Ohhhhhhhh I was so excited but scared at the same time. I never know what to say at the best of times. I know I bore my family much of the time when I start rabbiting on about this and that. It does say about the conference to take your own family tree so I hope to compare thoughts. And of course I am looking forward to meeting Richard.



He was able to tell me that I was mistaken about 12 Ribblesdale Place, the home of Isaac. The original building has been replaced. Richard thinks it was a fire that destroyed the original house. But the street is the original and the house next door was there, and that fantastic position on the precipice, so although naturally I am disappointed I am still thrilled that so much of the original Preston in that area remains today and you really do get the feeling of walking in their footsteps. It also highlights how good it is to have companionship along the way with family history......and how necessary to have someone to point out when you have made a mistake and lend their knowledge to the quest. Perhaps I can be a bit self indulgent here and outline what interests me and my view on family history. I would be interested to here what interests you too.



Most importantly I think family history as a hobby is what the person wants out of it. Some people just want to get as far back as possible, some people want to collect names and get as big a tree as they can, someone else might just want to study one persons life in great detail, others might want to investigate their ancestors lives, for others it expands into social history in general. I fall into the later category. I respect everyones right to follow their own objective. I get a real thrill seeing old documents to think that you can actually touch the past. That I can know the name of someone who walked this earth 200 and odd years ago. It does not matter to me if they are related or not. And to say that persons name even if it is just a first name is to remember them. I am not interested in famous history - royalty, nor in scandals, nor seeking riches and I am not particularly interested in military history. I am interested in the everyday lives of ordinary people. What did they do, where did they live, how did they travel, I cry over a scrawled x on a marriage certificate. I feel anger for past injustices. I tingle when I walk where I know they walked. I wonder what they thought about. I like to see the world as they saw it. I marvel at how little I know and how much of what I thought I knew turns out not to be true at all. It is a constant journey of enlightenment. It also has changed my views on life today. Mum once gave me some buttons which had been cut off a mans working uniform on the railways in case they came in handy some time... these are as precious to me as if someone had given me gold jewelry. And in seeing a signature connects me to that person. What were they thinking? Whilst I have great enthusiasm I am also aware that leads me to be prone to making mistakes. Excitement leads me to making assumptions, not taking time to check my work, to overlooking clues because I am always dashing off down some new avenue. I am notoriously disorganised, I can never lay my hand on whatever I am looking for, I forget to fully document my findings but acknowledging this means I can accept that I will never know everything and that others can point out my mistakes. And that is enough rambling for tonight.