Going Back To My Roots

Thank you, Sue. Where do I get Ancestry Magazine... is it available in somewhere like W.H.Smith, or online? I would like to buy one and shall also join Genes Reunited. That sounds like a good bet. Anything that will get me somewhere. I'm willing to go and trawl local office records myself if I only knew where to start. These days, they've been moved around and amalgamized so many times, that I don't have the foggiest. I guess all the main register offices, like Brighton, Haywards Heath, etc. Thank you so much for your help my friend, and Brightest Blessings.

Yes, you can find that magazine - and loads of others like it - in Smiths. Round about where the hobbies and things are, I think. Good luck - but really, Genes reunited is great, you might have to wait a while though.

Oh, thank you Sue for the information. Yes, Genes Reunited sounds like it might be a good bed. I shall certainly register there. Thanks for all your help. I'll let you know how I get on. x

Yes, I think I would wonder what they didn't want me to know too, my friend. It's the other way for me; my Mum will talk for ages about her family because she wants to know what I can find as well. Obviously, she didn't delve too far herself, but I'm really interested to know. I have a great interest in our English History, especially the Dark Ages. Our country was invaded and boundaries changed so many times, but I think my family roots lean towards the Germanic tribes, i.e. Anglo-Saxons. Brightest Blessings and thank you for your contribution.

I guess there's a national registry but I don't have a clue how to go about that... I'll have to do a search. The individual churches are probably not a lot of help. There are a few old ones in Burgess Hill where my Dad came from, and one in Scaynes Hill where my Mum came from, but I don't think they keep the records there.. rather the local Diosces, in Chichester, I feel. Brightest Blessings my friend, and thank you for your contribution.

My dad and aunt were doing it together she the Kelly side and Dad the Hurd side ANd the MOrmon one is surpose to have largest data base I under stand. Isnt that something a witch name of West. I know a kid here in Tenn that used to run with my younget son was or is a West! So you just might have some relitives here. lol

Wow, yes, I might well have some relatives there. Perhaps that's why I can't find them in this country! ha ha ha.

How strange... I wonder why the Church of England would stop your Dad getting to the records. You know, I went to the Museum of Witches in York once. I was wandering around and found a register of witches who had been tried and executed for their ways, throughout the country. Imagine my surprise, when I found one from Sussex, with the name West... my maiden name! ha ha ha. It was way back in time; I believe in the 1600s, but I was a bit taken aback, I can tell you! It would explain a lot of things though, if she were a relative! Gerty suggested the Mormon Data Base, but I don't feel there's much connection between that and England unless some of my ancestors emigrated to America. That could be the case, of course, with so many moving out there in Quaker times. I'll save that one for if I get stuck, I think. I might find I have a whole string of ancestors out there. Wouldn't that be a turn-up? There is a lot of linkage between Great Britain and the U.S.A. Thank you for your contribution, my friend, and Brightest Blessings. xx

Thank you, my friend. I'm getting some pretty helpful responses and positive feedback here which is helping a lot in pointing me in the right direction, I feel. Brightest Blessings and thank you for your contribution.

Is there no end to our Fish's talents? I didn't know he did all that sort of thing. I'll either drop him a comment in the Den or contact him by e-mail... thank you. Has he gone globetrotting? he he. Brightest Blessings my dear friend and thank you for your contribution. xx

I think that a lot of American people will have an amount of European roots, because apart from the American Natives, the majority of settlers in the U.S.A. came from Ireland and England. In turn, a lot of the English people at least, will have derived from Germanic, Flemish, Norman and Roman peoples as the country was invaded so often. That includes, of course, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, as the Norsemen in particular swept the whole of the British Isles, forming Anglo-Saxon counties. In fact, Wessex was one of the only counties, the Anglo-Saxons held from the Vikings. Wessex was ruled by the same guy who ruled Sussex, as it neighboured the county, so my county of West Sussex was kept from the marauding Vikings, remaining intact until the Normans came. There's a bit of history for you! lol. Therefore, my alliegiance lies with the Anglo-Saxons who more or less, made our Country. Of course, there were the Celts, Druids and Neolithic peoples, but at one time, our country was joined to the continent by a bridge of land across the English Channel, and Lindisfarne, to the east, and between Scandinavia and us, was linked to the mainland... that being the first place a lot of Anglo-Saxons landed. I have learned quite a bit of the Norsemen, Anglo Saxons and Vikings because I'm very interested in the Dark Ages, and how we came to be what we are today. Then, my Mum mentioned something about wanting to know her roots, so we started working together, she giving me information and I researching it. I found that my Mum's father was probably out of a Germanic Wascher family, this name being given in Hampshire, to sheep and wool washers. Now, my interest is deepened and I yearn to find out more. My Grandmother's name... his wife, was Strickland, and these I tracked back to business people in Cumbria. Both have a family crest, as do the Wests, but that's as far as I've got. I need to find something more concrete... as you do. I don't know whether the Mormon registry would be a lot of help to me, as the religion is largely American. We sometimes have Mormons calling, or did in Brighton, but they were both young American guys, so I doubt the religion has spread at all here. Hence, I would have difficulty finding records unless any of my ancestors emigrated to the States. Thank you for your help my friend. My investigations will continue. Brightest Blessings.

I'm not sure whether I've already tried that one, but I shall certainly go have a look, my friend. I don't mind spending my own time researching but I don't much relish the thought of having to pay others to do so. It takes all the fun and feeling of achievement out of it, somehow. Brightest Blessings and thank you for your contribution.

Hmmm. You might even have a bit of Viking mixed in there too if Wales comes into the equasion. Very interesting, my friend. As for common names, how does Thomas West grab you? lol. I don't even know what year he was born and there's nobody left to ask on that side of the family. My Mum's side is interesting though. Wascher is Germanic, and they say that's where Washer derived from. My county and Wessex were the only two defended from the Vikings. They never did win here, so Sussex (South Sax) remained Saxon, until the Normans invaded. I suspect I might have pure Saxon ancestry but what before that? I guess we can't go further back because of the lack of notes written during the Dark Ages, but I really would like to know if my interest in the Anglo Saxon beliefs is blood borne. My blonde hair and blue eyes would suggest so, but there could be a mix in there somewhere. Brightest Blessings my friend and thank you for your correspondence.

It's the simple things like checking with cousins and other family members that don't really register with us, isn't it. Of course, they'll know things that we don't; like on my Dad's side, there are no surviving siblings or anything and it's so difficult to get to the bottom of stuff, but cousins just may have the information I need to start on the bottom rung of the ladder. Thank you my friend. That's very helpful. Brightest Blessings, and thank you for your contribution.

We're all different, my friend. Some of us are interested in history, and curious about our roots, and some aren't. It's all a matter of choice I guess, and I'm one of those who chooses to uncover mine. However, I'm finding it quite difficult without spending money and wondered whether anybody had some positive feedback as to which way to go, is all. Brightest Blessings and thank you for your contribution.