An elderly uncle is thinking about setting up his abandoned computer and researching his family tree.I admire his interest and hope he will enjoy doing so, the only slight worry is that a) he will struggle with using the computer which he has never quite grasped b) he will find the family tree research complicated because he has a fairly common name.
I said I could look up a few things for him, just so when he does get going he will have the basics, such as his grandparents’ names and details of their families. Although the surname was common it didn’t take me very long to trace back a couple of generations, so when my uncle wants to begin his search he will have some names to play with. One of the interesting things I always think, isn’t just the names and the dates, it’s the other information you find you; at one point in the family there was a white smith, a black smith and a tin man… One of the aunties was Vida, one of the uncles was called Walwin. I’m not sure my uncle will want to know all these details, but what I can guarantee, when he starts thinking about his family and exploring their history, lots of stories will come flooding back! He was speaking to a friend of his, and showed her some photos, and she recognized one of his old aunties as her dress-maker when she was a girl!
Lois Elsden 