family historians on golo's blog

genealogical travels with gilligat…

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Genealogical travels with Gilligat…

When I was growing up I knew virtually nothing about my immediate family let alone my family history. Family to me was my mother, my sister and I. When I was eleven I got to know my father and his side of the family. At the age of fourteen I moved to NC to live with my father. A few months later my paternal grandmother sent a package containing a scrapbook of our family history. My father leafed through the pages and set it aside where it gathered dust for several weeks until one day out of boredom I picked it up. The scrapbook contained our line in America from 1630 all the way down to my grandmother. This was an interesting piece of work for someone that was uneducated in the field of family. As I sifted through the information I came across a letter that had been handed down through the generations by my great- great- great grandfather. The letter was sent by Burkes Landed Gentry in or around 1863 and contained bits and pieces of information about our surname and a drawing of the family crest. How fascinating! After several days of reading and rereading, I stashed my treasure away.

Five years ago after a move I uncovered my long lost but never forgotten genealogical gem and decided to test my luck with it. The genealogy in America had been for the most part taken care of by my grandmother so I decided to take my genealogical travels to England. (I do however research America when I burn out in England.) I was a genealogical ignoramus that didn’t know squat about researching ones genealogy. I started with LDS (which is okay but not terribly informative) and that was just the beginning. I found some references to England and there was one for a certain member of the family in 1250. I laughed thinking "Yeah, right!" I blundered along and my persistence paid off. I Googled, I sent emails to Lord Mayors Secretariats, I found people in England who share my surname and they have become wonderful friends that have proven to be the best critics for my theories. I found excellent online resources and best of all I have learned so much history along the way. Who knew I would one day fall in love one of my worst subjects in high school. I have also learned some Latin along the way which has proven to be extremely helpful and I encourage anyone who researches these earlier periods to learn some too.

The earliest record I have to date containing my surname is ante 1174. I have a suspicion about where my surname originated from but I am still waiting for that information to be posted online so that I will have some proof. It’s either that or win the lottery so I can travel over seas to seek out the information for myself, fat chance right? I also found that 1250 guy (who knew) and his father who also has a handful of records ranging between the years 1181-1234. I have another member with well over 30 records ranging between 1234 and 1270. I have covered England and America from top to bottom and have found 1.84 GB of information and I am still going strong. I have learned that you must understand the history of the period and place you are researching. I have learned that surname typos are common. I have learned that when you search for information online you must be creative while keeping it simple at the same time.

For anyone wanting to scratch around in England but doesn’t know where to begin here are a few good starting points:

Bonus fortuna!