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snuggels
960 Posts |
 Posted - 03 Aug 2009 : 13:35:02
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My brother has been traceing the family tree for 25 years now and having an very unusual surname so one would think not many of us around so he decided not just to trace the eldest son of the eldest son which is the normal way to trace the family tree. But compile a family tree of all the different legs of the family where our family name continued. To do this he has he has obtained copies of all the birth, death and also wedding certificates.
At the time little did he know what a task he was setting himself as this has taken him to church grave yards and record offices all over England indeed all over the world. As he has found very very distant relatives in Canada America and Australia No long lost fortunes found lol
There has been a few suprises along the way some of which are for instance in Australia one of our ancestors was a confict shipped to OZ.
Another was the American lead radio operator of the 1000 bomber raid in the second world war
Another was killed at the battle of Little Big Horn in America He was camping in the field next door and went to complain about the noise.
Seriouse though any one traced there family tree any suprices?
In the Uk it is very difficult to trace your family tree back further than about the 17 hundreds unless you are of Heraldry decent and the family had a coat of arms which are all recoreded in West Minster Abbey. Most of the nation at that time were illiterate and just signed official documents with a cross or a thumb print and of course the devolution of the Monestries many records were distroyed
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Edited by - snuggels on 03 Aug 2009 15:09:38 |
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toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 03 Aug 2009 : 14:28:53
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There is one place that you have not mentioned and those are things called Manorial Rolls which are records that were kept by lords of the manor,I suppose because the King wanted to know what you had! anyway if you were a peasnt you may have been listed on those Rolls (they are called that because they are rolls of paper just like wallpaper,not like a book) and at that time you were the "property" of the lord,people didnt travel far in those days so many generations can be traced.
There is loads of stuff you can get information from, I AM NO EXPERT and have done no work on this its just interesting:
Have a look at this link for instance.
http://www.calderdale.gov.uk/wtw/sources/sourcetypes/manor_rolls.html |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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snuggels
960 Posts |
Posted - 03 Aug 2009 : 15:02:41
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Thanks for that Toubab. I think he has covered most avenues. I dont know all of them. One I do know and didnt mention where he has visited is the Mormon church in Salt Lake city Where they hold milions of records from all over the world going back to who knows when I dont know Yep its all very interesting.
So what about our Black brotheres anyone related back to the famouse slave Roots |
Edited by - snuggels on 03 Aug 2009 15:15:31 |
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toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 03 Aug 2009 : 16:12:49
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| Thats an interesting question that you ask there Snuggles,Most of Africa's history is handed down by word of mouth and I doubt if any written records exist in Africa but written records do exist in European countries such as the UK ,perhaps some of the learned posters who are in European countries have done some research on the records that exist, it would certainly be interesting to hear from them, don't hold your breath as most Gambians who come to the uk do not have the time or inclination to do such research they are too busy trying to earn a living or passing exams,and I believe are quite happy to accept what the elders say as proof positive of any event without the need to verify it with bits of paper as the Europeans do. |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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snuggels
960 Posts |
Posted - 03 Aug 2009 : 16:36:01
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You never know toubab you could be right lets wait and see.
Something else that just springs to mind. My brother told me.
That he found a very distant relative in a place called Raliegh in America. His claim to fame apparently was that he carved the biggest wooden statue in the world. Dont know but might be in the giuness book of records. Any one got it to have a look.
The statue is of Sir Walter Raliegh. I think thats how you spell it.
Thats who the town was named after |
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tamsier
United Kingdom
558 Posts |
Posted - 04 Aug 2009 : 12:27:52
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Well i am not one of those Africans who take anything for granted without verifying it with official sources. I am very interested in genealogy and have had this discussion with you Toubab a long while ago. Perhaps you forgotton. I do not descent from slaves and very few people in Senegambia actually descended from slaves. In West Africa, those who descended from slavery in particular from the Atlantic slave trade can be found in Sierra Leon and Liberia. Note, not all Sierra Leoneans and Liberians are descendants of slave, but these are were you find many who descended from the Atlantic slave trade.
As regards for your question Snuggels, I come from one of the old families of Senegambia. My medieval ancestors were from senegal. in those days there were no such thing as Gambia or Senegal as we know them today. I have traced my lineage to a prince of Jolof who sought asylum at Portugual in the 15th century and have gone beyond that. The official records you should look at are baptismal records if you have to go even further and as you said the church of jesus christ and later day saints is also a good starting point for any gambian interested in genealogy. However, it only covers from the mid 19th century. |
Tamsier
Serere heritage. Serere religion. Serere to the end.
Roog a fa ha. |
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snuggels
960 Posts |
Posted - 04 Aug 2009 : 13:12:15
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Interesting Tansmier. Wow got a pince in the family also learnet a bit of history to the region so thanks for that.
Regarding the Baptismal records as I said my brother has obtained all of these also the wedding and death certificates. Which have been of great help.
As know dought you know the standard lay out for a family tree with the names and dates of the family. What my brother has also done over and above that where ever possilble against each name is put the occupation of the person and a bit of history if known and also a photograph. The earlist being the late 18 hundreds.
Against the occupations he has found Boat builders Fishermen Coal miners and many many more even a matchstick maker lol |
Edited by - snuggels on 04 Aug 2009 13:13:26 |
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toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 04 Aug 2009 : 13:52:33
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Thanks for Joining in tamsier,I am sorry I do not remember that we wrote about this before,records do exist about Gambian families of long ago and it is possible to trace them,only through records of Europeans who came to west Africa for bad reasons long ago ( I am not going down the slave path for discussion !) You must be very proud of who you have discovered but for many Africans they are prepared to go completly on oral history and unlike yourself make verification by paper records,OK to do this is very difficult in Africa as it would involve searching in many places on the WWW, all this costs money and dispoable income for ordinary folk in Africa is just not on.
Any idea where everyone has gone from bantaba in cyberspace ?,there appears only a few of us left,perhaps the will return after the rains!! |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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tamsier
United Kingdom
558 Posts |
Posted - 04 Aug 2009 : 14:15:40
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To look into old baptismal records of churches and trace the lineage even further, I think the best place to start is talking to your elderly relatives. This is infact the best starting place before embarking on the genealogy of your family. Try and find out were your family is from [eg. district, city etc] and that would point you in the right direction - where you should concentrate your research from, eg which churches to visit. Be prepared for 'clogging the miles'. Also, try to find were your family's name is more concentrated. This will also give you an idea where exactly your ancestors settled. You must also appreciate that, people in those days spelled their surnames differently, or pronounced them differently especially if they had migrated to another area. Make allowances and bear it in mind. Also check genealogy sites to see whether a family tree had already been prepared by someone with the same surname and then send them an email. You will find that genealogy enthusiast are more than willing to exchange ideas.
Now! For Gambians interested in their genealogy.
Many Senegambians know their genealogy anyway. It is true that they may not have written this down but genealogy is embedded in our culture and it infact went hand in hand with history. Talk to the elders, write down everything they say or best use a recorder. Sometimes the elderly forget things or confused thing or certain things may be too painful for them to speak about. Bear this in mind and respect that. However, in most cases, you will find that the elderly are so pleased to pass on their life experience and family history to the youngsters. They are even more delighted when you take your laptop and show them the family tree with pictures. Once you get all this, the next step is to seek official written records to substantiate that. Those who come from one of the notable families of senegambia will find out that, their genealogy is easier to trace than those who don't. However, everyone and anyone can trace their genealogy if they 'really want to'. I cannot emphasise that enough. There is no short cut. To try and use short cuts will dishonour the memories and lineage of your ancestors. If you do not have the time or the inclination, dont bother starting. Sources you should visit:
The national record office in the Gambia. Many Gambians will find that, once they delve deeper into their lineage, some of their ancestors may have come from what we now call Senegal. As such, if you are really really serious in tracing your genelogy, you may have to visit the 'Nationale Archives du Senegal'. In fact, the Senegalese keep the best records and are more helpful compared to the Gambians [from my experience]. If you cannot speak french, get someone who can. For a decent amount of money, educated senegalese boys would be more than happy to interprete the records for you. Always make copies and register sources for future reference.
The church of jesus christ and latter day saints also has records for gambian genealogy. Back in 1981 - 83, they interviewed several gambian elders on the genealogy of their families. Also, from 1830 [I believe] upto 1955, they have records of marriages, deaths and births of The Gambia. Gambian christians can look at all records, because only marriages registered in churchs were present. Muslim marriages or Animist marriages were not registered. However, everyone can look at the birth and death records which states the occupation of the father/deceased, their residence, who reported it etc. Be ready for the fact that, there may be spelling mistakes because the British or their locally educated assistants couldn't pronouce local names and just write it down as they saw fit, and the locally educated just used their initiative and write it down as pronouced. Muslims and Animists may also find that, in those days, muslim deaths for example or births were reported late, sometimes months after the event.
I am one of the lucky ones. My uncle [a reknowned historian and scholar] started writing down our family tree more than 50 years ago. However, with all the available resources we now have, I went even further than he had and he was deligted when I presented him a copy of the family tree many years ago. |
Tamsier
Serere heritage. Serere religion. Serere to the end.
Roog a fa ha. |
Edited by - tamsier on 04 Aug 2009 14:24:29 |
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toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 04 Aug 2009 : 15:09:35
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| Tamsier,you are really well into this I can see that,very interesting, Thanks. |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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tamsier
United Kingdom
558 Posts |
Posted - 13 Aug 2009 : 17:04:21
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After family and work, genealogy and history are my greatest passion. I have always been nosy and genealogy and history are two of the best outlets for nosy people. Once you get hooked, you always wants to know more. |
Tamsier
Serere heritage. Serere religion. Serere to the end.
Roog a fa ha. |
Edited by - tamsier on 13 Aug 2009 17:08:45 |
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snuggels
960 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2009 : 00:09:39
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Yes I think your right as my brother got hooked 25 years ago and still at it. His wife once said to him jokingly your more interested in the dead than you are the living LoL
When I go to Australia over the winter Im meeting up with a very distant arm of the family tree. The link to us and back to the UK is one of our ancesters apparently was he stole a loaf of bread and was shipped to OZ for his crime. They were hard times |
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snuggels
960 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2009 : 09:45:52
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Tamsier
Have you thought of putting you family tree on the Internet for posterity our exstened family tree is on the web site Genes Reunited so that in the fullness of time anyone can add to there leg of the tree |
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toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2009 : 10:31:29
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quote:
Originally posted by snuggels
Tamsier
Have you thought of putting you family tree on the Internet for posterity our exstened family tree is on the web site Genes Reunited so that in the fullness of time anyone can add to there leg of the tree
"anyone can add to there leg of the tree"
Or even a branch.
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"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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snuggels
960 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2009 : 11:13:13
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| Yes but I assmume it would be just family members who would be interested to keep thier leg of the family tree going |
Edited by - snuggels on 14 Aug 2009 11:14:03 |
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tamsier
United Kingdom
558 Posts |
Posted - 14 Aug 2009 : 12:15:04
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Snuggels,
I've already done that. From my experience, it is Senegalese and not Gambians who seems to be more interested in their genealogy. I have dozens of responses from them. |
Tamsier
Serere heritage. Serere religion. Serere to the end.
Roog a fa ha. |
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