Ciao - for people with opinions

Latest reviews Latest questions
Write a review Latest videos
Special offers
Home > Ciao Café > Member Advice > Member Advice on Hobbies > Member Advice on Researching Family History
User rating
User rating User rating
10 Reviews

Community Quote

I have a problem that might be verging on the point of becoming an addiction - I spend quite a lot of time learning about dead people! But not just any dead people - this lot are my ancestors, so I... more

User Reviews

for Member Advice on Researching Family History

Rating Summary based on 10 reviews

  • 5 Stars
    		9
  • 4 Stars
    		1
  • 3 Stars
    		0
  • 2 Stars
    		0
  • 1 Star
    		0
  • 41 of 41 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of KateHurst

    Level 7 KateHurst

    Member since 21/05/2008

    Reviews written: 346

    5 Stars Shoemakers, chicken stealers, farmhands and gamekeepers? 28/11/2009
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages reveals the story behind your family, there's always something unusual to know

    Disadvantages Disadvantages it's a seriously addictive hobby, requires time or money or both!

    I have a problem that might be verging on the point of becoming an addiction - I spend quite a lot of time learning about dead people! But not just any dead people - this lot are my ancestors, so I hope that gives me some kind of excuse. My head, my notebooks and two separate lever arch files are now full to bursting point with notes, census details, certificates for births, marriages and deaths, little plastic hole-punched pockets containing delicate original items like my grandma's birth certificate and things that can't be hole-punched like photographs of gravestones, I have trawled some ... more
  • 45 of 45 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Newfloridian

    Level 6 Newfloridian

    Member since 13/11/2002

    Reviews written: 328

    5 Stars IF CIAO IS CAFFEINE, THIS IS MY CRACK COCAINE. 28/12/2005
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Addictive, you'll never know who you might meet, where you might travel

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Like any passion can be costly in time and money

    There are few of us these days who do not have at least a sneaking curiosity in discovering who we are and where we came from. This interest has been heightened by the exploits and experiences of celebrities in tracing their own family histories in such programmes as BBC Television's "Who do you think you are?". Who knows for certain that there is not a prince or a knight lurking in the distant past? Or deeds of bravery or scandals long forgotten? Or accomplishments in fields unsuspected, acts of kindness gone unrewarded or barbaric punishments meted out for criminal behaviour? What was going ... more
  • 46 of 46 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of phoenixgreen

    phoenixgreen

    5 Stars THE SECRETS OF THE LONG AGO FOLK 16/01/2007
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages THE FEELING OF BELONGING TO SOMETHING IS LIKE NOTHING ELSE

    Disadvantages Disadvantages IT'S HARD WORK AND YOU OFTEN UNCOVER THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT EXPECT.

    Family History Searching out The Secrets of The Long Ago Folk All the years I was growing up, my aunties and uncles on my dad's side would comment on how much I looked like their mother. I remember being stopped in the street when I was 11 by an old woman who said, rather mysteriously, that I must be one of Isobella's. I was at the age of being desperately shy and embarrassed at being stopped by old ladies in front of my sisters and cousins, and I think I giggled and walked away. As the years when past, I wished I had listened to the woman, and found out what she knew about my grandmother. You ... more
  • 68 of 68 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Louise90

    Louise90

    5 Stars History is a load of old cobblers, is it?! Review with images 19/02/2005
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Great fun. You never know what you will find!

    Disadvantages Disadvantages The cost!

    So, you want to research your family history, do you? But, it's a big world out there, and where the hell do you begin? It's not going to be easy, it can be expensive, what websites do you visit? I'll give up now! No! Don't do that! Read on my friends, and hopefully I'll be able to tempt you into tracing your ancestors! There's a difference between 'genealogy' and 'family history'. Genealogy is when you want to do a specific time-line for your ancestors and do a tree. Family history is when you want to do a particular search on a member/s of your family and find out more about their lives ... more
  • 41 of 41 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Wisegirl

    Wisegirl

    5 Stars Do you know where you come from? 21/02/2008
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Absorbing and addictive

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Might not always like what you find

    Do you really know where you come from? You may think you do, but once you start delving into your family history I can assure you there will be surprises, some good, some bad and some just downright sad. Just think about that before you embark on the journey back in time and be prepared! It can be a roller coaster ride full of ups and downs and frustrations but at the same time addictive and time consuming. Would I recommend it YES and you've guessed it I'm hooked! Basic Guide to getting started Interview living relatives especially the much older ones whilst they are still with us as they ... more