A is for Alfred, Ancestor, ancestry.com.au, Aubrey, Addiction, to name just a few.
I have an ancestor by the name of Alfred Ludwig Brandt. I have spent many hours of research on this particular Alfred. I have currently hit a brick wall with my research on him, but there are plenty of other ancestors to fill my time.
In the first unit for my Diploma of Family History in 2015 I used this particular Alfred for my essay. My Research Plan on Alfred was the first of many essays and or stories that would evolve in the next two years and 8 units of the Diploma.
Alfred taught me many things along the way and sparked my love of hanging out with “dead people”. Ask any Family Historian and you will be told that ancestors are addictive!
I have posted my essays on Alfred on this blog before, so I am not going to do so again. Just suffice to say that when I find anything more of interest on him, this blog will hear about it.
Over the past three years I have spent many an hour trolling through the website “Ancestry”. It is here that you can find many records. It is here that you can spend many hours. Also it is here that “shakey green leaves” can entice you to add names to your tree.
But I have learnt to act cautiously with these hints as all information connected to “shaky green leaves” is not necessarily my ancestor and shouldn’t be added willy nilly to my tree. It is amazing the things you can come across on some people’s trees on Ancestry that are not correct.
I have found the main thing with Ancestry is to prove all things for yourself before you add any of the information to your tree. The allure of those “shakey green leaves” is very appealing but just adding them, without seeing the proof for yourself, can lead to wasted time on the wrong ancestor! I have been amazed at some of the “facts” on different people's trees with no sources cited, to prove it.
Another of my favourite “A” words is the name Aubrey. I have always loved the song “Aubrey was her Name” by Bread from the 1970s. So when I discovered an Aubrey in my heritage I was pleased. Imagine my surprise when I discovered my Aubrey was a male. Even though further research showed that Aubrey was traditionally used for males, somewhere overtime it became unisex. It also taught me that when it comes to names there really are no rules. So I am looking forward to the day I find time to research this particular ancestor and wonder what his story will be.
So as you can see the letter A will keep me busy for many years to come, along with all the other letters for this challenge.
I have posted my essays on Alfred on this blog before, so I am not going to do so again. Just suffice to say that when I find anything more of interest on him, this blog will hear about it.
Over the past three years I have spent many an hour trolling through the website “Ancestry”. It is here that you can find many records. It is here that you can spend many hours. Also it is here that “shakey green leaves” can entice you to add names to your tree.
But I have learnt to act cautiously with these hints as all information connected to “shaky green leaves” is not necessarily my ancestor and shouldn’t be added willy nilly to my tree. It is amazing the things you can come across on some people’s trees on Ancestry that are not correct.
I have found the main thing with Ancestry is to prove all things for yourself before you add any of the information to your tree. The allure of those “shakey green leaves” is very appealing but just adding them, without seeing the proof for yourself, can lead to wasted time on the wrong ancestor! I have been amazed at some of the “facts” on different people's trees with no sources cited, to prove it.
Another of my favourite “A” words is the name Aubrey. I have always loved the song “Aubrey was her Name” by Bread from the 1970s. So when I discovered an Aubrey in my heritage I was pleased. Imagine my surprise when I discovered my Aubrey was a male. Even though further research showed that Aubrey was traditionally used for males, somewhere overtime it became unisex. It also taught me that when it comes to names there really are no rules. So I am looking forward to the day I find time to research this particular ancestor and wonder what his story will be.
So as you can see the letter A will keep me busy for many years to come, along with all the other letters for this challenge.
How about you, do you have a particular story in your family history relating to A?
A great start to your AtoZ challenge. Looking forward to reading all your posts.
ReplyDeleteThanks Carmel, I hope I can post each day. I am trying to get ahead at the moment.
ReplyDeleteLove your A post. Looking forward to checking in for more #AprilAtoZ
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words Jennifer.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes I do have an "A" story for today
ReplyDeletehttp://findingeliza.com/
I have read your post for today, Kristin, very interesting. Thanks for reading mine.
DeleteAncestors are indeed addictive. Your "name" comments made me smile. When first corresponding with a relative in Belgium, they assumed I (Gail) was a man and expressed surprise to discover my true designation :)
ReplyDeletehttps://gail-baugniet.blogspot.com/
Yes I have had a few surprises with names. Thanks for reading.
DeleteThey sure are addictive. Wise words about those shaky leaves!
ReplyDeleteYes there are too many name collectors on Ancestry.
ReplyDeleteI've been focusing on a single name for each letter of the alphabet, but might try doing an assortment like your post for times when it is hard to choose just one.
ReplyDeleteI yes I am trying to focus on names, but sometimes it is hard to choose, so that is when I shall I say "pontificate"!
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