I am Bryan Douglas-Matthews and I live in North Wales in the United
Kingdom. I am trying to build my Family Tree and, as with all trees, there are both roots
and branches. Often, through the course of time, roots get twisted and branches become
broken. These events turn the Genealogist into a gardener.
It is the "Self Appointed" role of the family historian to put the genealogical garden to rights. Mending broken branches and straightening twisted roots is the stuff that his or her dreams are made of.
The soil and water of the family historians garden are memories, records and friends throughout the world. My most used sources are friends like Jill Williams, without whose help I would still be groping in the dark. My local Reference Library, with its Birth Death and Marriage Indices, and my American friend, Charles W. Hall, who inspires me when I am feeling down. There are, of course, many others like my friend Ray Farrimond, without whose help and guidance I would never have begun these pages.
There is, for the Family Historian, a sense of true fulfilment when he or
she manages to link both the past and the future to the present day for these are links in
the chain of continuity that lead to the anchor that is the knowledge of "Who You
Are" and "Where You Come From".
The joy of a family birth, with its welcome for the new family member and the sadness of a family death, are the comings and goings that are a "Spur" to the genealogist for they remind us that we are not immortal. This in turn helps to ensure that we record as fully and accurately as is humanly possible a record of our lines of descent for those who come after us. We hope that they can see how rich, full and wonderful their past has been and how much more so their future can be if they will add to all that we have tried to accomplish.
We are not "Keepers", merely the custodians, of the past and present of our families and we leave it to those who follow us in the sincere hope that they will love and treasure that which we have uncovered, and add to it in their turn.
All family historians and genealogists know the pain of searching, often for years, for an elusive ancestor. They know the time they have spent lovingly poring over old documents, certificates and microfilm and microfiche indexes, only to fail to "Capture" the relative they have been following.
When they finally prove, beyond any doubt, that the person they have been tracing is that long lost relative, then they celebrate. People think that they are crazy, for they tell all their relatives and friends and even total strangers, all of whom become fed up of hearing about it.
It does not matter. No one is more content, for a short time, than the keeper of the family history.
For some, the search becomes to much. Some give up because there seems know way forward. Others quit because of the time involved. Still more quit when their friends find them lurking about in graveyards, studying the headstones on the graves. For those who stick to it the rewards are worth more than gold.
In my own case I was aware that I had been adopted. I believed that I knew who my father was. I believed that I knew when I was born. Due to my belief in all that I believed I knew and all that I had been told as a child, I set off to find my relatives.
It came as a shock to me when the one person that I could not find on the records was, ME. I spent days trying to locate my records to no avail. In the end I looked again at my adoption records and, armed with the scant facts contained in them, went back to the records and found that my mother had failed to register my birth for ten years. Is it any wonder that people give up?
I hope that, as you follow my family history, such as it is, that you will find the encouragement to struggle on.
I am aware that I may well hurt the feelings of those who are my family but, it is my story and the story of my search and, I have not set out to hurt anyone. As the story unfolds more information will be added to these pages.
Please note, things are being added to this site all the time,.If you have any information or suggestions please email it to:-
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