Is it the end of the line?

[AlanC]

I have just paid to have my Tree professionally printed. It's by no means complete but I don't want to have siblings of siblings ad infinitum on it and I've gone as far as I can with the kind help of FTM members. So my Family History research has lost it's challenge unless a certain Ann Jones c 1822 reveals herself.
Has anyone else feel as though their Tree is complete?

[margaretmarch]

I have just paid to have my Tree professionally printed. It's by no means complete but I don't want to have siblings of siblings ad infinitum on it and I've gone as far as I can with the kind help of FTM members. So my Family History research has lost it's challenge unless a certain Ann Jones c 1822 reveals herself.
Has anyone else feel as though their Tree is complete?

Well mine is almost there.

Like you I don't want tons of extraneous people on it, just the main ancestors and their offspring. My last challenge was to find someone still living who had my grandmother's surname - many of the children throughout the tree had been woman so surnames no longer the same. In 2013 I did at last find two male descendants, father and son with the family name so that has rather 'completed' my task!

I am currently making sure I have all births deaths and marriages entered on the tree for those I want to include and once that is done I might declare it complete.

It won't mean I'll stop altogether, I don't think, as there are lots of interesting avenues to follow to build up a fuller picture of people and their lives but that would be for a narrative at some point.

Margaret

[AlanC]

You mentioned a very good point in making sure all BMDs were included. Mine wasn't as turned out; The Printer of the Tree sent me e-mails where errors had been made............time is money and the Tree cost increased as a consequence.

[vera2013]

I only have one - my maternal great grandmother I am stuck with. Think she may have fibbed a bit about her marriage with 4 different venues recorded in Scotland on children's bc's and she was born in Ireland. I don't have many people on the tree and will trim it further before I order a print. I would also like to add a few more photos and some stories.

I do miss those exciting days when I used to get a 'find' although sadly I never had any great 'knotty' ones. All Irish to Scotland and Scottish to North East to shipyards. Going further back would I think mean making journeys which I am not able to do.

Vera

[bubblebelle]

I really don't think you can be sure that any tree is complete, some unknown factor can always crawl out of the woodwork even when you think you are there *I certainly am not*.

I made contact with an ancestor of my G.Grandfather (for those who have followed my ancestry search.... not that one) and they had no knowledge that he had been married before, let alone had 7 children by that marriage, even though they had been bought up by this man and his second wife.

I too was shocked to learn that my Granny had a sister, who we had not known about.

These are only my experiences, along with a few more instances, maybe I just have a complicated family but even a 'completed' tree could be a work in process.

[vera2013]

That made me think Bubblebelle. Perhaps I should look into the deaths a bit more. When I found that my 3x ggfather with children living locally died in the workhouse, I found it very strange. Then I discovered after his long term wife had died he married a much younger lady with children and of course because of his age was very soon unable to work. His children would not have been able to take on his new family also. Just remembered I need to check the births on the 1911's to find the deceased children also. There, my tree is not finished yet but once great grannie is on I will print it before my time runs out!

Vera

[AlanC]

I didn't say the Tree was complete..................just as far as I can go or want to go. I'd love Ann Jones to come out of the woodwork.

[bubblebelle]

I didn't say the Tree was complete..................just as far as I can go or want to go. I'd love Ann Jones to come out of the woodwork.

Never despair some clue may just pop up when you least expect it, and sorry I wasn't implying you said you had 'completed' yours, I was just trying to example how this hobby can take various twists and turns.

[Janet]

I think that whether a tree is complete or not, or as far as you want to go, has to be personal choice. As far as I am concerned this hobby of Family History/Genealogy is a hobby for life, and will never be finished in my lifetime. I started it back in the 1950's and had a long break before restarting in the 1980's. I do not spend all my waking time on this hobby, and my children have no interest as yet! Maybe the grandchildren might. I am always finding something new and I have a number of brickwalls I would love to crack. I am back to 1795 on an Irish line, back to late 1600's on a Scottish line and back to 1500's on several English lines and probably 1400's on one English line though have done little work on the 1400 line. The fact I have found mine in small towns/villages and hamlets has led me to study the social/local history and names of people living in these areas, and being in Ireland, Scotland and England has kept me very busy with the social and local history, with no end in sight!

So some people just want a basic tree, and then that's it, but others want more, so it really does depend how you view your tree. To me the tree is the boring part of Family History that has to be done to find your characters!

I have just completed two parts of a 3 part series on one Great Uncle from Thurles to send to American cousins. The first part was 50 pages, the second part was 60 pages and I am unsure how many pages the third part will be, but I suspect it will be about 50 pages. This has led to further activity on the American side as they look at the possibilities I have trhrown up. So for me the tree will never end!


Janet

[Janet in Yorkshire]

A tree is "complete" once it has met the search parameters set. One man's tree may be confined to direct line (ancestors) only, whilst another person may wish to include a wider network of individuals at each generation (ancestry.) Again, there is the possibility of doing several extended family studies, following the trials and tribulations of just one line (or surname) through the generations.

I embarked on the first task, tracking my ancestors. However, over the years I have become embroiled in the latter and also have numerous quite detailed extended family studies - these are the projects which need careful thought and planning in the "writing up". I shall need a different outline plan/format for each. Two of them have two parallel lines, from first and second marriages c1710; in each of these, it is the "other" line from mine which has the characters and interesting stories.

However, each time I think I have "finished" a section and have written up the final version, another resource becomes available on line and proves me "wrong". E.g the availability of newspapers - illiterate gt-gt-gt godfather, whom I had thought never left his village, stole some Christmas poultry, was sentenced to 7 yrs transportation, commuted to serving time on a hulk on the Thames instead. Or gt-gt-gdmother's brother, missing after 1861 census, who eventually reappeared in 1901 complete with Prussian wife and adult children who had been born in Russia and Germany.

Jay

[AlanC]

Thanks for your responses.............................it's clearly a personal preference where one 'goes' with their Tree. I'm impressed with those with extensions into Family & One Names Studies etc.

[Anne in Carlisle]

LOL! My auntie got our tree printed for herself. It looks great on her landing wall. Unfortunately just after it was done we discovered an error with some ggg grandparents! Ooooops!
Anne

[kylejustin]

haha my research will never be done. i have taken up where my grandmother left off. we have ancestors from germany, france, england, ireland and scotland. throw in a welsh surname or too, and the geography of former german territories my lines came from, there is a possibility for other ethnicities too.

where my lines are presently stuck, it is because i need records. i have gotten so much farther than my grandparents did, with clues left to them from great grandparents and other relatives.

i love this hobby. and when i find something new, or knock down a brick or two, it gives me a happy feeling inside, much like alcohol does for my mother.

[susan h]

.it's clearly a personal preference where one 'goes' with their Tree

Definitely, Alan. I shelved mine for a while and spent all my spare time helping others to further their research, but I periodically come back to my own research and give it another go, my tree is almost complete to 1700's and like you, I'm not too sure I want to go further back as it becomes quite fuzzy pre 1700's, and seems to me a lot of guesswork is involved, whereas I'm only interested in facts. A thing which often crosses my mind is how can any of us be sure anyway, afterall there were just as many extramarital affairs back in time as there are now, we can mostly be sure of maternal lines but paternal?????????? Hmm!!!

I'm impressed with those with extensions into Family & One Names Studies etc.

And I'm impressed by the hard work, time and effort you give to transcribing.

[susan h]

my tree is almost complete to 1700's and like you, I'm not too sure I want to go further back as it becomes quite fuzzy pre 1700's, and seems to me a lot of guesswork is involved, whereas I'm only interested in facts.

I missed out and should have added: unless you are lucky enough to find wills and/or headstones, I have managed to take a few lines back with reasonable certainty to mid 1500's via wills and monumental inscriptions.