Week 42: Friends #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

Almost 40 years ago, it was my friend Allison, who had already started researching her family tree, who sparked off my interest - some might say "obsession" - in genealogy. She shared her findings from the occasional trip through to Edinburgh's New Register House, where Scottish records were held and, if my memory serves me well, we went through together a couple of times. When our children were born, the time we could allocate to researching waned, but our interest still remained and we are both still excited by our research even today.

Although Allison is the only one of my friends to share this passion, I have 'forced' other friends to become interested. I persuaded my friend Margaret and her mother to take DNA tests to see if I could help her discover who her adopted father's birth parents were and trace her paternal roots. It did take me about a year, but through good old fashioned genealogy and tracing the trees of her genetic matches, we discovered her grandparents and their story, tracing her dad's mother's side back to 18th century Donegal and her dad's father's side up to the Highlands of Scotland. My proudest moments were showing her her father's original birth certificate and the graves of her paternal 3 x great grandfather, James Stevens, and her 4 x great grandfather Gavin Rowatt, in Hamilton where she, too, now lives.

Gravestones in Bent Cemetery, Hamilton.

I have helped quite a number of other friends too. I enjoy the research and learning about other people's families. Every one is unique. And every time I take on a new 'project' I feel I am improving my own skills. So it is win - win. So thank you, friends!

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Week 50: You wouldn't believe it! #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

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