Hi Graham, and Ross, Having started my research around the same time as you Graham, I have thanked my lucky stars many times for the work of transcribers and the LDS and anyone who has put anything online, the years or trawling the countrys records offices it has saved!! (on saying that, a day in the records office is always good fun!) Some of my lines are "winding down" in that they are as far back as they are going to go, there just isn't a paper trail to follow, nothing that can ever be confirmed, even a researcher of some 30 years has not found anything! other lines progess (can you progress backwards?) and with some I am working forwards (now I feel confused!) whichever way we are working, whether working on our own or on other peoples trees (my favourite habit when stuck on my own) what started out as a "single purpose objective" has become more than a hobby, its a way of life, and I hope when I reach both your tender years, I still have the fascination that I have today for genealogy! take care both regards Mellie Why Does My Coat Of Arms Have Buckles At The Back?

On 1 Oct 2006, at 14:13, Mellie wrote: > working on our own or on other peoples trees (my favourite habit > when stuck on my own) Ah but isnt this the best way to progress your own research! My partner says to me, you seem to think there is some great god of genealogy that will reward you - well of course I don't, I'm an atheist, but its odd how when you have been doing look-ups etc for other people suddenly you get a breakthrough on your own lines. The logical explanation is that when you are active on the lists people are more likely to respond to your own requests, but I did have one instance where I had gone to a library in Edinburgh specifically to do a look-up for someone, and then I picked up another book on the city and - presto - it fell open at a page which mentioned an address in Princes Street where a famous antiquarian had lived. Spookily, that was the address my ancestor gave when she married. I have still to work out the connection but this guy owned an estate in the parish where her father lived. The house has long since been knocked down and there is now a Marks and Spencer on the site. My partner says this explains why I am mystically drawn to spending money there. Judy

Many years ago when I found I could go no further, with my William Cotton of Kenilworth WAR, I considered a Ring Search and when that didn't work I decided to start a ONS (One Name Study) for the surname that I was after. It paid off and was able to get back another 100 years into SAL. Now with DNA testing I was able to prove my connection back to the 1200's. Ross GH Cotton, Burlington ON CAN 905)639-2929 Genealogy of the COTTON surname is my Enigma. I haven't sent an attachment if the details are not mentioned above. Check out my Genealogy Web Page at www.skylinc.net/~rgcotton GOONS member responsible for tracking the family name COTTON, #1437 Coordinator for Cotton DNA testing Project, Worldwide, See http://home.comcast.net/~cottondna/ ----- Original Message ----- From: judy olsen To: eng-shropshire-plus@rootsweb.com Sent: Sunday, October 01, 2006 1:36 PM Subject: Re: [ENG-SHROP] Changing patterns re. research On 1 Oct 2006, at 14:13, Mellie wrote: > working on our own or on other peoples trees (my favourite habit > when stuck on my own) Ah but isnt this the best way to progress your own research! My partner says to me, you seem to think there is some great god of genealogy that will reward you - well of course I don't, I'm an atheist, but its odd how when you have been doing look-ups etc for other people suddenly you get a breakthrough on your own lines. The logical explanation is that when you are active on the lists people are more likely to respond to your own requests, but I did have one instance where I had gone to a library in Edinburgh specifically to do a look-up for someone, and then I picked up another book on the city and - presto - it fell open at a page which mentioned an address in Princes Street where a famous antiquarian had lived. Spookily, that was the address my ancestor gave when she married. I have still to work out the connection but this guy owned an estate in the parish where her father lived. The house has long since been knocked down and there is now a Marks and Spencer on the site. My partner says this explains why I am mystically drawn to spending money there. Judy ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ENG-SHROPSHIRE-PLUS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

>>The house has long since been knocked down and there is now a Marks and Spencer on the site. My partner says this explains why I am mystically drawn to spending money there. Judy<< a slight variation to what they say on TV, "its not just genealogogy, its M&S genealogy LOL personally, I find working on someone elses tree, "refreshing", and pardon the pun, but there is a time when I can't see the wood for the trees in my own! and taking a break and going back to it refreshed, often helps! Mellie Why Does My Coat Of Arms Have Buckles At The Back?