Off on sick at moment with a broken finger can't wear ppe etc

Anyway taken 2 weeks trial on ancestry.co.uk managed to trace my Mums dads (my Grancha) side back to late 1700s that side of the family are Ruddock im related to Mike Ruddock the ex Wales egg coach I knew that before its fascinating stuff found out I've got Collier Holland Yendall distance relations and the last one I've found late 1700s my great great great great great Nana! Is just listed as Elizabeth

Having more issues with my Nana side shes a Evans

My dads side Drewett I've just started found out got Chapman and Shepherd relatives

Interesting stuff has anyone on here looked back

Can't say I have. But I do know I'm related to Gene Tunney. ( Which I suspect will mean absolutely nothing to 99% of the readers of this board.)

Stan A. Einstein wrote:Can't say I have. But I do know I'm related to Gene Tunney. ( Which I suspect will mean absolutely nothing to 99% of the readers of this board.)

Irish / American Light Heavyweight boxer Gene Tunney ?

neilcork68 wrote:

Stan A. Einstein wrote:Can't say I have. But I do know I'm related to Gene Tunney. ( Which I suspect will mean absolutely nothing to 99% of the readers of this board.)

Irish / American Light Heavyweight boxer Gene Tunney ?

Heavyweight champion of the world in 1920's famously involved in the battle of the long count with Jack Dempsey.

Angie,an ex of mine had Jimmy Wilde as a great uncle.Very sad that late in life,he was beaten up on Cardiff train station by some yobs.Not sure if they knew who he was or just picked on a old man on his own.The Tylorstown Terror was one of his nicknames.

Done loads, it's addictive. One G-GF died in 1919 and I wondered about Spanish flu. Certificate came yesterday - beware there's a long delay at the moment for routine requests - and nope, it was heart valve disease.

The Tanners moved from Herefordshire to Bassaleg in 1882 and I've wondered if they got any grief. "Bloody dirt-poor English farm labourers coming here and taking our jobs and tied cottages."

It'd be helpful to have had a less common surname. At least my mum's side of the family are easier to research.

I tried to find my grandad's grave (died 1932) but even though I knew the "block" he was buried in in St Woolos there was no headstone. The few headstones I did see from the 1930s were in a very poor state due to erosion.

George Street-Bridge wrote:Done loads, it's addictive. One G-GF died in 1919 and I wondered about Spanish flu. Certificate came yesterday - beware there's a long delay at the moment for routine requests - and nope, it was heart valve disease.

The Tanners moved from Herefordshire to Bassaleg in 1882 and I've wondered if they got any grief. "Bloody dirt-poor English farm labourers coming here and taking our jobs and tied cottages."

There were many English families coming to South Wales from the 1840’s onwards.Many came to work in farming,mining,iron and steel and to work on the docks.I have three sets of English Great great grandparents and I would be surprised if anyone on here had none,however Welsh we think we are.Then there was the potato famine with Irish coming to docklands,still a strong Irish contingent in Pill as a result.I have gone back to 1700’s on some sides of the family,no one famous but all with a story to tell.

Yes my Granchas family came from Somerset just before he was born Welsh

I'm having real difficulty getting my Nanas side being Evans its a nightmare

I'm also finding the record keeping wasn't the best in the Valley as it was in Newport

A few years ago the company mentioned gave a few weeks free trial if you had been nominated by a user already registered. I tried it for a while. The major hold up at the time was the fact that the 1911 census wasn’t on line. It may be now, I don’t know.

Anyway, I didn’t get any further information from what I knew already. My paternal grandmother had kept all family documents, birth, marriage and death certificates and I can trace that line back to 1830.

Like others have mentioned, us Newportonians are are bastardised lot on my grandparents side, only one has a Newport (Pill) side. The others come from Ayrshire, Wolverhampton and Ireland on my maternal grandmothers side. No wonder when I was a kid not many people in the ‘port spoke Welsh.

A brother of my G-GM left a farm in Herefordshire to work with pit ponies in Porth.

1911 is still the most recent full census available. 1921 won't be released until January 2022 and Findmypast, which overlaps substantially with Ancestry, has the initial contract.

The 1939 Register is on both services and really useful. With war looming the government realised it needed more data and ran an emergency census without the 100-year rule. Entries are redacted so you can't read details of people still alive. It will be all the more valuable in years to come as the 1931 census was destroyed by fire in 1941.

You bugger Jim! I've spent 4 days on this now!!! Found out I'm related to Earl Grey (of the tea fame) who also abolished slavery as PM and also the Colston family who were slave traders. Weird history innit!

Willthiswork wrote:You bugger Jim! I've spent 4 days on this now!!! Found out I'm related to Earl Grey (of the tea fame) who also abolished slavery as PM and also the Colston family who were slave traders. Weird history innit!

I wouldn't go shouting about the last one so much!!

Found out I've got an Aldridge in family from late 1700s

So Findmypast versus Ancestry.com. I'm tempted to have a go at one, mainly in pursuit of my grandfather (born circa 1880, died 1932) who served in World War One. I'm interested in his army service as well as anything else I can trace.

Is one of the two sites a better bet given my quest?