19th November 2002 - Roy Underdown Pavilion

At our last meeting in November, Mrs Teresa Councell talked about genealogy. With infectious enthusiam, she described how she had traced her family line back to the 1650's, and explained that it was theoretically possible to reach 1530. It had taken 10 or 11 years, and a lot of patience, but had been thoroughly rewarding. Most people should be able to trace back at least 200 years. We were told about sources, such as birth and marriage certificates, census returns and the Internet, and there were handouts containing useful addresses and websites. She described some of her own experiences and the pitfalls to avoid. "There is a grain of truth in most things that you find out, but you must be absolutely sure before you accept them. It helps if you have an unusual surname, and heaven help you if you are a Welshman called Jones or Thomas!" Our Treasurer, Rhyd Morgan, was nodding and smiling.

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