21st June 2005 - Roy Underdown Pavilion

We all have family photographs, but on how many are the names of those featured written on the back? Not many, according to Rhyd Morgan and Ray Smith. At our meeting in June, they told us about their experiences in tracing the Smith family tree. They had access to dozens of photographs, but very few included names which would have helped the process. They became used to 'surprises' too, finding forebears who did strange things like having children and then marrying at 74. They uncovered lots of seemingly unrelated facts, and then another piece of information turned up which brought them all together. They had suspected a German origin, but they ended up in Polruan, Cornwall, and then wondered if there were pirates along the line. We were shown medals, news cuttings, passports, and copies of certificates which can be quite expensive to obtain. Otherwise, the process is time consuming but need not cost too much. Is tracing a family tree interesting? Judging by the enthusiasm of our speakers, it is thoroughly rewarding!

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