My name is Katie, I was introduced to history from an early age by my paternal Grandmother, my Nan. She first ignited my passion when she took me to the Tower of London before the age of 10. The stories of the princes in the tower, Traitors gate, the Bloody Tower and Tower green were like stepping into a world of make-believe but this really happened! This was the start of me wanting to know more - especially of the Tudor period.
Fast forward another ten years and when clearing out part of the attic at home, I came across a couple of handwritten, basic family trees in which many names were not familiar to me at all. I knew of my Great Grandparents as I was so lucky to have known 5 of them before they passed. But there was one name that intrigued me - Trifeana. Who was this person? This name, totally unlike any I have heard before and I wanted to know more. I signed myself up to GenesReunited not knowing what I was doing or where to look. I familiarised myself with what records were available and eventually found a "Tryphena Comley" in the 1901 census. She is my 3x Great Grandmother, and Im still stuck finding where she is buried.
I upgraded to Ancestry and it was so overwhelming at first. They only had census' to 1901 then and now we have the 1911, 1921 and the 1939 register to help with the more recent research.
I continued to work on my own tree off and on for many years, being blessed with the ability to ask my Grandparents for their knowledge and stories and surprisingly the amount of photos they had. I could come up with a really good view of my ancestors, but I wanted to know more. I wanted to do things right.
When I was pregnant with my second son I enrolled in an online genealogist course and spent many hours starting from the beginning and starting from scratch to ensure I was following people and lines correctly. I passed and earned a diploma for my studies and felt more confident going forward.
Sadly over the next four years I would lose all of my Grandparents. With them went all their knowledge and stories that I still wanted to know and record for my future generations. In this time my amazing husband was diagnosed with a brain tumour and fighting his fight so hard for so long throughout covid, I became a Widow raising my two young boys with the help of family.
Not knowing what I wanted to do with my life for such a long time I turned back to my first love - History. Revisiting all of my tree from the roots up to the branches again. I purchased birth, Marriage and Death certificates where needed to fully immerse myself in the life of my ancestors. Who were they, Where did they come from, What were their professions and also how they died. One of my main task in my research is to find where they are buried and remember them.
I have started my own Facebook page to remember my ancestors on the anniversary of their Births, Marriages and death
Find Here -
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090717739161Here I try and tell their stories with the information I have compiled over the years and keep them alive for future generation.