Genealogy Chat

I've enjoyed reading these posts they've been fund. We have a couple of coincidences, my sister, my brother and I are all born on the same date and all three weeks early. It was also my mother-in-laws birthday and a friend who I met a secondary school who was born in the same nursing home and had lived in the same street as me as a small child. It's strange how coincidences pop up like going on holiday to the other side of the world and meeting someone who used to work with my sister. But one that I remember well is going to visit friends in Surrey, we lived in North Wales at the time, and choosing at ramdom a pup to have a meal. My husband, who is Irish ordered the meal and commented that the young barmaid was from Ireland. We got chatting with her and asked her where she came from. She told us we probably wouldn't know the place but that she was from Limerick you've guessed it so is my husband. After a bit more chatting it turned out that her mother used to live next door but one from my husband when they were children. And because her mother was such a good dancer, my husband who was a few years younger used to follow her to dance halls just so that he could dance with her. Yes it's a small ole world we live in and getting smaller. SF

Funny how I don't find any of this spooky. One of my grandfathers sisters and one of his brothers died exactly to the day one year apart on the 26th of July. That same Great Aunt was a dead ringer for my mum. I never met her but was sent a picture of her and when I first saw it thought it was my mum, except for the clothes. One of my friends showed me a photo of her mother and her grandmother all at taken at the same age as she was, they all look like it's the same person, only difference is the style of clothing. 17th Nov re-occurs a lot in my family and that's it so far. Ecept we have a thing for names starting with J even now. I've told my brother who's choosing names for soon to be born twins 'NO More J's' too many of the initials are the same as it is. Gypsyjoe

Thanks to you all for these wonderful stories, please keep them coming, they are a welcome break from the research, which I may add is not going well at the moment!! xx

I finally got my grandmothers parents sorted out and was entering the information into my FTM programme. I entered their marriage date and thought it looked familiar. It was, 100 years to the day from my own wedding day! Christine in NZ

My parents are always going off on a cruise, holiday or break some where, two years ago they were away some where and did a trip to the rain forests I think Tobago (but don't hold me to this,) my mother started talking to another lady older then herself, But when mum got back she said she felt so close to this lady , And kept in contact, It then transpired that her grandfather had the same surname name as mum's maiden name, it now transpires that there great great grand fathers were brothers! How spooky is that!

Having read a bit about chances in my son's maths book, having birthdays that coincide is not really so much of a coincidence, though I do have a grandfather, father, uncle, son and nephew who were all born on the 15th of the month. I did find it interesting that my family and husband;s family both had London members who lived within a couple of streets of eachother in Shoreditch and Newington, that my grandmother ended up a short walk from the house where she was born, although she'd also lived in two completely separate areas of London south of the river; that my great-grandfather was born next door to a pub where I used to drink in my youth, quite a way from where I was born and that I had gt grandfathers on both sides of the family who lived in Cotswolds villages a few miles away from eachother. But the flip side of this is - how come if I have so many ancestors living in several counties that more people on GR aren't related to me - or if they are, I can't find the connection? Why don't I bump into more people I know in records offices? etc. nell

Having just read nells story, I have another to add to the original, not quite as spooky but.....having recently received two births certs I see that my gg gran and gg grandad lived two doors down from each when they were children, but not at the same time. Fuzzy x

nothing to do with family research but I have 4 kiddies and they have their birthdays in Feb, April, May and July all exactly 7 weeks and 3 days between each one. Marie

that is spooky marie.... Fuzzy x

Got a more spooky one for you Fuzzy, after my trip to Leicester I found out that my Mum and Dad are actually 5th cousins and have a common ancestor born back in about 1780!! This is so spooky because my mum's side moved up north and my dads side down south just for them to end up together all those years later!

Since researching my family in the last couple of years I have found some strange coincidences. I have lived in Hammersmith for the last thirty years,for no reason, I just pitched up here as I had no family and I was born in Brighton. I got marriagecert for mt gtgrandparents and they were married in the church at the end of my road. I can see the steeple from my window. I couldnt find a birth ref, for gtgrandma so decided to get one of her older siblings to get MMN. Imagine my amazement, when cert came, her birthday the same day as mine! It really is very strange. Sylvia.

sylvia, Christine and Tom, Great stories, really enjoyed them thanks for sharing.. Fuzzy x

oooh er Jules, hair has just stood up on the back of my neck!! Fuzzy x

I am in contact with a not so distant cousin, it turns out she was born where I was born, lives where I lived, her father was born in the same street my mum and her family lived, her children went to the same schools I went to. she is now asking her father if he remembers anyone from when he was younger. jean

Not family history but... I was on a course in Bedford last week, and on the last day had chosen to attend a session on Arabic. We moved round the room practising 'conversations' and I asked one chap (in Arabic!) where he came from. (Road names removed) ' Stevenage.' 'I'm from Stevenage too' (this in English!) 'Whereabouts?' 'Shephall.' 'I live in ____________ near the roundabout.' 'My brother lives in ______________- the end house.' 'Oh I know - they started their extension about the same time we did - he's just behind us. We're number 2 ___________.' I now live in Leicestershire, so it was a bit spooky meeting someone just round the corner from my brother! Other than that, our eldest two sons were born on the 5th; 3 of the children were born in October (5th, 20th, 31st); our eldest and our youngest were both due 15th July and both arrived early (Daniel on 5th and Hannah on the 15th (!) June. Add to that symmetry in their birth places: Daniel (no 1) and Hannah (no 5) born in Leicester Jonathan (no 2) and Rebecca (no 4) born in Ashby Thomas (no 3) born at home It does give me a shiver when I come across a family birthday in our ancestors bmd! Jan Jan

Just received my ggg grans birth cert her birthday is the same as my mums!!! Fuzzy x

Another one:-) My paternal grandmother was born on a particular date in 1900 (the same date as my maternal grandmother but that is just an aside and made grannies birthdays easy to remember!) My paternal grandmother died on a particular date in 1977 My own childrens paternal grandmother(my MIL) was born and died on the exact same dates just in different years! Weird! Jenx

Hi all, i have some dates that coincide also, my grandparents were married on the same day as me, my gt grandmother was born 8th april- same as my brother. Then she died 11th july (today), 1924, this is the same date as my first marriage. My young niece and nephew are called hannah and charlie, while researching the family tree i found that my gt gt grandparents names were charles and hannah. When i met my husband it turned out that his fathers birthday was the same as my daughters and mine was the same day as his grandmothers. An elderly cousin of my dads sent me a photo of my grandfather as a young man, i only new him as an older man as he was 60 before i was born, my dad kept saying that it wasn't him, but i was sure it was, then the next day i opened the front door and on my doorstep was a green rizla packet you know the sort that holds the papers for tobacco, which was what he always used! yvette