Genealogy Chat

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I have been tracing my Horstead ancestors for two years now. First big coincidence was I found that I have lived in a house in Norfolk for 15 years on the very lane they would have walked by to get to the market. The bigger coincidence being I am from the east end of London and had no idea I was a Norfolk Nob. There have been others but the latest: Having some bricklaying done. Bricklayer sees me sweating over reams of paper when he is having his tea break. Explain to him doing family tree research. Real old Norfolk boy, says 'Oh yes, I suppose they were from London then?' (going on me accent I guess!) So snootily I go into this big, 'no they came from Norfolk back to Domesday book stuff actually', (as if) ...........'Oh and what is the name then'. Tell him, very rare name only about 280 in the country - Horstead. 'Well blow me' says he, thats the name of my plasterer! Now what a coincidence yes?? I am yet to meet this guy and try to find out where he fits in. But on goes bricklayer, excited by now at all this history - 'See if you can find my wifes family, they came from round these parts, name of Lasky' Now thinks I, what, 'Lasky' is an ancient Norfolk name?, I dont think so. But the other week I thought just to please him and get me bricklaying done well, Id look up the name. Well stone the crows, the family of Laskys (it did exist) lived in the house next door to my GGFx3 in 1851. NOW that is a coincidence!

Fantastic story, Heather. I enjoyed that! NEVER be surprised by coincidence - they are spooky things designed to show what a small world we really live in! Anne

Hi Heather, I think the ancesters play games with us I think they hide and then give us a little clue every now and then to keep us interested and if we keep on going they reward us with a little more each time . I only wish my 'B' ancesters would play the game by the rules and give me a clue to some of my brick walls , also wanted to ask you how is the little puppy going ? kind regards Lara

Hi Lara, it does make you wonder if greater forces are at work - but my GGPx4 must be larfing their boots off as I struggle to find them especially when I can stand at look at them in their graves just up the road from here! Little Ralph been on two proper walkies now. One by the river on a country walk in town - saw sheep, ducks and dogs and loved them all. Second one through our little town yesterday but so many people wanted to cuddle and kiss him he didnt actually walk a lot. I have emailed Battersea Dogs Home to a girl Ive met over the net there and asked if she can ask the medics there how I can do exercises for him to build up the muscles on his worse back leg. The less affected one is doing great, very strong and big thigh muscles but the pawless one isnt getting the same pressure on it and the muscles feel and look weak.

I think we should follow Heather's idea: have a brick wall 'built' - and the answers will come!! (if you build it, they will come...)

Heather, the more of these co-incidences that I hear about, the spookier they are! A few years ago I got a book from the local library called 'Tracing your Scottish Roots'. In it they had a case study, which I was shocked to find, the line they had followed was my husband's ancestors! Now I thought ...that's got to be a one off! Then last week I picked up another book at the library called 'Dicovering Your Scottish Ancestry' , and couldn't believe it when the example of the 1881 census in the book, was my husband's Grandfather and family!!! It was only later I discovered, the author was a distant relative I had contacted through this site. Weird eh? Christine

I found that I had commuted to London for years going over Holloway Road, and that I could see from the train the road where my grandmother was born. Since taking up my husband's tree I've found that his gt and gt gt grandparents ran pubs very near to where my Norfolk grandfather lodged - just a couple of roads away. Similarly, we had ancestors in Southwark living in the same neighbourhood at the same time. My father's mother's father and my mother's father both came from villages in the Cotswolds. Not a coincidence if my mum and dad had got together in the Cotswolds, but they didn't. nell

Great story but must be taking ages to get the work done if you keep distracting him XX

I have had so many spooky coincidences that I don't know where to start - but here goes: Driving around Needham Market to drink in the surroundings where my maternal great-grandparents were born and brought up. All of a sudden I find myself behind a lorry bearing my ancestors name! When I got home, I looked the company up on the internet. Wrote to the guy and he turned out to be a relation! Went into a church in Blackford, Somerset where my maternal grandfather was baptised. Saw a book written about Blackford on a side table in the church. I opened the book and flicked the pages. The page opened on a page containing about half a dozen of my ancestors! So many more...... I could go on all night but I'll give someone else a go! Cheers, Lynn

I just love it when it all comes together, don't you? my strangest find was while doing a house search of where I was born, and discovering, that not only was I born there, but my great grandparent lived and died in the same house, also, all of their children were born there, so in total our family had lived there from 1891. until 10 years ago. my late father also died in the same house. Looking back I alway thought there was a 'something' about that house, ..........ghosts maybe!!!!!!........Lilly

Yes all seems to much to be coincidental doesnt it.

I have too many coincidences for any of it to be a coincidence! My main line, the Holdens, are an old Lancashire family. I was born in Lancs and when I was about 13, lived in a tiny village called Wilpshire. Fast forward erm, lots of years, and I am looking for a Holden, born Isle of Man. Cannot, cannot find her. Someone tells me there is a place in Lancashire, called Isle of Man. I do not believe this and cannot find it - not looking all that hard, you understand. For some reason or other, I am looking through some old school books, wherein my schoolfriend has written me lots of notes. At the bottom of one, she has written her name and addy - Isle of Man, Wilpshire, Lancs. I get a very BIG map - and find there is a farm, not 100 yards from where we once lived - called Isle of Man!!!! Quickly, looking for my daughter's father, missing for 28 years, - I bump into his cousin (we are both unknown to each other) as a customer in the Restaurant where I worked. He handed me his credit card - I read his name with disbelief - to cut a long story short, my daughter was reunited with her father the next day! What was even more spooky, we had been looking in the wrong place entirely - he had actually been living in Scotland for 15 years, half a mile from my Grandmother's house! I could go on and on, but I too have a theory that these things happen when you NEED them to (hope my pesky missing James Holden is rfeading this and comes out from under his stone) Olde Crone

Another coincidence - There is someone named Jody Martin looking for a marriage for a William CRONE on this board right now.... lol Presume you have researched that name OC?? Merry

In the good old days, when the Devon Record Office and the West Country Studies Library were under the same roof, you could spend the day in one and the evening in the other. I had checked my train times and knew that I could spend about an hour in the library before I grabbed my suitcase and headed back to Exeter station. My time in the Record Office had been fruitful and I had traced one branch back to one Solomon Hele, gent. The library had a whole collection of abstracts of Hele wills, deposited in the 1930s by a Mrs Kenneth Hele – before Nazi bombing destroyed all Devon’s ancient wills. It occurred to me that if she had done all that work, she might have deposited a little more, so I asked the librarian. Yes, there were a couple of boxes, but she couldn’t leave the room as she was the only member of staff that evening. Then she noticed that the boxes were out, and brought them over to me. I waded through the most amazing documents. There were pedigrees on my family which stretched back into the mists of time. I was stunned at the idea that my chemist gg grandfather had such illustrious ancestors, when a couple came up to me, demanding to know why I was looking at their ancestors? Their ancestors? Cousin! The couple came from Australia and had spent the past month researching the family in this country. We eagerly swapped details, and then an idea occurred to me. There was a tale in the family (which I had frankly disbelieved) of money lost in Chancery. Oh yes, they said. Our family won! (which was how they could afford their round-the-world trip) My hour was virtually up. I bade them a hasty farewell and flew down to the station…. Where I discovered that I had misread the timetable. My train had long gone. I ended up having to break the journey home at my brother’s. How glad I am that I can’t read timetables!

sorry Heather didnt see this site. Whilst at Barton on Humber yesterday, on yet another wild goose chase. I spotted an old newspaper. on reading it, there was a lady who had written an article to find members of her family. Its only my family that shes seeking. Ive been intouch today. Small world eh?

Im really enjoying this thread guys, we ought to put all these together in a book! I was reminded by one of the postings of another one I had this year. Hubby and I thinking of early retirement and fancy a nice flat with sea or harbour views in Sussex. I ring up an agent at random to get an idea of the prices of such flats in Eastbourne. Im chatting away to the girl on the other end and she says 'Do you come from this area?' I said no, 'but as it happens I do have ancestry in the Sussex area around Brighton etc'. 'Oh' says the girl, Im from London but my husband comes from very ancient Sussex families' 'Oh really 'I said jokingly, 'Not the Bonifaces and Cheals are they?' Gasp at the other end of the phone - 'But YES'. Upshot being she now wants me to view the flats just so I go all the way down and give hubby my tree info!

My father's family came from London, or so he thought. I found out they came from Reading 5 generations back - where he lives today.

Amongst the other conincidences that are many it appears that I am related to my next door neighbour! We both live about 10 miles from the place of our ancestors which is a really obscure hamlet. I think I need to move house now! Pippa

Years ago when we lived in our first house we used to live a few houses away from my mums sister and her daughters (my aunt and cousins). It wasn't until earlier this year that I found out that somewhere around the turn of the last century my great great granddad and grandma lived in that house and they both died there. On telling my cousin this (she is a member here), she said that was strange as they always felt there was a presence in the house ! And a few doors away from this house was where another of my distant relatives used to live.