Having gathered the basic information I constructed my family tree.  It gave me a sense of belonging when I saw all of the people on the tree who were related to me in one way or another.  This is a great family and I have so many memories and stories both recent and very old that would add interest to the bare facts I had collected.

The next thing I did was to visit the cemetery.  I wanted to see the gravestones of my ancestors – both to pay my respects and to find out even more information.  The staff at the Crematorium office were most helpful and directed me to the relevant graves.  We cleaned the stones as much as we could and took photographs.  Visiting the area, towns and villages where my ancestors lived was most interesting and enlightening.

It doesn’t take long before you feel as though you know the people as individuals.  I started to imagine what a certain person would be like and how they may have lived their lives.  There was a fair amount of sadness relating to their lives as times were hard in those days.  However, these things all brought the individuals closer to me in some sense.

Before long I was contacted by other family members who were also very interested both in my research and finding out more about our common family.  Not only does genealogy let you find out about your ancestors, it also brings you into contact with relatives you may otherwise not be in contact with.

Work and family commitments meant that I didn’t have the same time as before to spend on my research, and so the amount of work I did lessened over the years.  I did organise a Grott Family Reunion in 2001 which was a resounding success.  It was all such fun, both the organising and taking part, although very hard work.  Relatives came from various parts of the world to be there, some of whom I had not met before.

After the family reunion I increased my working hours to full time.  Although my interest in genealogy remained, I now had no time to devote to it, and so it went on to the back burner for a number of years.

To be continued ……..