After half an hour of my mothers’ memories I realised that I was going to need a lot of notepaper.

Martin Evans

Day 1

The furthest that I’ve ever looked into my family's past has been a quick "hello" to an elderly auntie at a family get together.

So being a total beginner in genealogy the first thing that I did was to get some advice from a professional on where to start - so I popped into the Gloucestershire Family History Society.

It’s located at Spread Eagle Court in the centre of Gloucester, just round the corner from the bus station and opposite the old Kwik Save.

It’s a really great resource which is free to use. They have all the computer programmes you’ll ever need, and also paid up access to some of the websites that help trace lost relatives on the censuses.

If you try and do it on your own computer you’ll find yourself paying a fortune to access the information.

Keen volunteers

The centre is manned by a team of very keen volunteers, who were eager to help me in my voyage of discovery.

Register of Christenings containing details of Martin's gran.

Sue Stafford advised me to get as much information together as possible, such as birth, death and marriage certificates, and also talk to the elderly members of the family about their memories.

Her next top tip was to start with what you know, by plotting me with my brothers down at the top of a tree and then working back.

My mother is the keeper of all things official, from my driving licence to my birth certificate, so I thought a visit to see what documents she had would be sensible.

Day 2

My mum was just as excited as me as regards to finding more about the family, and started rattling off names of old cousins who I’ve never herd of.

My Mum was one of ten, and my Dad had eleven brothers and sisters so it would be almost impossible to know them all.

I then remembered another one of Sue's top tips, which was to write the information down as you went along.

I’m sure a professional genealogist would think this was like striking gold, as it more or less told you everything that you needed to get you started.

Martin Evans

After half an hour of my mothers’ memories I realised that I was going to need a lot of notepaper, and a wide sheet of paper to plot even the most recent family that we knew about!

Birth certificates

She then got out the birth certificates out for me, my brothers, herself, my Dad and even my Nan and Granddad, with other various marriage, death and christening records.

I’m sure a professional genealogist would think this was like striking gold, as it more or less told you everything that you needed to get you started.

My Nan’s birth certificate had her place of birth - Borough Farm in Kings Stanley - as well as her mum and dad's name, which would both be on the 1901 census… hopefully!

Day 3

It was back to the Gloucestershire Family History Society, proudly clutching my bundle of photocopied certificates.

Mum wanted the originals back ASAP, so I made copies and took them. This is a really good idea as you don’t want to loose the originals.

One of the volunteers greeted me and introduced me to Ancestry.com, a website that you need to pay to use, but they have a licence so it was free.

Expert advice from Sue Stafford

She advised me to find my Nan’s dad first of all on the 1901 census.

His name on my Nan’s birth certificate was John Harold Hobson Percival Camm.

I had to input his first name and surname and press search, and… and… well nothing really happened.

Lots of people called John Camm came up, but none were born in Gloucestershire and none match my great granddad.

Scratching my head, the volunteer advised me not to give up as this happens a lot.

Result

Some of the people who carried out the census more than a hundred years ago were a bit lazy, so some or all of the details may be missing, but she assured me that if we carried on we would get a result in the end.

Percy and Lilian Camm

We tried searching with one "m" in the surname to no luck, then tried his second name, third and …. Success!

There he was, down as his fourth name Percy Camm, aged twenty and a farmers son, living at - and this was the crucial bit - Borough Farm in Kings Stanley.

I’d found my great granddad.

The 1901 census told me that he was living with his sister, mum and dad at the farm at that time, and his dad's name was Thomas L.W. Camm, my great great grandfather.

From this it was suggested we go back a further ten years and search the 1891 census, and there he was, this time with another son and a John H.H.P. Camm, aged 10 years old.

Borough Farm in Kings Stanley kept coming up, and I knew it was where my Nan was born so I considered it was worth a visit.

Martin Evans

This confirmed that Percy was my granddad and we were on the right track.

I was getting excited now so a further ten years back to the 1881 census told me that my great granddad was 18 days old when the census came out, and from this we could deduct his date of birth.

Day 4

I now needed to obtain my great grandfather's birth certificate, so I paid a visit to the Registrars Office in Stroud.

They were very helpful and found his birth certificate and marriage certificate.

Each document cost £7 but it contained invaluable information.

Day 5

In all the censuses Borough Farm in Kings Stanley kept coming up, and I knew it was where my Nan was born so I considered it was worth a visit.

I thought it may unlock some more clues to my family and it would just be nice to get a feel for where my Nan spent her childhood days, only problem was it wasn’t on the map.

The next step was to go to the records office in Gloucester.

Old map of King's Stanley

They have maps dating back years, as well as experts who can advise.

I found the map of Kings Stanley in 1902, and sure enough the farm was there. I now knew where it once stood.

Whilst I was there I also found my great great grandfather's will and my Nan's christening record, and I only went in to get a map!

Day 6

It had to be done, a visit to Kings Stanley to see where the farm once stood.

I thought it would be rude not to pop into the local pub whilst I was there as well, strictly for research purposes, and that proved to be quite useful.

Some of the older regulars could remember the farm with fondness, and one lady had an interesting story to tell.

Wealthy

Apparently the family were quite wealthy, but were well-liked and respected in the village.

I seem to be making great strides with my Nan’s side of the family, but my granddad's side would prove to be more of a challenge...

Martin Evans

The 1881 census also told me that my great great grandfather lived at 7 Broad Street in Kings Stanley before moving to the farm, and that’s still there today.

I seem to be making great strides with my Nan’s side of the family, but my granddad's side would prove to be more of a challenge………

To be continued...

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