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Use of genealogy section

Alberta

Super Moderator
Staff member
Some of the newer members are using the Forum to search for family members and are finding that members are willing to help .
This is fine but the Forum was set up as the Birmingham History Forum and the request section was only ever meant to be a small part of it, so as well as members making requests it would be nice if they could reciprocate by making some input,
e.g. Childhood, schools ,and little stories that relates to your life or your family in Birmingham or contributions to any other of our entries.

There have also been requests for information about peoples whereabouts at the present time.
The Forum has always had a policy about disclosing this kind of informatiom.
If it is likely that a person is still living the information should be given by Personal Message.

Alberta.
 
I also think it a good point even though up till now my input has been minimal. I've enjoyed following many of the threads for some time and am impressed by the knowledge, enthusiasm and sheer friendly helpfulness

shown by members. I have not asked for genealogy help, so far at least, but have now been spurred by Alberta's post to be more active. Watch out for my tuppence worth!
 
Just a thought Alberta, have you pm'd the member/s who maybe are doing this? I don't want to start a witch hunt, just let them know how by sharing memories etc the whole community here benefits.:encouragement:
 
I have already messaged one member David and intend to message others.


It is not a witchhunt at all David but there may be members who register and see the request section and mistakenly think that is the aim of the forum when nothing could be further from the truth.
I am only talking about members who make a large number of requests over a short space of time, I would hate to think that once they have their 'Tree'
they will leave 'job done'

My 'thing' is family history and I love to answer requests for records but at the same time like to get some feedback on the forum about the history of their family
or their life in Birmingham

I started this thread for information purposes and perhaps should have closed it but I am appreciating members thoughts on the subject.
 
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Alberta

Totally agree with you. I was only thinking the same thoughts yesterday. It's ok to ask for a person to help when they are stuck or hit a brick wall but this site and indeed the members who help with the requests can not be expected to compile the whole tree for someone. Personally I couldn't imagine building a tree just from others information. I need to see actual records etc.

Suzanne
 
Alberta, as one who has had lots of help with brick walls (for which I am really grateful) maybe I shouldn't comment, but I will anyway. I dont understand what pleasure anyone gets from someone else finding everything for them. This forum offers so much and sometimes I feel it is abused, just my opinion.
Lynne.
 
Alberta, I think this is a well thought out post, I have had a lot of help from all of you and hopefully also helped some of the members, but it is so much more rewarding when there is a history or recolections added to the info.
I posted a brief family history update so anyone who was interested could see how much their help with my tree built my family story, so again thanks to all of you and please post your storie for us.
Sue
 
I am confused by a message I received from Alberta. The genealogy section offers look-ups but it seems that using it "too much" attracts criticism. I note other members comments in support of the moderator and I am puzzled because some of those comments are from members who have already kindly helped with my requests and whom I have thanked sincerely. No one so far has indicated directly any annoyance with the amount of my requests.
My interest in genealogy is purely personal and if my requests for information have offended other members I apologise. I knew very little about my mother's family because she was orphaned at a very young age. The help given by members has been invaluable and has enabled me to discover much that was unknown to me. However, if this constitutes misuse of the site I stand corrected.

As far as compiling my family tree is concerned, I would always verify information sent to me by obtaining certificates etc. and expect no one to do it for me. Furthermore, I suspect it will never be "job done"!

With regard to sharing my family stories and recollections, I choose not to do so. I realise that other sections of the site deal with such matters, which I thoroughly enjoy reading, but I shouldn't feel pressured into contributing to these. So, I return to my first point, why have a genealogy section offering look-ups when using it results in messages from a moderator?

With my thanks and appreciation to everyone who has helped me with my searches.

Twirls.
 
I feel Alberta has been quite clear in her message above. The site was founded to catalogue the history of Birmingham - particularly as it affected and still affects, ordinary folk. The stories that people share need not be Personal to the family as such but the general anecdotes telling a bit about the history of growing up in Birmingham both by them and their ancestors.

Genealogy - as I understand it is as a fairly recent member - is something that has grown into a more significant part of the site than hitherto. Those who assist do so freely giving of their time and records they have built up over time.

However many of the original members feel that the Genealogy side of things has developed to an overdue prominence. Whilst some care not to read it I find the detective work involved fascinating even though not an active researcher myself.

As stated; this is, primarily, a local history site and it is surely only reasonable to expect people to add to the knowledge of our city as well as requesting help?

This is certainly not intended to deter people asking though it may be reasonable to expect a little quid pro quo?


Bernie
 
Twirls
This is only my opinion, but I think Alberta made the most important point in the second sentence of her first post. This is a history forum, and genealogy requests were only ever meant to to be a very small sideline. Most of the threads provide information or comments which can then be discussed by other members if they so desire. Of course genealogy and history often come together, and where requests produce a story that is of interest to members then they will be very interested to hear it. A number of members take great pleasure in searching out information, but if there is no feedback at all on anything I believe this makes it less interesting for them , and they are possibly less likely to take an interest in helping the next time. I'm sure it is quite understandable that you might not wish your family matters to be published in a public forum, but , as you state there are other sections which you read with interest, you could perhaps provide an input to them.
 
Twirls, I made a comment on this thread and I've also tried to help you in your searches, I was not having a dig at you as I dont know who the moderators send PMs to. I think Mikejee has put what i would say, if I was as good with words. I will still try to help you if I can, although other members are far, far bettter than me.
Lynne.
 
Twirls, This site is first and foremost HISTORY based and other sections such as genealogy is a bonus item for members.
Without input from members, with their memories and tales of growing up, it would become pointless as a history forum.
If you are not willing to "give " something to this forum, by sharing stories and memories and prefer to just "take" information from it, then this really isn't the the type of site for you, perhaps you would be better off on a genealogy based site as there are plenty of them about.
The decision is yours.
 
In case it hasn't been mentioned elsewhere, for those who have a Birmingham library card, there is an extensive range of on-line resources from the comfort of your home:
https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/websubs
This includes the Times Digital Archive and Ancestry (library edition). These can provide a good starting point for research for local members; most of the major library services now provide similar services. Forum members are often able to provide supplementary information, but personally I think that the key thing is that if you are able to provide even basic information from these sites, it provides a conversation point from which we all often make quite amazing discoveries about the history and inhabitants of historical Birmingham.
 
Having no interest in who my forebearers were I have no interest in genealogy. So I have never made any requests for help in this field, but I have noticed a steep increase in requests for this type of information over the years. At times I have noticed that every post from certain members was a new request for help. It was as if these members were in fact doing no research themselves whatsoever, so in fact they were taking advantage of the good nature of the other members of this site. Thankfully a lot of this type of interaction stopped the first time this subject was brought up some time back.

As has been stated previously I'm sure that none of the members who donate their time and experience have any objection to helping out those who have hit a brick wall, it is at times like these when a little expert help can be invaluable, but I'm sure that they don't like being called on for help when the correct information can be found easily just by paying the fees to the correct site and spending a little time doing the research.
 
Thanks for clarifying that aston lad - I'm sure that it was available that way at one time, but maybe I was mistaken (or the licencing has changed). I've ceratinly used the newspaper sites on there recently and they work well.
 
leslam...no ..it has never been available for home use as far as I know, I use the on line newspapers quite a lot.....also you don't need to live in Birmingham to have a library ticket, as I don't and do have a ticket....
 
Phil, like you I also have little or no interest in my ancesters, I was beginning to think it was just me, glad I'm not alone. I should add I'm not 'knocking' at those who are tracing their family tree, we are all different, it would be a boring world otherwise. Eric
 
Aston lad, how did you get a Birmingham libraries ticket - i rang to see if i could, didn't mind paying for it and I do have 'B' postcode, but was told no!
Will have to see what I can access on line from my Staffs library ticket, although our library has very little in it.
Sue
 
I ask the Central Library via email about two years ago, I was told there wouldn't be a problem, and there wasn't, I applied on line and it was sent out to me via post, my daughter also applied and obtained one not long afterwards.......
 
I asked for help last week to find my father's past as it is very confusing and I was so grateful for the help. I still have a way to go I know, but the help I was given has helped me to understand more of the hardship of the times, and to accept a little more the reasons why my dad was adopted and not told. He found out when he wanted to volunteer during the war which was a shock to him. I know now even his brothers were not his brothers, only found one and it appears that he was not lost at sea during the war as he was told. He was even told his mother was Mary Mead Instead of Dorothy Mead which I have entered wrongly on BMD, and thanks to the kindness and advice from the forum I sent for a copy of his birth certificate, which I didn't think was needed. How wrong was I!!! I have found out things which actually hurt. Although I asked for help with geneology I have learned a great deal. My father had no Idea he was adopted and I know it hurt him when he found out, but as I was told by the forum there was no adoption law until 1926. Was it not good that he had no idea, that people took children in and took care of them as there own? My mom travelled to Goole, Yorkshire, 1943 while dad was there with the Royal Engineers to get married, stayed B&B dad had a pass/ permission, mom came back to Birmingham. She said how frightened she was travelling with all the station names blanked out. When dad came home 1946 they lived in White Road and his "father" had moved from Ladypool road, so he was severed from his family. I enjoy the Forum a lot, browsing finding different information, and I have commented a few times. I must admit a lot of times I cannot see photo's I would like to see, I click on the attachment and nothing happens so I read peoples comments about them, but I a still learning. I did not join the forum for geneology reasons, but I was and am so grateful to those who have helped and advised me, and I am sorry if I have done anything wrong, but it has given me a different outlook to how I thought things were. Sorry if I rambled on too much, but the help I had has been so valuable to me personally, my best wishes Chris
 
Chris, as we have said before, the ones of us who can/do help have no problem and I find it challenging to see what I can find, it is even better when we get a feedback like yours, telling the story of what you have discovered with our help, this for me is part of the history of Birmingham,
I think that some of the problem that gave rise to the thread was that people were only using the forum for these queries and they came in multiple requests and gave no feedback and often no thanks for any help offered, as usual, you always get some who spoil it for the rest.
In your case, you knew a lot of facts, its just that extra bit of advice, the same as it was for me, so I wouldn't worry about it.
Sue
 
Chris
Just a short explanation about the pictures that you can't access.
Late last year, the site was 'hacked'. Although all the threads were retrieved, we lost all the pictures. Over the last months, we have tried to locate and restore photos to threads, but in some cases this hasn't been possible - sometimes because the original poster no longer has the file, or occasionally because the poster is no longer a member of the forum. In this case, attachments still show as being there, but in fact they are dead links

If you find a picture that you particularly want to see, we can try to locate it for you - it may have been added to another thread. If you let one of the moderators know the thread name, post number and if of the original poster of the picture, we will see if we can remember what the picture was and find an alternative.

I hope that helps explain the gaps :)
 
Chris I can reassure that you have done nothing wrong. This thread was started when we seemed to have a lot of people joining just to ask a question and then disappearing once they had the answer. Sometimes with no thank you to those who had helped. As you may have read one member refused completely to even share the odd anecdote as they did not see why they should

You on the other hand, in this post alone, have both thanked forum members and made us aware of how that help has been received by you. You have also added to the knowledge of how things were for families in those days. Oh and ramble if you wish those interested will read and enjoy.

Good post.



Bernie
 
You have also added to the knowledge of how things were for families in those days. Oh and ramble if you wish those interested will read and enjoy

I enjoy a good ramble specially when I don't need to move from my chair.

Some of the rambles on here have been very, very interesting and provoked some good memories for me.............. ramble, ramble.
 
Chris, I can't add anything to what Bernie has said! It's great that you've had help but especially that you've acknowledged it, AND it's lovely for you to share a bit of your "story".
Hope you'll continue to be an active member here.


Chris I can reassure that you have done nothing wrong. This thread was started when we seemed to have a lot of people joining just to ask a question and then disappearing once they had the answer. Sometimes with no thank you to those who had helped. As you may have read one member refused completely to even share the odd anecdote as they did not see why they should

You on the other hand, in this post alone, have both thanked forum members and made us aware of how that help has been received by you. You have also added to the knowledge of how things were for families in those days. Oh and ramble if you wish those interested will read and enjoy.

Good post.



Bernie
 
hi chris hope you are enjoying the forum...just to say really what has alread been said..if you find a thread with photos on that you cant view owing to the forum being hacked just pop a message on it and maybe the poster of the photos will be able to put them back on again..we lost over 66000 so its a long haul to replace them but little by little we will get most of them back onto the forum where possable..:encouragement: oh and never to miss a plug dont forget our christmas meet up always lovely to see new members...

lyn
 
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