For quite a while we have been involved in tracing our Family Tree.  We've found the experience to be exciting, sometimes frustrating, but ultimately fascinating.  Our ancestors mostly came from two beautiful counties in Northern Ireland - County Fermanagh and County Tyrone.  The principal surnames in our family tree are Allen, Beacom, Irwin, Knox, Maxwell, McMahon, Mercer, and Wilson.  (Other surnames such as Bloomer, Campbell, Chestnutt, Elliott, Givens, Gregg, Hadden, McGrann, Morrow, Murphy, Rea and Watson also figure).

Like a giant jigsaw puzzle, we enjoy finding the pieces of the past and putting them all together to make up a picture of our ancestors.  For example, we've discovered that David's great-grandfather, John Allen [pictured below], was not only a County Fermanagh farmer but also a Local Preacher in the Methodist Church in Ireland - which makes 3 generations of Allen men (David, his father and his  great-grandfather) who have been called to this particular ministry.  We've found the repetition of certain names occuring throughout the generations intriguing, if somewhat confusing at times!  We've traced the movement of relatives who emigrated from Northern Ireland to Canada, USA and Australia and discovered something about their life and times.  Historic events have come alive for us; such as the realisation we had family members who lived in San Francisco at the time of the great 1906 earthquake and fire.  Woven through the fabric of the past, we've found times of great personal tragedy, courage, joy and strength which have been an inspiration.  It has been, and continues to be, a fascinating journey through the past to the present and we continue to learn from those who have gone before us.
 

David's Great-grandfather, JOHN ALLEN

Ann's Great-grandfather, ROBERT MERCER

Genealogy is a hobby that is growing in popularity and there are many websites dedicated to the subject.  Obviously we don't intend to share our family tree on this one - it is, after all, only interesting to us and our own family.  However, we thought we'd provide a few directions to certain websites that we've found particularly useful in our searches in the hope that they may be of help to others who are also eager to trace their ancestry.  The majority of sites listed relate to Irish research.  Good hunting!

Genealogy Graphics by Chris

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