Decisions, decisions...

I now have a decision to make. Do I concentrate on extending the branches of my family tree further back or do I look at building a richer picture of the lives of individuals in the tree?

There are certain individuals who interest me. I would love to learn more about Alfred Lockwood the musician. I'm also interested to find out more about both of my grandmothers, in particular Lydia's connection with St Mungo's in Alexandria.

I have a massive collection of documents and books which hold information on my family to go through, and a pile of photographs. All of these needs to be housed somewhere safe and in an environment that will not damage them.

My research is very much housebound, online or through the post. I have to fit it in around my family life and work. I'm sure I'm not alone in that situation.

I'll let you know what I decide.

Following in my father's footsteps

This is my father, Charles Whittaker Roberton, or Charlie to his friends. He was an ever supportive influence in my life, softly spoken, strong, thoughtful and eternally optimistic. He was probably better thought of and more kindly remembered than he realised.

When he retired, my father decided to research his family history. I can remember the trips he took to London and Edinburgh (sometimes with my mum and on other occasions, alone) and holidays spent traipsing through overgrown graveyards in Scotland. He was a searcher, my father, a lover of knowledge, and that applied as equally to his family research as to other parts of his life.

When my father died in 2002, I had a newly born baby and a newly widowed mother to look after and my father's research was put away in a box. Since that time, my mother has passed away and my children (two of them now) can amuse themselves sufficiently to give me some time to myself so I've decided to take up where my father left off and continue with his family history research and that of my mother's side of the family too.

My father's parents were Charles Roberton and Lydia Jane Whittaker. My mother's parents were Alfred Lodge and Maud Lockwood. Those four branches - Roberton, Whittaker, Lodge and Lockwood - will be the focus of my research and this blog, although I'm sure ancestors with other surnames may occasionally want a chat. I have my father's notes to kick me off and a lot of available information on the internet too.

I look forward to sharing my findings with you. Who knows? We may be related.