Attention Slowhands (General)

by slowhands , proud of his ancient Dean Forest roots, Thursday, April 08, 2010, 20:21 (5421 days ago) @ roy meek

Roy

In many cases the requests to this Forum are "true and honest" , however one or two that I can recall have strayed into what can best be described as a "minefield".

Guidelines are open to interpretation and are perhaps not as rigid as Rules might be. The Forum guidelines have evolved to try to avoid some of the "difficult" situations that can arise - esp. after a family breakdown / divorce / or similar circumstances.

To help you last time I referred you to the Forum guidelines :-

would like to contact any relations

living relatives etc
http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?mode=thread&id=10668

Other Forums exist where you would stand a better chance of "hooking up" with living relatives :-

for example, you could try
http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/

The last thing we want to do here is put people off tracing their Forest roots, but we equally have a responsibility to "tread carefully". It is sometimes a difficult balance to achieve; I hope most contibutors feel that we "get it right" most of the time :-)

best regards
S

PS
a recent article seems to confirm some of these issues

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1264659/Beware-family-tree-You-lift-lid-thin...

Dr Anne-Marie Kramer, a historical scientist at Warwick University, said digging up the past can trigger rifts between present-day relatives, while the research also runs the risk of demolishing idealised notions about a family's origins.

Other shocks revealed by family history research include unlawful marriages between relatives, unwanted children, ancestors with a criminal background or exaggerated claims about a family's wealth or an ancestor's career.

Dr Kramer said: 'In investigating their family history, researchers could open up a Pandora's Box of secrets and skeletons,
such as finding there are family issues around paternity, illegitimacy or marriage close to birth of children, criminality, health and mental health, and previously unknown humble origins'.

--
Ἀριστοτέλης A Gloster & Hereford Boy in the Forest of Dean ><((((*>