Following from … My Next Task …
Now I knew what to search for .. three boys from Bodmin. Suffice to say, I didn’t get very far. Fast-forward to the age of the internet. Even in the early days of the World Wide Web, it was possible to research your family tree, albeit a bit sparse. As was usual, due to having to make a living, my quest had to wait.
Over time I managed to transfer all of my findings onto a generic Family Tree software package, a bit basic, but it was still wonderful to see the full picture of your ancestors. Although, when time allowed, I did increase my database of other family members, I still couldn’t get far with the three boys.
Genealogy was becoming more popular and so the introduction of sites dedicated to family tree research advanced. About ten years ago, I found an article relating to one of the boys, it was his death! I travelled to Essex and found his grave, the headstone a standard wartime design. He died in 1940, but the rest of the inscription didn’t give much more detail. Back to the research.
Again, when time allowed, I made some progress. I found through Barnardo’s that the other two boys were sent to Canada. As with most correspondence from Barnardo’s, they will only divulge basic information. It was common practice at the time to send “orphans” to the British territories, mainly Canada and Australia. That’s another story!
It wasn’t until the late 1990’s that real progress was made to make genealogical websites publically accessible. Sites like FindMyPast, Ancestry & FamilySearch helped immensely in my research. Alongside these, more complete genealogy software was now available.
It was when I used of these sites that I had my first breakthrough.
Family Past 