BBC: Family history

Do you realize, Catherine, that we are related to each other?

Don't be silly, Neil. I think I'd know if you were in my family. 

Well, we'll talk more about that later in the show, but I should say at this point today we're discussing genealogy- or the study of family history. And I think it's pretty fascinating stuff. Do you ever watch the TV programme Who do you think you are, Catherien? You know, where celebrities find out about their family history?

Yeah, I've seen a couple of them. For example, one celebrity- who was very proud of his working class London roots- or origins- discovering that he's actually a direct descendent of an English king. 

Well, that's quite a discovery! The thing is though, Catherine, What if there isn't anything exciting in your family history- no mysteries, no skeletons in the closet...

Well, I reckon if you go back far enough, Neil, there's always something exciting or unexpected in anybody's family history. And skeletons in the closet by the way, means secrets! Now, I think it's time for today's quiz quesiton. Researching family history often involves reading old documents such as birth, mariage and death certificates, and these can be difficult to decipher- or understand. So what's the name for the study of ancient handwriting? Is it...

a) Scritography   b) Palaeography    or   c) Scribology?

Well, it must be a) Scriptography. 

And we'll see if you're right or not later on in the show. Now, why do you think most people look into their genealogy, Neil? Is it just curiosity?

Well, Catherine, we all love a good mystery story- especially if it's conncected with our own family. And these days, it's easy to do research online because many old paper documents have been digitized are available online. 

BBC presenter Mike Williams investigated his own family history. And here, he's talking about his great-grandfather's story. And if you listen carefully you can hear him rustling the real paper documents!

The Williamses are my father's side and on my mother's the Heino's- it's a name that we think comes from Finland. If I look at this document here- it's a copy of the census of England and Wales 1911- you can see my grandfather, the son, and his father- the head of the household-Michael Heino, or Michel Heino, who, the family lore has it, jumped ship and ended up in Liverpool. 

What's a census, Catherine?

It's an official count of people in a population. So Mike Williams's great grandfather appeared on the 1911 census for England and Wales but because of his surname the family think he might originally have come from Finland. 

The exciting event in Mike Williams' history- passed down through family lore- which means 'knowledge passed on from one generation to the next'- is that his great-gradfather jumped ship. 

Which means the left the ship he was working on without permission to do so. 

And he started a new life in England. I suppose quite a few people have immigration stories in their family histories- sometimes without knowing it. 

Actuallyt that's something that many people are fascinated by- and has also become easier to investigate these days no companies offer to test the DNA in your saliva for as little as a hundred dollars. 

And then they come up with results saying you're related to Alexander teh Great or Brad Pitt...Remember I said that we were related? Well, let's now listen to Else Churchill, from the Society of Genealogists here in London, who explains what I meant.