The Value of Google

[Terri]

Being a bit bored, yesterday I googled a few family tree names.

Found some on Find A Grave - and to my surprise, a huge bronze angel monument to my grandmother's cousin, Arthur Brian Burton and family. I knew from censuses that he was a bronze metal worker, but I absolutely hadn't expected anything like that to turn up in the (supposedly very ordinary) family.

Now intrigued, I googled some more. Omg ......... anecdotally "the finest bronze caster in the world" and with statues - huge statues - accredited to him all over the world.

I've had a few genealogical shocks and surprises but this was one of those where your hands go sweaty and shakey and your heart beats like you're running for a bus. :D:D

Going to Google again today! ;)

[Olde Crone]

Yes, I love google. I tried to research a man with a very ordinary name and didn't really get very far, even though he came from a small hamlet with an unusual name which was often mis spelled on census. When I put the mis spelling into google, up popped a 13 year old message on Ancestry looking for descendants of this man. Even more amazingly, the poster still had the same email address and we exchanged some very useful information which I doubt either of us would have found any other way.

I am a computer dumbo and barely know how to turn it on, but somehow google came my way and I use it all the time. I am often surprised that people with much better computer skills are reluctant to use it or don't consider it a research tool.

OC

[ElizabethHerts]

What a wonderful result, Terri.

I google all the time, and not just for family history. I use it for learning Italian, finding items to buy, etc. A day doesn't go by when I don't use it.

[vita]

What a wonderful result, Terri.

I google all the time, and not just for family history. I use it for learning Italian, finding items to buy, etc. A day doesn't go by when I don't use it.

Same here, Elizabeth. Congratulations on your find, Terri. I know that feeling

you describe - it doesn't happen that often, but when it does there's nothing

more rewarding to the likes of us.

[Mary from Italy]

I've found all sorts of fantastic stuff, too.

It's also worth searching Google books; the results will often come up in an ordinary Google search, but sometimes so far down that you miss them.

https://books.google.co.uk/

[Muggins in Sussex]

I once found a family photo of a young man on a walk in the countryside - and was delighted to see there was a name written on the back - "William Clough". I found quite a few possibilities for William on Ancestry, but none seemed quite right and I asked for help on various forums

Then I Googled and discovered that William Clough was the name of the hill he was climbing! - https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/getoutside/local/william-clough-high-peak

[Terri]

I once found a family photo of a young man on a walk in the countryside - and was delighted to see there was a name written on the back - "William Clough". I found quite a few possibilities for William on Ancestry, but none seemed quite right and I asked for help on various forums

Then I Googled and discovered that William Clough was the name of the hill he was climbing! - https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/getoutside/local/william-clough-high-peak

Brilliant!! lol

[Jenoco]

That's great, Terri. I too have found a few things on Google, although nothing as exciting as your find. And Google books is definitely worth a look.

[Terri]

All good, but what pees me off is why nobody in my family ever mentioned this. Not even on all the occasions I had gone to London with my parents and walked past one of Arthur's statues. If it was my cousin, I'd be so puffed up with pride, I'd be shouting it from the rooftops for the rest of my life. The huge "peace" bronze on top of Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner - "our Arthur" made that!

But my new-found French cousins - another story - maybe some of you remember the saga on "Research" - they knew!!! Or rather, they almost knew. French Maud had told them that one of Arthur's statues was (what they understood to be) of one of her very famous relatives. They thought this unlikely! Maud apparently had never become fluent in French so now they know she meant it had been made by one of her relatives.

Makes me wonder what else they hadn't told me. :rolleyes:

[Nell]

What a lovely and exciting find, Terri.
Google is a brilliant resource, you can find so many obscure pieces of information. I found a website dedicated to the old bus garage my dad worked at, with a photo of him I'd never seen before, so that was special.