Hi everyone!
It's time to get to know another one of our wonderful WikiTreers. This week's member is Roy Walmsley.
Roy became a Wiki Genealogist in March 2018. He is a Trail Guide for the England Project.
When and how did you get interested in family history?
I remember that when I was a teenager, I created a family tree on the back of an offcut of wallpaper. However, I did not pursue it with any serious intent until after my parents died in 2017. Sadly, of course, too late to get my parents' help.
What are some of your interests outside of genealogy?
I’ve had lots – a bit of a Jack of all Trades. The one I’ve had since the age of seven is playing the piano. I got my Grade 8 just before I went to university. Fifty-plus years later, I’m still playing. Since retiring ten years ago (when I was a computer software engineer) I volunteered to assist writing 3D computer graphics standards with the International Standards Organization (ISO). That ceased when I got into genealogy. Apart from getting out with my wife and dog, and doing significant DIY around the house, I also enjoy playing video games.
What is your genealogical research focus?
I don’t have any particular focus. I’ll work on one project for a bit, and then get sidetracked by something new, and venture down another rabbit hole, and then another rabbit hole…
Are you interested in certain surnames or locations?
Yes, I’ve done quite a bit of one name studies work, mostly unofficially. Marris and its variations is probably the largest. My current rabbit hole is Marcroft – trying to see if the Lancashire and Yorkshire lineages have a reasonably recent common ancestor.
Do you have a favourite ancestor or discovery?
I don’t have a favourite ancestor. In fact, most of my work is not on my family at all. One of my favourite genealogical discoveries was uncovering the husband of Ann Marris, a widow, who died at Manchester in 1861, who did leave a Will, and whose only obvious relative was her niece Ann Jones. Solving that required extensive multiple-family research.
What is your toughest brick wall currently?
The only ones I have I believe are due to the unavailability of nonconformist records in Lincolnshire in the mid-eighteenth century. Otherwise, I resolve difficult ones by researching the family, such as siblings, parents, grandparents, etc. Or, to put it another way, if there’s a blockage, I simply work around it, digging away at the edges until it crumbles.
How do you like to conduct your research?
I’m one of those odd people that like lists. Therefore, I like to research whole families, not just a single individual. Sometimes I randomly pick someone recent (but dead) with a surname I’m researching, and then work back and out along that surname line, and try and join them up with other lines I’ve already created.
(interview continues in comments)
