With whom did your ancestors meet? – They didn’t live in a vacuum

A Bath Group talk by Colin Chapman.
Many written genealogies, even family histories, whilst giving details of a particular family, sometimes stretching back over several generations, restrict their texts to family members alone. It was if that family lived all their lives in sterilised rooms, with tiled walls washed down with disinfectant, without ever associating with anyone else in the community. No wonder that such family histories do not appeal to the younger generation. In this lecture Dr Chapman offers suggestions on compiling a vibrant family history incorporating individuals whom your ancestors are likely to have met, demonstrating that “they didn’t live in a vacuum”.