This job ain’t easy you know! Yes, it’s very rewarding but sometimes – whether Heir Hunting, tracing work or a client’s family history – it takes guts, determination, drive and absolute dedication to get a case cracked. Senior Researchers at FWL have a ‘never say die’ attitude. The Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms states that this means “to refuse to stop trying to do something” and the Cambridge Idioms Dictionary, 2nd ed. expands on this by saying that it is “something that you say which means that you should not accept that you have failed while there is still a chance that you may succeed“.
Being the MD of FWL, there are many tasks I now have to do which take me ‘off the tools‘. During the week, I have managed to dip my toes into a couple of cases and today, I spent many a happy hour trying to crack small puzzles in cases we have signed. It’s like constant professional development – each new case brings new challenges, new things to learn, new clients to build relationships with ….
So, what would you do if you needed to find an address for a living person in Ecuador? Brazil? Hong Kong….? How would you go about obtaining a copy of an Australian death certificate in 2005? (Good luck with that one!) Where would you start if you wanted to trace the extended family of someone born in Estonia?
I’d bet quite a lot of money that no-one reading this blog right now would know the answer to all of those questions. In everyone’s family history research at whatever level, there will be puzzles which require a greater amount of attention and a steep learning curve. Often Mr Google provides the answer, so long as you can phrase the question in such a way that he returns the results you want!
Yes, we are all professionals here at FWL. However, no matter whether you are a hobbyist, amateur, professional or whatever, don’t give up! It’s great fun finding your roots and tracing your ancestry. Never say die.
