O is for for Oops, oooh’s and Uh Oh’s: The Shocking Surprises of Family History Research

17 April 2019

 The accidental breakthrough

woman exclaiming surprise for family history

Isn’t it great when you accidentally find a connection whilst researching your own or someone’s family history? These ‘oops’ moments of delight don’t happen often, immediately after this find, you’re either screaming very loudly or (possibly and) throwing out a lot of strong language…

Typos and Incorrect spelling

bored woman

Ah, we’ve all had these… whether it’s been our own silly mistakes or the fault of the none-the-wiser census taker in 1896, it can take some time to realise the mistake that has been made, which usually results in rolling of the eyes, a loud ‘tssh’ or an ‘of course, why didn’t I think of that?!’.

Unwanted or untimely reveals

woman rolling eyes
woman with her arms crossed

I suppose, for this one alone it should be called a ‘whoops’ moment, because it was accidental or… you just couldn’t hold it in any longer! A DNA test tends to reveal either what you already knew to be true or some shocking home truths, whatever it is, the resulting sound is either a loud  ‘oh!’ or a disappointed ‘ahh…’

Trickery

happy woman

Apparently, people can disappear without a trace? Or seem to be immune to existence itself. It’s always exciting when something has been moved to the side for you to come back to later, when all of a sudden, an unexpected call or email comes in from that person who according to every record possible hadn’t existed, until now! Don’t you just love an unexpected ‘oooh!?’

Written by Rhianna Selkridge-Carty

Like this article? Have a read of our next article P is for Parish Registers.

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