Welcome to my family tree. 
   It has been growing now for about 5 years.Some of the women on the tree  have ?  after their surnames, this is because I have been unable to find a  maiden name for them,so they are on the tree with married names rather than no  name at all, which keeps them listed in logical places.
 Some have an  x after the birth date, these are people that I have good reason  to believe are connected to the tree but as yet have not yet found the link.So  rather than forget they exist I have stored them here for future study,but  left them unconnected to the tree.They have been given their places of birth  on census return as fathers in an effort to keep them in order... so searching  with a place name as a christian name and Dear for instance as the surname  will find  people that I am still trying to link in eg Meppershall Dear.  It all started with the Dear line. As I live near the ancestors homes, My  cousin Andy phoned and asked if our GGrandad William Dear was at the Arlesey  cemetary, I went and found him and got hooked on the history from then on. Then the Culverhouse clues started with my mother telling me her Grandad died  falling from a telegraph pole near Luton, The only other thing she could  remember was that there was an aunt known as Alice banks but she was adopted  or something. The odd memories fell into place as I discovered that Alice was  a Step sister to Mums father, and bit by bit it all made sense.  Since then I have found, my way back with many more lines with the help of  other researchers who have shared infomation and given me the clues needed to  get passed all kinds of hurdles. I subscribed to Ancestry.com which has given  me census returns back to 1851 and civil registration back to 1837.  Along the way I have also helped others, which is part of the reason for  putting the tree online. But most of the interest for me, is finding links  with others, and digging out the history, on how the ancestors lived.  I recently discovered, one of my school friends from the 1970s is a  distant cousin, and my 2nd husband and I share  GGGrandad George Dear.He  through his mother and me through my father. 
  I have now discovered, 27 living relatives,some very distant, and 3 who are  in fact my parents 1st cousins,all of which I would never have known existed  and many have been a great help, telling me bits and pieces they remember  about their family lines.
  One especially Hilary Jones, who has taken the time to drive me round Luton  and show me the shops and houses, and graves, that belonged to the Broughall  and Dear family.
  Also David Hodge with whom I spent many evenings, batting info back  and forth by email until eventually we fathomed out the mystery  of Eliza Janes.
 Not forgetting Andy Dear my cousin who got me started,the day he phoned,and  asked me to check Arlesey church yard to see if William Dear was around.  There are too many to mention them all, but we have all realised that the  world is much smaller than you might think,and now we keep each other informed  of any changes, or new infomation.
  If I could offer any advice to new researchers, It would be... Write the names and dates on the backs of all photos and keep them  safe,otherwise in 50 years they are nothing but a frustrating mystery, to your  decendants.Also be prepared for suprises our ancestors made excellent jobs of  covering their mistakes.
 Just like today they would deduct a few years from their age on the census as  they got older and add a few if they were too young to have their children  or...... 
  Tell your grandchildren about,the family as you knew it,warts and all, while  you have the chance, they can look it up and assume much worst once you're  gone.
  If you still have any, ask grandparents and elderly relatives, for info while  you can, and write it down.I really wish I had!
  I hope you enjoy your visit to the tree and if you do find a link please let  me know, I am always happy to help or sometimes hinder, and I have much more  info that I suspect links to the tree but still need to find the  missing  parts.