Or: “How Big Does This Thing Get?”

I’ve been dabbling with my Family Tree, both my dad’s and my mum’s sides, for a while now, but only really took a serious interest when I was contacted by another member of my family doing the same thing. It was an unexpected contact, too, because it came from the United States, and I had always believed that both branches of my family were firmly rooted in the UK. My cousin on my dad’s side (4th, and once removed), for that was who it was, added an extra line atop my findings and all of a sudden I discovered an entire branch of the family in the US, and another in South Africa. Canada features in there as well, although not quite so directly. I had fondly thought that they’d never found their way out of Yorkshire.

I use Ancestry, expensive though it is, as my tool for compiling the tree. The links to various sources are almost instant, and are mostly correct. My relative count this year went from around a hundred to over a thousand, although the direct lines count for far fewer, of course. I’ve traced my dad’s family not only out of Yorkshire, before the bolder relations headed overseas, but to Exeter in Devon (UK), where my mother’s family come from, which is so much of a co-incidence. The oldest birthday for a traced relative is one Thomas Mayne, born around 1650, in Surrey, England. I haven’t been able to go so far back on my mum’s side, but there’s time for more research.

It’s quite exciting to delve into where the family has been. I vaguely remember my dad saying something about a relation coming from Silverton in Devon, but I dismissed it on the assumption that Yorkshire was the family base. He was right, though, and there is indeed a link to Silverton (now part of Exeter). I wish I’d not been so quick to ignore that hint. The bulk of the Maynes were in Victorian Leeds, many in the boot and shoe trade. They were poor and lived in some pretty squalid back to back houses in Leeds, and many died very young. Addresses are listed in census and burial records, but I could never find them on modern maps, especially since Leeds has gone through a few major urban renewals over the past one hundred years. That was until I discovered the National Library of Scotland’s online historic maps, and all of a sudden the streets that had long been swept away, reappeared and could be superimposed on modern maps. Schole’s Yard, Thomas’ Yard, and the rest, suddenly became real.

I also discovered the Leeds University project that has digitised the nearly 70,000 burials in the old Burmantofts Cemetery, now part of the University campus. I have found some detailed, and quite sad, records of my family there, like my Grandad’s three very young siblings who didn’t even make it to two years old. They weren’t visible through Ancestry either, probably because their births were not recorded, but the burial records are clear and accurate.

Finding out about the American branch of the family was fun, and I find that the city of Huntington in Indiana is where many of them made a name for themselves, and are buried in various local cemeteries there. There’s even a Mayne street. That’s only a few hour’s drive from me now, so next year I will head over there to explore.

The South African branch was successful, although the original Mayne who landed in Durban in 1849 came back to Leeds and died there after his wife died in South Africa. The bulk of their children stayed, though, and while most were farmers, some became involved with the DeBeer’s diamond mining operation and fairly made their fortunes. Curiously, one who certainly did well married into English money and spent her adult life at various smart addresses in London, including a big house on Portman Square. She died in Kensington, in the shadow of the Palace, and now rests with many of her family in Brompton Cemetery in London. The number of times I have been past that place and have known nothing of her.

Tracing your family can be all consuming, and you really have to keep a lid on things so you don’t fall into too many rabbit holes. I have joined forces with some other family members who are building trees like me, and we’re compiling quite a picture. I’m headed off to Leeds in a few weeks time to do a bit of family tree research, and to find a few of those graves so carefully catalogued over the years. I was born in Leeds, but have never really been back (except to get a cheap breakfast in IKEA), so it’ll be a voyage of discovery I think. I’ll also be in London, so I guess the Portman Square connection should be checked up on as well.

It’s all good fun, but beware if you’re limited on time, those family rabbit holes are everywhere.