Changing the Future

For a while now I have, like many people, been researching my family history. Up to now I have concentrated on my mother's side of the family as I already had quite a bit of material to go on. Now I'm back working on my father's side.

Having the surname Chambers I always thought that we had come to Liverpool from either Scotland or Northern Ireland. Imagine my surprise when the 1841 Census my Great, Great Grandfather in Nottingham. Another surprise is that I only have to go back four generations (excluding me) to get to 1791!

It appears both my Great Great Grandfather and Great Grandfather were both lace makers. They both saw their jobs change as the Industrial Revolution took hold. My Great, Great Grandfather mechanised and began to employ men, whilst my Great Grandfather came to Liverpool to seek his fortune. Sadly, it was not to be and the records show that he had a variety of Jobs: butcher, provision porter, miller and a railway worker for the LNWR. Naturally, I would like to find out more.

I find researching the past puts my own life in perspective. How I worry about this problem or the next yet, even though they may seem large to me, they are just a tiny blip on the passage of time. The problems my forebears faced and the reasons for them have come and gone. However, the decisions they made at the time had serious ramifications for the future. Without my Great Grandfather seeking his fortune in Liverpool, this blog would never be written ,simply because I would not exist.

All of us face problems, that's life, but they need to be put into perspective - they will not last for ever. However, in facing those problems we will be forced to make decisions and it is those that will shape the future. I find that a big responsibility!