The Pitcairn Family History Page

It would be nice if we could all turn to our peers and speak with certainty as to the origins of the Pitcairn Family, however, genealogy is not an exact science and history can only be the interpretation of the individual. We will not make any wild statements or false claims within this web site, merely lay down what is believed to be the case regarding the origins of those individuals who have come to light through years of patient research. 

To have a time machine which would enable us to travel back to the creation of the first Pitcairn, would probably be a bit of an anti-climax. Whether he or she was of noble blood or not, is hardly the issue, (but nice to think), the fun is in the unknown, the thrill of the endless possibilities, the multitude of discussions that can be waged over candlelit suppers. If we had all the answers there would be little room for discourse, only an acceptance of the facts and the boredom that goes with it. 

No the time machine is not the answer, we think. Your imagination is the key. We can sit in our warm room, with a sociable beverage by our side, the arm chair enveloping us in its comforting  embrace and get lost in our romantic dreams of times long gone. But in truth the reality was far worse, and it helps at times, to put aside our creature comforts and just think hard on what it must have been like for those early settlers in the new colonies, or the remote families in their highland croft in the middle of a bleak winter. Yes, they were strong, yes they were survivors, but in truth they lived in ways that they new no better, that was their lives. They were born into privileged lives or not as the case may be, they grew up during troubled times in most cases, married the love of their lives (you hoped), had children, watched and worried as they grew, tried hard to provide for all their needs, grew old with the responsibilities and the effort. Eventually passing from this land having hoped to have made their mark somewhere.

Sound familiar?, well is it not what we are all still trying to achieve.

This particular page is going to be used to try and inspire you to get on with you family research, we do not want everyone just to strip the information they require from its pages,. Instead we want this to be the starting point for your real family history. Remember, genealogy or more plainly put, an individuals birth, marriage and death records, only tell you a very small part of an individuals life. Its like the skeleton, but what puts the meat on the bones and brings that person to life, is the history of their lives. The social structures that surrounded them, the achievements they rose to, the heartaches they faced. Look at a man born lets say in 1922, he married in 1946 and two children a boy and a girl and died in 1987. Quite a simple common little life he must have led, when it shown so coldly in black and white.

But dig deeper, he was brought up by a man who had survived the horrors of World War One, a broken man, who took out his anger and his fear upon the only people he could reach, his children. He had escaped the family  through education and won a scholarship to a local University, he became a teacher and met his first sweetheart whilst at University and planned to marry her as soon as they could save enough. Unfortunately the Second World War broke out and her had to leave her to fight for his country. Imagine the life he had to live during these times, on active service somewhere in the world. His family and loved ones not knowing if he was alive or dead, the stories they could tell of friends and neighbours receiving the worst news of all. And what about his return, what did he have to do in order to integrate himself back into society, normal life. 

We could go on and on about the children, his achievements and every aspect of this mans life. But once it was done, not only would you know about the real person behind the genealogy, but you would have opened your eyes to world long gone but we hope never forgotten, his life will live on through you family history.