On my mother's side I found that you can plot the history of engineering! For example, my great, great, great grandfather, George De Ritter, was a maritime engineer who started a business distilling turpentine. This was used with tar or something, to coat the bottom of wooden cargo ships. They were based in Limehouse in the London Docks. George's son, Joseph, continued in the family business but also trained as a maritime engineer. Joseph had many sons, nephews and grandsons, many of whom trained as engineers in the family business. As the 19th century progressed, the type of engineering they trained in changed. My great grandfather, Samuel De Ritter, was an engine fitter and his son Louis, my grandfather, was an electrical engineer.
Several of Joseph's sons emigrated to cities around the Black Sea (Odessa in Russia, and Constantinople in Turkey) and worked in the maritime industries there. They raised families there and, as far as I know, there are still De Ritters in those areas.
My father's side have more humble origins. They lived in rural Suffolk and worked mainly in Agricultural labouring or in the fisihing industry. Because they lived off the land or sea, and lived in a very remote part of the country, they stayed in the area for hundreds of years and did not move away until after service in WW1. In fact, there are still relatives of my father living in Westleton and Dunwich.
On my father's side I have traced my direct decendencts back to my great, great, great, great. great grandfather. (around the 1740s) In direct decendents go back to the 1540s.
One distant grandfather had 33 children with 3 women. 19 of those children were with one wife. Many of the children died in infancy. three of them were called Martha. Five of them were called Samuel. It is possible some of these registrations were duplications, using different dates of birth with a few years in between.
One of the suffolk relatives was transported to Tasmania for a seven year sentence (I don't know what for, but probably poaching). he apparently stayed there and his decendents still live in Taz.
