Genealogy and family history research by an experienced UK researcher and writer… Read on to find out what I can help you with. And please feel free to contact me for a ‘no obligation’ chat!
What is it about graveyards and cemeteries?
There’s nothing quite like walking in a cemetery or a graveyard. Is it the peace? The history (under and above ground)? Is it the sense that this space represents a portal – a place of transition from one state to another? Is it slightly magical or mysterious in that respect?
Whatever your sense of it, there’s no doubt that there is often an ‘other-worldly’ atmosphere that pervades.
On a practical note for genealogists, (and many do like to spend time in graveyards), it can be a source of ancestral information. If your ancestors had the money for a gravestone, it’s a valuable and poignant testament to them and often includes names and dates of other family members laid to rest in the same place.
But enough about graveyards... Why explore your past?
I don’t actually have a TV, but I note that other places (like YouTube for instance) are positively bursting with family tree/DNA clips and episodes of TV shows.
What do people get out of it? However you decide to explore your past, you might experience:
- Connection to ancestors – a sense of ‘that’s where I got my skill/shape/look/temperament/gift’ from.
- An understanding of how ancestors shaped your life in some way.
- Discovering whether family stories (we all have them) are actually true or not.
- A feeling of belonging to a particular ancestral line, or place – maybe one you’ve never even been to.
- The opportunity to change – based on the knowledge and understanding that emerges from our ancestral stories. This change can be in any shape or form – maybe you just feel differently about a family member painted as a ‘bad ‘un’… You get to see people and past in a different light
There are so many benefits to understanding where you came from and who walked before you.
They are, in part, the building blocks and the essence of YOU.
It’s exciting – and it’s real.
What can I do for you?
I’ve been interested and actively researching my own family tree and others for 20 years or so. I am a writer – I love to tell stories. When I started to delve deeply and find family characters and events, I realised just how rich our past is and how lucky we are to have so many different types of records available to plunder.
These discoveries came about gradually as I studied genealogy (a variety of different schools and institutions, but mainly Pharos Tutors – who offer an excellent range of short courses and/or assessed certification). I gathered knowledge, certificates and I continue to study – there is so much to learn.
These days I’m busy researching and writing up family histories, mainly within the late 18th – early 20th centuries. I have a particular fascination with the Victorian era.
I can just find names dates and places (plus other basic information like occupations), as a starter for those who wish to carry on researching themselves. Or, I can dig deeper and see what else can be found – in newspapers, wills, military records etc. So much to explore!
To create a good family history you might want to look at occupations, industry, housing and other social or local considerations to get a full picture of how your ancestors lived. I can help – or point you towards areas to explore.
Happy and honoured to be involved in any way with your story.
Telling Ancestral Stories
I love to write stories – particularly the true ones I manage to uncover regarding our ancestors.
I can write one for you (assuming I can find the source information!), and in doing so I will not embroider, make up facts, judge or insert my own opinion. The past is subject to the values, events, beliefs (etc…) of its time, all I can do is try and take you there. It’s a fascinating process – and hopefully a good/interesting story even if the subject matter involves family tragedy and is hard to read.
This is one of my own rather tragic ancestral stories:
Thankfully, not all of our ancestors had stories worthy of inquests and newspaper reports! Mostly they lived, worked, raised families and died quietly without any intimate notes being taken for future perusal. But their lives were very different to ours and worthy of our attention and understanding. I’ll tell their stories however I can…
A warning!
There are a lot of family trees out there waiting to trap you! Pop on any popular site (ancestry/findmypast etc) and you can easily start your own tree. As you progress, you’ll be fed ‘hints’ and given the opportunity to copy from other trees. It’s important to realise that just because a site has given you a hint – it doesn’t mean it’s correct. These large commercial sites do have a lot of information to help you with your research and some of it will be spot on – but some will be WAY off course.
Similarly, many many family trees contain mistakes (some of them huge) – and these get copied to other trees by people accepting the ‘hint’ or opportunity to copy. Resist the urge to copy or accept a hint unless you have evidence that the fact/record/person is correct. In other words do the research yourself! As a rule of thumb, try to find 3 sources (e.g. baptism/census/marriage/death/burial/occupational record) to corroborate every fact you want to include (e.g. name/dob/place/parents/child).
Be a detective – take nothing for granted!
Genealogy and family history research is a passion of mine and I am always happy to fact-check your tree if you think you may have gone awry.
