Working With Me

By now, most people fall into one of three groups:

  • “I know quite a bit, but there are gaps I can’t fill.”

  • “I’ve done some searching, but I’m not sure how to connect the pieces.”

  • “I know almost nothing - where do I even start?”

Wherever you are, we start with what you want to discover. That might mean exploring both sides of your family, following one particular branch, or trying to solve the mystery of a single ancestor.

My role is to do the digging: finding the connections, following the evidence and, importantly, making sure the people we add really do belong in your family tree.

If citizenship is part of your goal, visit EU Identity first. The evidence and documentation requirements are different, and understanding that process before we begin matters.

For family tree research, buying certificates or official records is rarely necessary at the outset. If we reach a point where a document is needed to validate a connection, I’ll explain why and the decision to obtain it, and its cost, remains yours.

I use Ancestry.com as my primary research platform, giving you read-only access while we work. You can follow the tree as it grows, share photographs and information, and see how each new person fits.

The research may be mine, but the family story is yours.

A Note on Confidentiality

The stories we uncover often touch on deeply personal parts of family history, and sometimes on things that were once considered taboo. Over the years I've seen it all: illegitimacy, adoption, lost children, asylum records, criminal cases, even hidden branches that families never knew existed.

Everything you share with me is treated as strictly confidential. It belongs to you. My role is simply to help turn records into understanding, bringing context, never judgement.

If there's anything you'd rather not share, I'll always respect that. What matters is that you stay in control of your information, your discoveries and your story.

How We Begin

Every family story starts somewhere, and you don't need to arrive with everything neatly organised.

We begin with what you already know. I'll ask you to complete a simple form with the basic details of your immediate family: names, dates and places where known. If you have certificates, photographs, family notes or other records, they can all help, but don't worry if you have very little.

From there, I'll create the foundations of your family tree and begin working backwards, following the records and evidence as each generation starts to emerge.

I'll give you access to the tree on Ancestry so you can follow the research as it develops. You may recognise a name, remember a story or spot something that gives us another thread to follow.

You don't need to know where the journey will lead before we begin. That's rather the point. From this point on, each stage builds naturally — from foundation to story, from data to meaning.

The Research Journey

This is where the real detective work begins.

I work backwards through each generation, using census records, birth, marriage and death records, parish registers and other historical sources to establish not simply a name, but that we have found the right person.

One record often leads to another. A census may reveal an occupation or unexpected family member; a marriage may lead us to another generation; a military record, passenger list, newspaper report or probate record may tell us something about the life behind the dates.

And sometimes the records disagree. Names change spelling, ages vary, people move, relationships are recorded differently and occasionally someone seems to disappear altogether. That's when research becomes less about finding records and more about following the evidence until the pieces make sense.

Where DNA is available, it can provide another valuable line of enquiry, particularly where the documentary trail becomes uncertain or reveals an unexpected connection. It is supporting evidence rather than an automatic answer, and we'll use it alongside the records and what we already know.

As the tree develops, I'll share what I'm finding with you. Your own knowledge, photographs and family stories can be just as important in helping us recognise a person, confirm a connection or open up a completely new direction.

The aim isn't simply to see how far back we can go. It's to discover as much as we reasonably can about the people who came before you, where they lived, what they did and the lives they led.

Bringing It All Together

As the research develops, your family tree becomes much more than a collection of names and dates. Records, photographs, places, occupations and family stories begin to build a picture of the people themselves and the lives they led.

Wherever possible, I attach the records and evidence behind the research, so you can see not only who belongs in your tree, but why the connection has been made.

You may want to add your own photographs, documents and memories along the way. These can bring another dimension to the historical records and help create something that is genuinely personal to your family.

When my research is complete, the tree is yours. You can keep it as it is, continue exploring it yourself, share it with your family or pass it on to future generations.

There will nearly always be another branch to follow or another story waiting to be found. A family tree is rarely really finished, and perhaps that's part of the fun.