My Services
Family Trees
A surprisingly large number of people know very little about their immediate ancestors. Even if you were or are lucky enough to know them, many people don’t know where or when their grandparents were born, let alone any further back. I can help you to take the first steps in discovering who your ancestors were, where they lived, what they did and much more.
If you are already a budding genealogist yourself but are finding yourself up against brick walls I can try to break those down for you.
If you don’t have the time, or inclination to carry on researching a part of your family tree I can assist you.
I will help you set parameters about what you are looking for and how far back you hope to go in terms of generations and according to your budget. Packages vary from the relatively simple ‘one line, three generation’ to much more far reaching and ongoing research into several generations of several lines. One of the key challenges with genealogy is deciding where to stop!
Please see How I Work for more details.
House Histories
The histories of the stately homes, castles and public buildings we visit are usually laid out in guidebooks and biographies, based on the impact their residents had on public life, the histories recorded and the records archived.
However for the majority of our homes, this is not the case! Have you ever wondered who designed and built the house you live in, what it looked like when it was built and how the rooms were used by its occupants? Have you wondered who walked its corridors, lived, were born and died in its rooms? And have you wondered why those people moved to the house, what the area was like and how they fitted in to their community over the years? I believe this is a natural set of questions that can be applied to all homes, from the grandest to the most humble. I can explore the history of your house and produce a detailed report overlaying the genealogies of its residents with the times they were living in.
I also offer packages to Estate Agents and vendors who may wish to increase the appeal of their properties by presenting the history of the building and residents to potential buyers.
Contact me to discuss the specifics of your House History.
Research
Perhaps there is a specific individual, related or unrelated to you, that you are interested in finding out more about? I undertake bespoke, one-off research for authors, production companies etc who are interested in knowing about specific people or families who existed in the past.
Document Transcription
Handwriting has changed a vast amount over time. If you have old documents relating to your family or home that you are struggling to read I can help by transcribing them and providing an interpretation of their contents.
Archive Look Ups
I am based in Essex and can visit Archives in the South of England and London on your behalf to look up any documents which may assist with your own research.
DNA
One of the biggest growth areas in genealogy is DNA testing. You may have been given a DNA kit as a gift. DNA testing can increasingly help us to break down brick walls faced when the paper trial goes cold. These tests can be uploaded to worldwide databases which may help to to identify, prove or disprove connections with members of our family trees. I will guide you through the process and help you to understand the implications of your results in the context of your family tree.
A note of caution - a DNA test may not always reveal the results you were expecting and must be approached with an open mind.
Writing
I have contributed articles and commissioned pieces for publications including the Essex Family Historian Magazine. Contact me for writing queries.
Gifts
What better gift could there be for fans of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ or ‘A House Through Time’ than to discover the history of their family or house? (none in my opinion, but then I’m strongly biased!). Whether it’s a voucher allowing a snapshot into a family or a full House History, this is a totally unique gift offering the recipient a window into the past.