There are many companies now offering DNA tests to the public. Some companies, like Ancestry, have been revising their ethnicity estimates in the light of the new data they have acquired by performing so many tests. Thus my own estimate, which originally showed I was about half Irish, has now been reduced down to 36% […]
I’ve been away for some months. Two family health crises and two bereavements later, I’m back. Apologies for the gap in transmission! I think one of the saddest jobs of a family historian is to add a death date for a family member or partner, and I’ve had to do that twice in five months. […]
Whether you are planning to do the legwork yourself, or to employ a genealogist, starting your family history begins at the same point: with gathering together everything you already know about your family or can ask your relatives about. What’s the next step? You need to work out if you wish to simply follow your […]
England, especially the area of Lincolnshire where I live, is littered with mediaeval villages that were abandoned. In many cases we may have no idea that the village is there, except for a map reference. A ruined church and slightly bumpy-looking fields surrounding it may be the only sign that a settlement once existed in […]
How unusual or common your family names are can have a big impact on how easy you will find it to research your family tree. Most people who are researching all their lines, and not just the people carrying their family name, will find a variety in their tree. I have both very common names […]