The creation of family trees, family and house histories rest upon the systematic and thorough research of the evidence. This evidence may come from your family records alongside a variety of historical documents either still in your families possession or held in an archive.
Family Memorabilia
The starting point is always the documents and memorabilia you have as a family. It is always a good idea to go through this material and make some simple notes of any births, deaths, marriages, children’s names, occupations and places of residence that your ancestors may have had. It does not matter if these only provide a snippet of information, it will all help to identify the individuals in your family when we move on to looking for traces of them in the archives. I can provide you with forms to record this information or if you wish I can work through your material for you and collect this information.
Birth Marriage and Deaths
The key documents used to identify individuals and family relationships are the birth, marriage and death certificates. You may still have some of these in your possession which is a great help, or someone in your family may already have started to construct a family tree or have recorded these names and dates. If you can provide me with a scan of these documents it is an enormous help, saving both time and money. If not I can purchase copies of these documents. The cost of certificates is additional to my hourly rate, but I will always agree the costs with you before I purchase these documents..
Census Records
When we get back to 1921 we can study the Census Records. These are national surveys conducted every ten years and released to the public 100 years after they were made. Since 1841 they have recorded the names, dates, occupation and addresses of the people living within a specific geographic area and are a fantastic treasure trove of information about your families past.
Parish Records
To go back any earlier we need to study the Parish Records and this often requires a trip to the local archive office to research through these documents. Wills and Probate records along with military and occupation records can also provide clues about your families past.
Archives
Archives readily accessible to me include: Shropshire Archives, Cheshire Archives and Local Studies, Liverpool Records Office, Manchester Archives and Local Studies, The Waterways Archive, Wrexham Archive and Locals Studies, Powys Archives and Flintshire Record Office. I can also provide a ‘Look up’ service at these archives for professional genealogists not living locally, contact me to discuss your needs.
I am happy to provide you with an individual quote for your specific requirements.
Once I have completed my research I will share this with you by creating a Written Report and where appropriate a Family Tree on those individuals studied.
Hidden Histories Genealogy 