Sources, evidence & proof: what is evidence?

Q My ancestor, Charles Hayes, was born on 6 October 1700 in Harrow on the Hill to Charles Hayes and Ann Ewster. He attended University College Cambridge and, described as “one of the Gentlemen of the

Picture the scene: a former NHS chef ‘Clem’ Clements is celebrating his 98th birthday, sitting in his front room surrounded by his medications, an oxygen mask and a discreet tape recorder. He is recal

If you’ve ever tuned into the racing on TV, you’ve probably noticed the blinkers adorning the eyes of many of the horses as honed thoroughbreds gallop down the home straight. It’s a good idea to minim

The mere mention of ‘tidying up’ or ‘getting organised’ can put the fear in many of us. But, take heart, and read on. The main thing is to be organised enough so that you can find things, but not set

When researching civil birth, marriage and death records in England and Wales, you should always start at FreeBMD. Created by volunteers in 1998, it has records from 1837 and remains completely free.

In this age of algorithms and ‘artificial intelligence’, when the major commercial genealogical websites are all trying to persuade us that the best way to trace our family trees is to follow their hi