Sort your research with timelines

Most of us have unfortunate brick walls in our family trees – those frustrating relations who seem to have appeared into the world as if from nowhere. Perhaps a person does not feature in the baptism

Everyone has a family history story they can tell, but many people do not think they have the skills to do it justice in a publication. Frequently comments are heard such as, “I do not have any experi

I n 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. That, at least, is what the famous rhyme tells us. Memorising such dates is a common experience of being taught history – a cliché superbly lampooned by the w

Picture this: you have followed that advice, spending countless hours building your family tree, squinting at faded census records and wrestling with handwriting that makes doctors’ prescriptions look

I remember, many years ago, a potential client making a very specific request. They wanted me to research their family but they were only interested in the direct male line. ‘I don’t want to know abou

KATHERINE COBB is a member of AGRA based in Somerset REBECCA PROBERT is professor of law at the University of Exeter STEVE THOMAS is a genealogist with over 20 years’ experience PHIL TOMASELLI is a mi