Many people would like to trace their family back as far as reasonably possible, usually to the early 1800s, any earlier is more difficult and requires a bit of luck as to what records are available. A basic tree would consist of one surname, typically the family name, traced through several generations to the early 1800s or earlier. Information available from a number of record sources is used to construct, generation by generation, a family tree. Accuracy and attention to detail are essential during this process. This is done by obtaining civil registration records from the General Records Office for the births marraiges and deaths of the direct line. This series of records  goes back to 1837. To get the required information it is necessary to buy certificates from the GRO. Sometimes the information can be found in parish records or the 1939 register without the need to buy certificates. Once the the skeleton of the tree has been formed we can start to put flesh on the bones by consulting the 1939 register, the census returns and a variety of other record in which your ancestors may feature. A more detailed version of the family tree is then compiled showing siblings.

A file is then assembled including the following documents, which will be posted to you together with a copy on a memory stick.

• A family tree showing direct ancesters with  their date of birth, marraige and death.

• A descendant chart showing siblings with their year of birth.​

• The birth, marraige and death certificates purchased from the GRO.

• Transcripts of the 1939 register and census records featuring your ancestor.

• Transcripts of parish records where available.

• Transcripts of any newspaper entries, wills or other records where they exist.​

A report will be generated detailing the progress of the family from generation to generation and pointing out any paticularly interesting or remarkable events or characteristics.​

Sources of information will be shown for all records used.

It is not always possible to find every record you would expect to find, sometimes a family or individual may disappear from a particular census return. There can be many reasons for this, for example, teenage girls often went into service as servants in large houses. As long as the gaps are filled by other records or they appear on an earlier or later census it is not a problem.

If the research comes to a dead end for whatever reason, I will inform you and suggest how we should procede.