Every Family has a story to tell……….Welcome to mine
Sometimes we discover a story that's so remarkable that even though it's not a member of your own family, we feel compelled to make sure that the story is told. The photograph of the young boy standing outside the White Star Line offices in London, holding an Evening News poster announcing ‘Titanic Disaster Great Loss … Continue reading The Boy Behind the Titanic Photo: The Story of Edward (Ned) Parfett
Can you really truly know who you are, if you don't know where you came from? It's a simple enough question and one that I am sure that many family historians and probably many psychologists will have considered at some point. Even to the point of analysing why some people are so passionate and so … Continue reading Do You Know Who You Are?
Updated and Revised Version (April 2026) In many ways, being a family history researcher can feel like being a ‘detective’, hunting for clues to solve the latest ‘mystery’. You may have a few uncorroborated facts that you have pieced together, but it is that one piece of ‘critical evidence’ that is missing which prevents you … Continue reading How To Become A Family History Detective Using My ABC Guide
All families have secrets, and it’s almost inevitable that when we undertake genealogical research, that family secrets will emerge. Discovering family secrets might be wonderful, but they can often be distressing, upsetting and even confusing, for those involved. We might even find ourselves having to stop our research and reflect on what we have discovered … Continue reading Ethical Dilemmas and How To Approach Them
Previously I wrote a blog about the top 10 sins of a genealogist, which proved to be an extremely popular blog, if you want a quick read it can be found here: Top 10 Sins of a Genealogist In the interests of addressing the balance, I thought it was about time that I shared with … Continue reading My Top 10 Genealogy Tips
I recently posted a blog about what makes us feel connected and this prompted a lot of debate amongst my friends, you can read the original blog here: What Makes You Feel Connected In the blog I talked about how I felt a sixth sense and a connection to places that I had visited that … Continue reading Ancestral Memory Is It Fact or Fiction?
Listed below are the names of 32 Firemen and 2 Firewomen who lost their lives at The Old Palace School Bombing on 20th April 1941, in the heart of the East End of London. This is still today, the largest ever loss of life for the Fire Brigade Service, at a single incident. The link … Continue reading The Old Palace School Bombing Update
So where do you go from here? You have a pile of certificates, photographs and notes, but how do you turn all your hard work into something more tangible and something that your friends and family would love to read? It's not easy, but here's a little helping hand. Writing a family history biography, or … Continue reading The Curious Descendants Club
It's a simple enough question, you have found your family in all the census returns and you have captured every birth, death and marriage for your ancestors, but have you discovered everything there is to find out about them? The census returns only give you a quick snapshot of what the family were doing; in … Continue reading What Did Our Ancestors Do Between The Census Years?
It's probably something that we don't really want to think about, our own death, but sadly as we get older there is an inevitability about it, it's that moment when you realise, "hang on a minute, I have lived more years than I have actually got left", that's when you begin to think about the … Continue reading What Will Happen When I Become a Death Certificate?
The Chiddicks Family Tree 