Family History Investigator.
Based in Nottingham.
Working for you.
I research family histories for people who want the truth about where they come from, done entirely for them, presented as a story worth keeping.
I've spent twenty years asking questions about my own family.
My father's family came from Ireland. My wife's family came from Liverpool, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. My own Nottingham roots go back further than I could have guessed when I first started looking. I've tracked my own family throughout Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and parts of London.
I began researching all three lines long before I thought of doing it professionally. It was curiosity, plain and simple, and it took me through more archives, record offices, and DNA databases than I care to count.
He was a whip thong maker but he was buried in records. Finding him, through a combination of DNA evidence and careful archival work, is documented in full on this site. It is the clearest account I have of how I actually work.
But the twenty years of research that came before and after that case is what I bring to your family. That accumulated knowledge of where the records are, what they mean, and what to do when they are missing.
Read the William Goddard investigationWhere I bring specific, personal knowledge.
My areas of focus are not marketing categories. They are places and subjects I know from years of personal research, beginning with my own family. That background matters, because the difference between a generalist and a specialist is the difference between knowing where to look and knowing why something is missing.
The East Midlands — Nottinghamshire and Beyond
I am based in Nottingham and I know this county's record landscape intimately. Not from a database subscription, but from years of personal research in the Nottinghamshire Archives, local parish registers, and the records of the industries that shaped these communities: the lace-makers, framework knitters, miners, and hosiery workers.
For families with roots in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Lincolnshire, I bring more than a researcher's skill. I bring context. I know what these occupations meant, where these people lived, and which records survive.
Family history research in NottinghamIrish Ancestry Research
My father came from Ireland. Tracing that side of my family, through the gaps left by the destruction of the Public Record Office in 1922, through Catholic parish registers and Griffith's Valuation and the Tithe Applotment Books, is part of my own personal history.
Irish records are not lost. They are scattered, fragmented, and held in archives that can feel impenetrable to the uninitiated. I have navigated them for decades. I know where to look when the obvious sources fail.
Liverpool and the Irish Migration Pathway
Many Irish families came through Liverpool. My wife's family has deep roots in that city, which means I understand both ends of the Irish migration pathway: the parish in County Clare or County Galway where the family set out, and the Liverpool dock records, street directories, and Catholic registers where they first appear in England.
Many genealogists can research Ireland or Liverpool. Very few can follow a single family continuously between the two. This is a pathway I know in detail, and it matters for many East Midlands families whose Irish great-grandparents arrived through the port before moving inland.
DNA Investigation
DNA evidence is increasingly central to family history research. It resolves questions that documentary records alone cannot answer: unknown parentage, unexpected ethnic origins, brick walls that have existed for generations. I work with results from AncestryDNA, 23andMe, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA, and Living DNA, combining genetic evidence with documentary research to build the most complete picture possible.
If your DNA test raised more questions than it answered, that is precisely where this work begins.
DNA Investigation serviceThorough, personal, done entirely for you.
Every investigation is different. The sources consulted, the records searched, and the questions pursued vary with every family, because every family has a different story. But the approach is consistent.
I do the research. Entirely.
This is not a guidance service. I do not provide a list of archives to visit or databases to search. I do the research myself, every record checked, every archive consulted, every DNA match assessed. You receive the findings, not instructions for finding them yourself.
I work from what you have.
Most investigations begin with very little. A grandparent's name. A vague family story. A county your grandmother mentioned once. That is always enough to start. The families who begin with almost nothing often produce the most unexpected discoveries, because nothing has been assumed and nothing has been ruled out.
I combine documentary evidence with DNA.
The most complete investigations draw on both sources. Documentary records establish dates, places, and relationships. DNA evidence confirms, extends, or overturns what the documents suggest. Together they build a picture that neither source could produce alone. This combination is the core of how I work.
I present findings as a story.
The output of an investigation is not a spreadsheet of names and dates. It is a written Heritage Report, a document that tells the story of your family in language you can actually read, supported by the records that evidence it. You receive something you can keep, share, and return to. Not a database printout.
You can read about how I approach every investigation on the research methodology page.
Something specific, complete, and entirely yours.
Every investigation concludes with a clearly presented Heritage Report. The format varies by service, but the principle is constant: you receive something specific, complete, and yours, not a summary of what was searched.
Heritage Report (PDF)
A full written narrative of your family history. Every ancestor uncovered, the records that trace them, the places they lived, and the stories that connect them. Fully sourced. Not a list of names, but a story.
Sourced Family Tree
A complete, sourced family tree in the format of your choice, presented clearly and ready to share or print. Every name is supported by the documentary evidence that places them there.
Original Document Scans
Copies of every historical record found during the investigation: birth, marriage and death certificates; census returns; military records; parish registers; court documents; and any other sources consulted.
DNA Match Analysis
For investigations incorporating DNA evidence: a written interpretation of your results, including ethnicity analysis, match clustering, and an explanation of what the genetic evidence confirms, suggests, or rules out.
Delivery Consultation
A follow-up call to walk through the findings, answer any questions, and discuss what the investigation has uncovered. Included in every package, because a report is only the beginning of the conversation.
Heritage Book (Premium)
A professionally designed, hardcover printed book telling your family's story. Every page laid out with care. A physical heirloom that sits on a shelf and outlasts any digital file. Available as an upgrade to any investigation.
Twenty years. One researcher. Your investigation.
I take a small number of clients at any one time. Every investigation receives my full personal attention, not an assistant's, not an automated search. Mine. This is what the price reflects.
- You speak to me directly, on the free call, during the investigation, and when I deliver your findings.
- Twenty years of personal research experience, beginning with my own family and extending across investigations throughout the UK and Ireland.
- Specific expertise in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, Irish ancestry, and DNA integration, not a generalist covering everything at surface level.
- Fixed, transparent pricing. Every competitor either charges by the hour or hides their prices entirely. I do neither.
- Complete confidentiality. What you tell me about your family stays with me. Sensitive discoveries are handled with care and without judgement.
- Home visits available across the East Midlands, at no extra charge. No other regional investigator offers this as standard.
You will receive the truth about your family, told with honesty, presented with care, and delivered without judgement. However complicated that truth turns out to be.
Gary Skerritt, Meet Your PastNot a recently qualified researcher with a course certificate. Twenty years of investigative family history work, starting with my own family and extending through investigations across the UK and Ireland.
Every investigation is priced as a fixed package. The price is agreed at the outset and does not change, however long the trail proves to be. No hourly rates. No surprise invoices.
For clients in the East Midlands, I visit you at home for the initial consultation. It often produces better research, because original documents, photographs, and letters can be examined directly. Available at no extra charge.
All personal information is held in strict confidence and used only for the purposes of your investigation. Client details are never shared or referenced publicly without consent. Sensitive discoveries are handled with care and without judgement.
Thirty minutes to discuss your family, understand what is possible, and decide whether this is the right service for you. No commitment, no sales pressure, no preparation required.
Questions people usually ask.
If something you want to know is not here, the free consultation is the right place to ask it. I will always give you a straight answer.
See all frequently asked questionsYour family's story is waiting.
Every family has one. Most of them have never been told in full, because the records are hard to find, the archives are hard to navigate, and life is busy enough without adding genealogy research to the list.
That is exactly what I am here for.
Start with thirty minutes. Tell me what you know. I will tell you what I can find, and we will take it from there.
I respond to all enquiries within 24 hours.