Frequently asked questions.

I respond to all enquiries personally within 24 hours. If you send a message over the weekend, I will reply on the next working day.

Very little. Most investigations begin with a grandparent's name, a date that does not add up, or a family story that was never properly explained. That has always been enough to start.

If you have old photographs, letters, certificates, or a family Bible, those are helpful but not required. The free 30-minute consultation call is specifically designed to work out what is possible given what you have. Bring whatever you have, even if it is just a name.

The best way is to have a conversation about it. Most family mysteries, brick walls, and unanswered questions fall within the scope of what can be investigated through records research, DNA analysis, or a combination of both.

Common starting points include: tracing a family line back several generations, investigating an unknown parent or grandparent, making sense of a DNA match, researching a military ancestor, and finding Irish or UK county roots for a family that emigrated.

Book the free call and describe the question. The answer will usually become clear quite quickly.

No. Meet Your Past is based in Nottingham and covers the East Midlands for home visits, but investigates family history across the whole of the UK and Ireland. Records research is conducted remotely, so your family's geographical roots do not need to be local.

Clients come from across England, and from families with roots in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and further afield. If your ancestors lived in the UK or Ireland at any point in the last 200 years, they almost certainly left records that can be found.

Yes. Home visits are available across the East Midlands, including Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, and the surrounding counties. Many clients find it helpful to go through old photographs, documents, and family papers together before the investigation begins. Gary will come to you.

There is no additional charge for a home visit within the East Midlands. Mention it when booking the initial call and it can be arranged.

Yes, and this is a common reason people make contact. A family history brick wall is usually the result of a name change, a record gap, a common surname, or an ancestor who moved unexpectedly. These obstacles are much easier to navigate with professional experience of the relevant archives and research methods.

Bring whatever you have already found. Any prior research is useful, even if it seems incomplete or contradictory. It narrows the scope and often points directly toward the right next step.

Packages start from £199. The fixed-price structure means you know the cost before the investigation begins. There are no hourly charges and no invoices for unexpected additional work.

• Half Roots Investigation from £199. One family line, three to four generations.
• Full Roots Investigation from £349. Both paternal and maternal lines, a more comprehensive history.
• Heritage Collection from £599. An in-depth investigation with a written family history, suitable as a keepsake.
• DNA Investigation from £249. Interpreting DNA results, identifying matches, resolving questions about parentage or ethnicity.
• Unknown Parent Investigation from £299. Using DNA and records to identify a biological parent or grandparent.

No. The price agreed before the investigation begins is the price you pay. Research time, access to genealogical databases, and the written report are all included.

On rare occasions, a physical certificate may be ordered from the General Register Office, which carries a separate GRO fee of around £12.50. This would only happen with your knowledge and agreement, and only when the original document adds clear evidential value to the investigation.

No. The initial 30-minute consultation is free and carries no obligation. It is simply a conversation about your family and what it might take to find their story. There is no sales pressure and no expectation to commit to anything during or after the call.

Yes. Gift vouchers are available for all packages, with a printable certificate included. Family history investigation is one of the most personal gifts possible, particularly for significant birthdays, retirement, Mother's Day, Father's Day, or a milestone anniversary.

The recipient contacts Meet Your Past in their own time to arrange the initial call. There is no time pressure or expiry date to worry about.

The process moves through three stages.

• The conversation. A free 30-minute call to understand what you are looking for, what you already know, and what package is most likely to answer your questions.
• The investigation. Research is conducted using genealogical databases, original records, and in some cases DNA analysis. You will be updated throughout, particularly if something significant is found or a new direction opens up.
• The findings. A written report setting out what was discovered, the evidence behind each finding, and copies of the key records. Delivered by email, with a follow-up call to go through the results together.

The investigation is done entirely for you. There is nothing you need to do beyond the initial conversation.

Most investigations are completed within two to four weeks from when research begins. Complex cases, particularly those involving unknown parentage or disrupted records, may take a little longer.

If you are working to a specific deadline, mention it during the consultation call. Where possible, this can be accommodated.

Yes. You will hear about significant discoveries as they happen, not only at the end. If the investigation takes an unexpected turn, or if a question arises that requires your input, you will be contacted promptly. The intention is that the investigation feels like a shared process, not something that happens in the background and arrives without context.

This is an honest profession and a realistic assessment is part of the consultation process. If there is a genuine risk that records are too sparse or too damaged to support a meaningful investigation, that will be stated before any money changes hands.

In practice, most families leave more of a record than they realise. Records that seem to have disappeared have usually survived somewhere, in a different archive, under a slightly different spelling, or in a related collection that is less well known. The written report will set out exactly what was found and what the evidence shows, including where gaps remain and why.

The range of sources is wide and depends on the period, location, and nature of the investigation. Common sources for English family history include:

• Civil registration records from 1837 onwards: births, marriages, and deaths.
• Census returns from 1841 to 1921.
• Parish registers for baptisms, marriages, and burials from the 16th century.
• Probate records and wills.
• Military service records, medal rolls, and pension files.
• Electoral registers and rate books.
• Newspapers and court records.
• County and national archives, including the National Archives at Kew.

For Irish research, the principal sources include the 1901 and 1911 censuses, civil registration records, Catholic and Church of Ireland parish registers, Griffith's Valuation, Tithe Applotment Books, and the Calendars of Wills.

Yes. Military research is a dedicated service. Records from the First World War, Second World War, and earlier conflicts can reveal where an ancestor served, their unit and regiment, campaign history, medals awarded, and in many cases pension records that describe their circumstances after the war.

If you have medals, photographs, or a discharge certificate, those are useful starting points. The investigation can often build a detailed picture of a military career and the life around it.

Find out more about military ancestor research.

This depends on the family and where they lived. For English families, parish registers from the 16th and 17th centuries survive for many areas, making it possible in some cases to trace a line back 350 to 400 years. Records become sparser the further back you go, and survival varies significantly by county and denomination.

For Irish families, reliable records generally become harder to trace before 1800, partly due to the destruction of the Public Record Office of Ireland in 1922. Even so, earlier research is possible in certain areas and for certain record types, including surviving estate records, hearth money rolls, and muster rolls.

A realistic assessment of how far back your particular family line can be traced is part of what the initial consultation is for.

Yes. Name variation and phonetic spelling are among the most common causes of a family history brick wall. Until the late 19th century, spelling was often inconsistent even within the same record, and clerks recorded surnames as they heard them rather than as the family spelled them.

Experience with a wide range of variant spellings and the ability to search across multiple databases and record types makes this a manageable problem in most cases, rather than an insurmountable one.

Yes. Irish research is a particular area of expertise at Meet Your Past. Gary has personal Irish roots and has spent many years working with Irish genealogical records. This is not a generalised service with an Irish option added on: it is a genuine specialism.

Irish research requires a different approach to English research, particularly for families whose ancestors emigrated during or after the Famine, or whose records fall in the period affected by the 1922 Four Courts fire. Knowing which records survived, where they are held, and how to search them effectively makes a significant difference to what can be found.

Find out more about Irish ancestry research.

Often yes. The key is usually working back through the English side of the family first to establish when and where the ancestor arrived from Ireland, and then using that information to search the surviving Irish records for the county or townland of origin.

The 1901 and 1911 Irish censuses record birthplace and are fully searchable. Civil registration records from 1864 and Catholic parish records from the early 19th century onwards survive for most of the country and can often pinpoint a family to a specific townland.

DNA analysis can also play an important role in confirming county-level ethnicity and identifying living Irish relatives whose trees may extend further back than the emigrant generation.

Yes, a great deal survives. The fire at the Public Record Office of Ireland in 1922 destroyed the pre-1901 censuses and many Church of Ireland parish registers, but it did not destroy everything. A significant body of Irish genealogical material survived and has been made available in recent decades through extensive digitisation projects.

The 1901 and 1911 censuses are intact. Civil registration records from 1864 are intact. The vast majority of Catholic parish registers, which were not stored in the Public Record Office, survived and are now largely available online. Griffith's Valuation from the 1840s to 1860s, Tithe Applotment Books from the 1820s and 1830s, estate records, and Calendars of Wills all survive and are regularly used in Irish research.

The loss of the 1922 fire is real, but it is often overstated as an obstacle. For most Irish families, there is more surviving material than people expect.

A DNA investigation uses the results of a consumer DNA test (such as those from AncestryDNA, 23andMe, or MyHeritage) alongside traditional records research to answer specific questions about your family history.

This might involve identifying where a DNA match fits into your family tree, resolving confusion about ethnicity estimates, confirming or questioning a family story, or in more complex cases, identifying an unknown biological parent or grandparent.

You do not need to take a new DNA test for this service. If you have already tested, those results can be used directly.

Find out more about DNA investigations.

Not necessarily. For most standard family history investigations, DNA is not required and records research alone is sufficient.

If the question being investigated involves unknown parentage, an unexpected DNA match, or a family mystery that records alone cannot resolve, then DNA testing may be recommended. Guidance on which test is most appropriate and where to test for the best results will be provided before any commitment is made.

Yes. Unexpected or unidentifiable DNA matches are a common reason people seek professional help. The process involves analysing the amount of shared DNA to establish the likely relationship, then working through the match's family tree (and your own) to find the shared ancestor who explains the connection.

In some cases this is straightforward. In others it involves building out unknown family branches from public trees, death records, and electoral rolls to work back to the common connection. Either way, it is the kind of methodical detective work that is difficult to do without genealogical experience.

The report sets out the findings of the investigation in narrative form, explaining what was found and what the evidence shows. It is written to be read by a family member with no prior knowledge of genealogy, not as a technical document for an archivist.

It includes copies of the key records found, a family tree chart showing the lines investigated, and a sourced account of each generation uncovered. Where there are gaps or uncertainties, these are noted clearly and honestly.

The Heritage Collection includes a more substantial written family history, suitable as a keepsake or to share with wider family.

Yes. Digital copies of the principal records found during the investigation are included in the report package. These typically include census entries, civil registration records (birth, marriage, and death certificates where obtainable), baptism and burial records, and any other documents of significance to the investigation.

Physical GRO certificates can be ordered on request and carry a separate GRO fee of around £12.50 per certificate. These are sometimes useful as legal documents or as a more tangible family keepsake.

Yes. A follow-up call to go through the findings together is included as part of every investigation. Family history research can turn up unexpected or complex discoveries, and it is important that you understand what has been found, what the evidence shows, and what questions remain open.

Questions that arise after the call can be followed up by email.

This happens. Family history investigation sometimes uncovers things that were deliberately kept quiet: illegitimacy, criminal records, institutional care, identity changes, difficult social circumstances. These are part of the real fabric of family history, not aberrations.

Sensitive discoveries are handled with care. If something significant comes up during the investigation, you will be told directly and privately before it is written into any document. You decide how that information is handled and who else, if anyone, sees it.

The William Goddard case study on this website is an example of exactly this kind of discovery: a convicted criminal ancestor hidden for four generations. It is also a reminder that a difficult discovery does not have to remain a secret or a source of shame.

Unknown parent and adoption investigations are a specific service, handled with particular care. The goal of the investigation is to establish identity through records and DNA evidence: to find out who the biological parent is, where they came from, and what can be known about them.

The investigation does not involve contacting biological relatives on your behalf. That decision belongs entirely to you. What you receive is the research that tells you who they are and what records exist. What you do with that information is your choice entirely.

A preliminary conversation about what you are hoping to find, and what the range of possible outcomes looks like, is always part of the process before this kind of investigation begins.

Find out more about unknown parent investigations.

Yes. Everything discussed during the investigation and everything discovered within it is treated as private. Client information is not shared, published, or discussed outside the professional relationship. This applies equally to the nature of the enquiry and to the findings themselves.

If you have concerns about a specific aspect of confidentiality, these can be discussed during the initial call.