These guides are written from more than 20 years of hands-on investigation, not from a textbook. Whether you are just beginning or have hit a wall, you will find something useful here.
Understanding the 1922 record losses, surviving archives, how to identify a townland, civil registration, Catholic parish registers, and what DNA can do when the paper trail runs out.
How DNA testing works for family history, interpreting match lists, centimorgans explained, and what to do after an unexpected result.
In preparationWhen the trail runs out, that is where a professional investigation begins. Many clients have tried everything before getting in touch. If you have reached a wall, book a free 30-minute call and we will see whether there is a way forward.
What a professional family history investigation involves, what you receive at the end, and how the process works from first conversation to final report.
View serviceBirth, marriage and death certificates. Census returns. Parish registers. What each one tells you, and what the gaps often mean.
In preparationHow errors, deliberate omissions and passed-down assumptions distort the record, and how to check what you think you know.
In preparationAn honest assessment of the main subscription platforms. What they are good at, where their coverage has gaps, and how to use them together.
In preparationThe 1922 record losses, surviving archives, townlands, civil registration, Catholic parish registers, Griffith's Valuation, and DNA when the documents run out.
Read the guideAn honest account of the real obstacles. Which records survive, which are missing entirely, and where the best workarounds exist.
In preparationThe most useful genealogical substitute for the lost Irish census records. What it records, how to read it, and how to find your family's entry.
In preparationMy Irish ancestry shaped how I approach Irish genealogy research. My wife's Liverpool family shaped how I think about tracing ancestors through industrial communities. William Goddard, my own convict ancestor, is what started all of this.
I am not writing from a textbook. Every guide here reflects something I have encountered in actual investigations. That is the only way to write something genuinely useful.
The most interesting discoveries are rarely the ones you set out to find. It is the unexpected connections, the records that should not exist, the stories nobody thought to keep, that make this work what it is.
Gary Skerritt Professional family history investigator, NottinghamHow genetic genealogy works, which tests to use, how to read your match list, understanding centimorgans, and what to do when results raise difficult questions.
View serviceThe practical steps. Which test to take, how to work with your match list, and how to approach the search when documentary records are absent or sealed.
In preparationA calm, practical guide for anyone who has received a result that changes what they believed about their family. What the result means, and where to go from here.
In preparationService records, pension files, medal rolls, campaign records, war graves, regimental histories. The full range of sources available for British military research.
View serviceThe Burnt Documents, surviving pension records, medal index cards, and the regimental histories that can fill the gaps.
In preparationThe Medal Index Cards at The National Archives. How to read them, what each entry records, and how they can point to other surviving documents.
In preparationWhere to begin, which records matter most, and how to build a reliable family picture before you hit the inevitable first obstacle.
4 guides in this topic
Browse guidesThe 1922 record losses, surviving archives, Griffith's Valuation, Catholic parish registers, townlands, and DNA research for Irish families.
3 guides in this topic
Browse guidesHow genetic genealogy works, reading your match list, unexpected results, finding biological parents, and using DNA alongside documentary research.
3 guides in this topic
Guides in preparationWW1 and WW2 service records, medal cards, pension files, regimental histories, and the specialist archives that hold military documentary evidence.
3 guides in this topic
Guides in preparationReal investigations, written up in full. The most useful way to understand how professional family history research actually works in practice.
Growing collection of real cases
Read the investigationsThese guides cover what is publicly available. A professional investigation goes further: original archive visits, full documentary trails, expert interpretation, and a presented family history that is entirely yours to keep. The first conversation is free.