All About Ancestors

29/01/2026

Absolutely delighted to see that DNA expert Blane Bettinger is running five advanced DNA webinars with Family Tree Webinars this year. 🎉🧬 I always learn so much from his advanced sessions. Honestly, the Legacy Family Tree annual subscription is worth it for his talks alone if you’re a genealogist working with DNA for clients like me!

25/01/2026

❄️ Exploring the Widows of Titanic

This week I’ve been working on a new piece for Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine, focusing on the widows of Titanic.

Researching these families takes you deep into the records that reveal the short term destitution and the long-term impact of the sinking: parish relief applications, remarriages, migration, and the ways communities and charities stepped in (or didn’t) to help.

I’ll share more once the piece is published, but for now it’s been a powerful week of tracing the lives of women whose stories deserve to be better known.

22/01/2026

🗂️ Edwardian Committees… Committees Everywhere!

I’ve been working through a batch of committee minutes recently, and it’s reminded me just how much the Victorians and Edwardians adored a committee. If something could be discussed, monitored, or debated, they formed a committee for it.

Even within the workhouse records alone I’ve come across committees for:

- 🏛️ Main Workhouse Committee
- 📚 School Committee
- 🧒 Out‑boarding of Children
- 🤝 Relief
- 💷 Finance
- 📦 Stores
- 🔥 Coal Consumption
- 🧱 Buildings
- 🚜 Farm
- 🚒 Fire
- 👩 Women’s Committee
- 🧠 Lunatics Committee

It’s extraordinary how much day‑to‑day life was shaped by these small groups making decisions on everything from coal rations to children’s placements.

For anyone researching ancestors in the workhouse system, these minutes can be a goldmine. They often name individuals, explain decisions, and give a glimpse into the practical realities behind the records.

💬 If you’re digging into workhouse history and ever want help navigating these committees, feel free to drop me a message.

18/01/2026

🌳 Six Helpful Genealogy Tips for Beginners

Getting started with family history can feel overwhelming, but a few simple habits make a huge difference. Here are some beginner‑friendly tips that can save time and help you avoid common pitfalls:

📌 1. Start with what you know
Write down names, dates, and places for parents, grandparents, and great‑grandparents. Even rough notes help you build a solid foundation.

📌 2. Work backwards, not forwards
It’s tempting to jump to the exciting ancestors, but always confirm each generation before moving to the one before it.

📌 3. Resist the temptation to copy other people's trees on Ancestry - instead take the time to verify you are on the right track with the correct family.

📌 4. Check original records whenever possible
Transcriptions are helpful, but they can contain errors or miss important details like occupations, witnesses, or marginal notes.

📌 5. Keep track of your sources
Whether it’s a census page, parish register, or family story, note where each piece of information came from. It saves a lot of confusion later.

📌 6. Be open to spelling variations
Names weren’t standardised, and clerks wrote what they heard. Try different spellings when searching - especially for surnames.

Family history is a journey, not a race. ..small steps and good habits go a long way.

💬 If you ever get stuck or want a second pair of eyes on something, feel free to drop me a message. I’m always happy to help.

15/01/2026

✨✨ Thrilled to share ✨✨

My book review of Titanic’s Lifeboats: Disaster and Survival During the Great Liner’s Sinking is in the January 2026 edition of Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine 🚢.

As a genealogist specialising in Titanic research and maritime family history, it was fascinating to explore James Bancroft's work on the lifeboat experiences and survival stories of both passengers and crew.

I also have a 5-page article on steamship stokers in the same edition - Titanic had over 150 of these labourers toiling down in her boiler rooms - many of them fought to keep the ship afloat as long as possible while the deck crew launched the lifeboats. Over 75% of them paid with their lives.

If you’re tracing Titanic ancestors or interested in maritime history, this issue is a must-read.

Subscribe for more genealogy and history articles here:
https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/magazine

07/01/2026

✨✨ Exciting news! ✨✨

My latest article has just been published in the January 2026 edition of Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine.

This one explores the lives of steamship stokers, the men who worked in intense heat below decks to keep ships moving. Without them, no ship could leave port. Britain could not have sustained its empire, fought the Boer War or the First World War, or transported millions of emigrants across the Atlantic in such vast numbers. Steamships brought speed and reliability, and that reliability is what made mass migration possible.

The article directly connects with my work in maritime and family history, and with the kind of social history I care most about telling. The images here are short excerpts from the article, offering a glimpse into the working conditions and lives of men who are often missing from the historical record.

If you want to read the full 5-page article, it is out now in newsagents or you can subscribe here:
https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/magazine

If you are researching someone in your own family who worked in the engine or boiler rooms of steamships, feel free to message me for help, as this is very much one of my specialisms.

06/01/2026

With the wintry weather setting in, it felt like the perfect moment to share a few tips for discovering your ancestors. I hope they’re useful.

❄️❄️ Seasonal Clues in Family History❄️❄️

January can be a surprisingly useful month for family history research. Many ancestors’ movements and decisions followed seasonal patterns, and these often show up clearly in the records. If you’re digging into your ancestral lines this month, here are a few practical places to look:

📜 Apprenticeships: Many indentures began in early January, especially for children from poorer families. If someone “appears” in a new parish around this time, an apprenticeship record may explain why.

🏛️ Poor Law Records: Winter was a common time for settlement examinations, removal orders, and applications for parish relief. These documents often give rich detail about family structure, employment, and movement between parishes.

🌾 Hiring and Employment Patterns: Agricultural labourers frequently changed employers after the Christmas hiring fairs. If an ancestor suddenly shifts parish in January, seasonal work may be the reason.

🔍 Quarter Sessions: Winter offences and disputes often appear in the January quarter sessions (court records). These can reveal occupations, relationships, and even character details you won’t find elsewhere.

Looking at your ancestors’ lives through the lens of the season can help explain sudden moves, new occupations, or unexpected appearances in the records.

06/01/2026

I thought this might be helpful for anyone interested in UK family history. The National Archives (UK) are running some really good free online sessions at the moment, covering everything from getting started to using WW1 and WW2 records.

Sharing the links here in case they’re useful to anyone:

📚 Book your place here:
• Using TNA's Discovery search tool: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/using-discovery-tickets-1972536014318?aff=odcleoeventsincollection&keep_tld=1
• WW1 Records: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/family-history-using-first-world-war-records-tickets-1972756419556
• WW2 Records: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/family-history-using-second-world-war-records-tickets-1973331981076

🌳 They’re completely free and really well put together, so hopefully useful for anyone digging into their ancestors’ stories.

05/01/2026

❄️❄️ Seasonal Clues in Family History❄️❄️

January can be a surprisingly useful month for family history research. Many ancestors’ movements and decisions followed seasonal patterns, and these often show up clearly in the records. If you’re digging into your ancestral lines this month, here are a few practical places to look:

📜 Apprenticeships: Many indentures began in early January, especially for children from poorer families. If someone “appears” in a new parish around this time, an apprenticeship record may explain why.

🏛️ Poor Law Records: Winter was a common time for settlement examinations, removal orders, and applications for parish relief. These documents often give rich detail about family structure, employment, and movement between parishes.

🌾 Hiring and Employment Patterns: Agricultural labourers frequently changed employers after the Christmas hiring fairs. If an ancestor suddenly shifts parish in January, seasonal work may be the reason.

🔍 Quarter Sessions: Winter offences and disputes often appear in the January quarter sessions (court records). These can reveal occupations, relationships, and even character details you won’t find elsewhere.

Looking at your ancestors’ lives through the lens of the season can help explain sudden moves, new occupations, or unexpected appearances in the records.

05/01/2026

✨✨ Lovely follow-up news ✨✨

My article in the December 2025 edition of Who Do You Think You Are? 📖 prompted lots of positive reader letters. Readers wrote to say thank you 🙏 and to share how much they enjoyed it.

It’s so encouraging to see my work landing well and prompting responses ✍️. That kind of engagement is always good news for editors, and as a writer, it’s rewarding to see research resonate.

Even better, the article was referenced in the Star Letter ⭐ in the January 2026 edition 🎉—an unexpected but lovely bonus.

Reader responses like this really make the research and writing worthwhile ❤️.

03/01/2026

📺 Titanic Sinks Tonight – One of the Strongest Retellings Yet 🚢❄️

Over New Year, the BBC released a new four‑part series, 'Titanic Sinks Tonight', and I thought it was definitely one of the better accounts we’ve had in recent years. It reconstructs the sinking minute‑by‑minute using letters, diaries, and survivor testimonies, and as someone who has read extensively on the Titanic for both research and publication 📚, I recognised almost every quote. Even so, it was fascinating to see how the BBC wove these sources together into a coherent, emotionally grounded narrative.

The reconstructions were well done, and several of the actors gave moving and powerful performances. One of the most inspired choices was the inclusion of Somali‑British novelist Nadifa Mohamed as an expert. Her reflections on the mindset of third‑class emigrants were outstanding, capturing the trust many emigrants placed in the systems around them and reminding viewers how profitable the emigrant market was for shipping lines of the era 🌍⚓.

I did find myself wishing they had included a dedicated crew specialist, as some of the operational details would have benefited from expert verification. Given how central the crew were to the unfolding events, that extra layer of accuracy would have strengthened an already strong production .

Overall, the series highlighted the stark differences between classes on board and how access to information shaped people’s chances of survival. It’s a reminder that the human stories behind the disaster are far more complex than the familiar Hollywood narrative 💔✨.

If you’ve watched it, I’d love to hear what stood out to you 👇