Ancestry Connect

25/04/2025

🕵️‍♀️ Ever wondered who your great-great-grandad really was… or why your family seems oddly obsessed with potatoes and sea shanties? 😄

Starting your family tree is like opening a door to a whole world of fascinating stories, unexpected links and maybe even a scandal or two! If you're just beginning your ancestry adventure - especially in the UK or Ireland - I’ve put together a step-by-step guide to help you dive in with confidence (and avoid the classic beginner mistakes).

✨ One golden rule? Don’t take everything Aunt Mabel says as gospel. Use those stories as clues - but always double and cross-check with official records like birth, marriage, and death certificates.

📎 To help you get started, I’ve made a FREE Family History Research Planner you can download - perfect for keeping all those scribbled names and dates in one place (link in bio).
👣 Curious? Head over to the blog for the full guide ➡️www.ancestryconnect.co.uk

Then tell me: What’s the strangest surname you’ve found in your family tree so far?

22/04/2025

⚰Curious as to whether Great Uncle Ned really did drown, but confused about how to order a death certificate? 📜🧔‍

🧐Uncover the truth behind the secrets, by following my posts for a step by step guide on how to order English and Welsh death certificates and check out my website https://www.ancestryconnect.co.uk for an article on 'Starting Your Family Tree: A Beginners Guide'.📓

⬇💻You can download my free Family History Research Planner, or if you'd prefer me to do the work for you, have a look at the packages available in the shop section.

Happy researching! 😊

18/04/2025

Millions of Free Records Just Waiting to be Explored...

The Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) is an international, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to helping all people discover their family story. Their free to access website is vast and carries, transcribed records, copies of historic documents, such as parish registers, Irish deed memorials, census returns and the list just goes on.

They also have a genealogical tree that you can add to and also see what has been added for your family. The idea is that it is one tree and we're all linked together - I can't vouch for the accuracy as it has been added to by so many different people, but it's worth seeing if your ancestors appear there and it might give you a clue to where you can look next.

Just be prepared to spend some time as there is so much to look at, you may well end up down a rabbit hole and don't forget to make sure you confirm anything you find with your own evidence based research.

Let me know what you think

Happy hunting ❤

11/04/2025

Friday Freebies - Yay!!!

This goes well with the series I'm running on getting started with ordering birth vital records.

In England and Wales, in order to buy a birth, marriage or death record you'll need a reference number from the relevant General Register Office index. The best place to find them is the www.freebmd.org.uk

For years the only way to find a reference number was to either look through the huge old original index books in London, or later to find them at local record offices on microfilm. FreeBMD is a registered charity that, through a team of dedicated volunteers, provides free online access to these in an easy to use format.

The records aren't completely up to date yet, but the website will give you more information on that. You can also find some of the indices on the GRO website.

Happy researching! ❤

08/04/2025

It's Judy of the Bogs!!

Does anyone know where this Irish nickname for the grey heron came from - I'd love to know ❤️

08/04/2025

Dying to find out the names of your great Grandfathers, but stuck on how to order a marriage certificate? This is a great way to take your research back a generation.

Just follow the posts for a step by step guide on how to order English and Welsh marriage certificates and check out my website https://www.ancestryconnect.co.uk for an article on 'Starting Your Family Tree: A Beginners Guide'.

You can download my free Family History Research Planner, or if you'd prefer me to do the work for you, have a look at the packages available in the shop section.

Happy researching! 😊

04/04/2025

Free Irish birth, marriage and death records!!
Always available on the official Irish website https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/

Civil Records
Access is available to the General Register Office (GRO) civil records. These include:
Birth register records – 1864 to 1924
Marriage register records – 1845 to 1949
Death register records – 1871 to 1974

Some church records are available on the site too.

Due to data protection, birth records are only accessible when over 100 years old, marriage records are only accessible when over 75 years old and death records are only accessible when over 50 years old. Records are updated every year to include an additional year of records.

❤Have a look and see what you can find
❤Share this post, so others can find their ancestors too
❤Come back and share what you've found, we'd love to know

03/04/2025

I'm so excited to have received such a great review from my first Fiverr gig, from a lovely American lady who asked me to research her Grandfather's time in England.

It was a fascinating story, which I'll share in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, check out what I have to offer over there on https://www.fiverr.com/s/42LYpDl

3 Tier Research package
Locate and order your UK or Irish birth, marriage or death certs
Locate and order your UK or Irish wills
Get your Ancestry family tree started

Let me know what else I could offer that would help your research? ❤

01/04/2025

I'm now available on Fiverr too...

For only $30, Ancestryconnect will get you started with an ancestry family tree. | I will create your first family tree using the Ancestry platform.I will set the tree up for you and can either work with you to | Fiverr

31/03/2025

Need to know how to order a birth certificate?

31/03/2025

Ever wondered how on earth to order a birth certificate?

Whether it's for an official purpose, such as passport application or marriage, or for the excitement of finding out your Great Grandmother's maiden name and where Granny was born. Sometimes it can seem a bit of a minefield trying to work out just what your need.

Follow the posts for a step by step guide and check out my website https://www.ancestryconnect.co.uk for an article on 'Starting Your Family Tree: A Beginners Guide'. You can download my free Family History Research Planner, or if you'd prefer me to do the work for you, have a look at the packages available in the shop section.

Happy researching! 😊

27/03/2025

💐The Mother's Day gift that keeps on giving...
Forget the usual flowers and chocolates this year - how would your Mum love to embark on an amazing journey of discovery?
Every family has stories waiting to be told…
First Branch, a comprehensive guide to getting started with family history will be your Mum’s companion to help piece together your puzzle.
We’ll get started with a chat to find out where she’s at and where she’d like to get to.
I’ll do some quick preliminary research to get her started and present a brief report.
Before you know it, she’ll be off on a journey of discovery to find all those skeletons in the cupboard.
Then you’ll be gathered to share in the new found stories and hidden secrets. The perfect Mother's Day gift to explore your roots together.
Loved this idea?
Bring your family's past into the present this Mother's Day…. ❤

https://www.ancestryconnect.co.uk/mothersdaygift