What can I do for you?
​
You may just want a straightforward family tree of your direct ancestry. On the other hand, you may have a query about one particular family member. Did great grandfather Smith actually run off with the maidservant?
​
Perhaps you have started your own research and hit one of the famous 'brick walls' and cannot find a way to break it down. Don't worry, that can happen to all of us. Or maybe you have an old letter or document that mentions a distant relative and you want to find out more about them
​
Has one of your ancestors just disappeared? I once researched someone who abandoned his wife and family and seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth. Ten years later he popped up 200 miles away having changed his name and acquired another wife while still married to the first one!
​
Or, maybe you'd like a narrative history of your family, based on the facts I discover. I have written widely for the BBC website so have plenty of experience to enable me to write an engaging history of your family and its times
​
Whatever your query, I can probably help.
​
Where am I?
I am based in the South West of England but I cover the whole of England & Wales. If research needs to be done in another area I can arrange for that to be done as part of the package. I have specialist knowledge of the counties of Devon and Cornwall and am within easy travelling distance of record offices and archives across the South West
How it works
After you first contact me I will arrange to talk to you, either direct or on the phone, so that I understand exactly what it is you want me to do. I will then be in a position to advise you what might be involved in terms of time and fees.
​
There is no cost for this initial consultation and no obligation on your part to employ my services. If you decide to commission me, I will ask you to sign a copy of my terms and conditions. You can see a copy here.
​
Before I begin work I will ask you to provide any relevant information you have already that would help me carry out the task. There is no point in you paying me to research information you have already.