Real research examples

Genealogy
Case Studies

These are examples from real research: missing baptisms, migration across borders, DNA questions, archive discoveries and family stories that needed to be checked against the records.

Evidence in practice

What the case studies show

Each case begins with a different problem. I have included the starting evidence, the records or DNA that changed the direction of the research, and the questions that remained open at the end.

Privacy: identifying client information is removed from published case studies. Historical individuals may be named where they are necessary to explain the research, and some case studies draw on my own family history.
Family lore & lineage case study Published 24 September 2026

Proving a Family Connection to John Peel of Caldbeck

A story passed down from Cumberland to Australia was tested by tracing the client’s line backwards and John Peel’s wider family until the evidence met in the Scott sisters.

Read case study → Black family history & DNA case study Published 24 August 2026

Henry Logan: From Kentucky to New York and Canada

Census records trace Henry and his brother north before the Civil War, while DNA connects them to a Kentucky Logan family that the surviving paper trail cannot yet fully explain.

Read case study → German church records case study Published 17 August 2026

Louisa Gierschick of Schönheiderhammer: When the Record Wasn't Online

An exact birth date and birthplace led nowhere online, but a direct church enquiry uncovered Louisa's 1873 baptism, her parents, an illegitimate birth and new family lines to follow.

Read case study → Cumbria archive case study Published 7 August 2026

James Forster of Lanercost: Following a Name Change Back to 1816

A missing baptism, an exact birth date, a recurring middle name and a visit to Cumbria Archives created a strong new theory about the origins of a nineteenth-century bookbinder.

Read case study → Brampton local history case study Published 24 July 2026

Who Made Brampton? A Graveyard Tour at Brampton Old Church

A reflection on three tours exploring the people, memorials and documentary evidence behind Brampton Old Church and its surrounding community.

Read case study →

More case studies will be added as suitable completed projects and family research examples become available.

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