Family history resources

Genealogy Research
Guides

Guides for getting started, understanding DNA updates, searching newspaper archives, using record collections and planning family-history research.

Practical genealogy help

Choose a guide for the problem in front of you

If you are new to family history, start with the beginner’s guide. The other articles deal with particular tools, archives and record sets, so you can dip into them when your own tree reaches that point.

Irish genealogy

How to Use IrishGenealogy.ie for Irish Family History

Search free Irish civil and parish records, try name variants such as Pat and Patrick, check coverage and understand what survived the 1922 destruction.

Read guide AncestryDNA update

AncestryDNA's 2026 Update: What It Means for Your Family Tree

Understand the 8 October update, changed ethnicity estimates and Regions by Grandparent, then turn the clues into a focused research plan.

Read guide → Newspaper research

Newspapers.com vs British Newspaper Archive

Compare coverage, search tools, OCR, access options and research features before choosing an online newspaper archive.

Read comparison → Genealogy for beginners

How to Start a Family Tree: A Beginner's Guide

Start with what you know, interview relatives, gather family documents, search records and verify each generation before moving backwards.

Read beginner guide → DNA genealogy

What Changed in the New GEDmatch Interface

A practical look at My Clipboard, the redesigned One-to-Many, searchable tools, kit management and other features now live on GEDmatch.

Read guide → Italian genealogy

How to Use Antenati for Italian Genealogy

A practical walkthrough of searching Italian civil records by name and place, browsing registers and using indexes to locate an 1882 birth record.

Read guide → Cumbria

How to Trace Ancestors in Cumberland and Cumbria

Historic county names, useful record sets and the local context that can unlock a Cumbrian family line.

Read guide → Archives

Which Cumbria Archive Centre Holds the Records?

An introduction to Carlisle, Whitehaven, Kendal and Barrow and how their collecting areas differ.

Read guide → Getting started

Hiring a Professional Genealogist: What to Expect

How to frame your question, prepare your evidence and understand the research report you receive.

Read guide →

Need help with a specific family rather than a general guide?

I also take on individual research questions, from one difficult record to longer family-tree, archive and DNA projects.

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