Starting Point
You may be looking for a Family Historian because you always wanted to trace your family but have no idea how to start or you would prefer someone else to search for you.
It may be that you have got so far and have reach a 'dead end' or 'brick wall' with your own research.
Most people starting out may already know who their grandparents were but some may not.
My own story was that I knew who my grandparents were but I was motivated to trace my family history by a comment by my maternal grandmother that she did not know when her father's birthday was. This was back in the 1980's and there were no online searches available then. Searches for records were mainly done through the General Register Office (GRO) at St Catherine's House in London -where the indexes for Birth, Marriage, Death & Adoption records were to be found in large bound volumes. Today these can be found sat at home on your computer, tablet or mobile.
All sounds easy doesn't it? To some extent it is but you still need to know how to research and decipher documents to find what you are looking for. It is not just a case of typing a name into a search engine and your whole family tree appears. It takes work and may take years. The Who Do You Think You Are? experience is not something that happens on a regular basis.
It is important that you can give a family historian as much information as possible when you hire them. Searching for John Smith, year of birth unknown, place of birth England would be difficult for any genealogist or family historian to find.
It may be that you have got so far and have reach a 'dead end' or 'brick wall' with your own research.
Most people starting out may already know who their grandparents were but some may not.
My own story was that I knew who my grandparents were but I was motivated to trace my family history by a comment by my maternal grandmother that she did not know when her father's birthday was. This was back in the 1980's and there were no online searches available then. Searches for records were mainly done through the General Register Office (GRO) at St Catherine's House in London -where the indexes for Birth, Marriage, Death & Adoption records were to be found in large bound volumes. Today these can be found sat at home on your computer, tablet or mobile.
All sounds easy doesn't it? To some extent it is but you still need to know how to research and decipher documents to find what you are looking for. It is not just a case of typing a name into a search engine and your whole family tree appears. It takes work and may take years. The Who Do You Think You Are? experience is not something that happens on a regular basis.
It is important that you can give a family historian as much information as possible when you hire them. Searching for John Smith, year of birth unknown, place of birth England would be difficult for any genealogist or family historian to find.
