Short Family History
A Short history of my Ancestors who were from Scotland, England, Ireland and Northern Germany.
Family Surnames
List of my family surnames which may be of interest to visitors.
Photography
Photography for clients who may find it difficult to visit their ancestral homelands, also a list of the repositories I frequent to do research.
Having lived myself far away from where my ancestors originated I understand how important it is to know the world they lived in and I do whatever I can to bring that world to my clients.
Our ancestors always leave some traces of their existence and it is for us to find and preserve those traces before they disappear forever. To this end I will photograph or video if you wish, churches, inns, villages, houses, properties or even ruins if that is all that is left.
Repositories Where I Work
The area I work in is very large.
IN SCOTLAND I work anywhere necessary in Scotland and do research at the Edinburgh repositories such as the SRO and Libraries in Edinburgh or Glasgow.
IN ENGLAND all County Record Offices and all the London Archives but especially the Public Record Office in Kew the largest in Great Britain, the Library of the Society of Genealogists to which I belong as a member, the Guildhall Library and the Metropolitan Archives.
At these repositories I am able to search:
apprenticeship records
birth, marriage and death certificates
censuses
East India Company records
feet of fines
inquisitions post mortem
merchant navy records
military records
parish registers
wills, administrations and inventories
to name but a few.
IN GERMANY I do research in libraries, Stadt Archives and where possible in Kries Offices where the church records are kept (owing to German law this sometimes is difficult), however photography in Germany is not difficult and for me is an absolute pleasure.
IN NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA as well as any other countries if you contact me I will let you know what I can do for you and when.