Research guides

Have you hit a brick wall in your family history research? Do you want to discover more about your British ancestors but don't have the time or means to do the research yourself? Or do you need someone to visit archives and record offices that you are unable to reach yourself?

What can a professional genealogist do for your research? This guide answers this question and more - what professional genealogists actually do, what they charge, how to find the right one, and how ProGenMatch makes the process easier. Whether you are based in the UK or researching British ancestry from overseas, we hope it helps you make your decision. Why should I hire a professional genealogist? Many records in British archives have never been digitised. They exist only i

What's the best way to start researching your family history? Tracking down certificates, searching an online database,...or just sitting down for a chat with your oldest family members? The memories, stories, and recollections of your relatives can unlock years of research, and provide context not found in any official document - personalities behind the names and memories of people long gone. An English grandmother in Scotland Take one family's experience: a grandmother re

You may be racing through your family history, using the census returns and civil registration certificates to get back to the 1830's, and then...nothing? No census. No certificates. Where do you go from here? The good news is that records don't stop at this point. Great Britain is one of the best-documented countries in the world. There is a remarkable range of records - produced by churches, courts, landowners, employers, central government and more. But each record type ha