I find it for you.
Professional family history investigation, done entirely for you. Tell me where you are, and we will go from there.
Most people start on Ancestry or FindMyPast. The hints come thick and fast, other people's trees appear, and it is easy to follow suggestions that look right but belong to a completely different family. Before long you have built something that looks impressive but turns out to be someone else's history entirely.
Even when the research is sound, the walls come quickly. Records before 1900 are incomplete, scattered, and held in archives most people never find. Irish records were largely destroyed in 1922. DNA results raise questions that no database answers on its own.
It does not matter whether you have a detailed half-built tree or just a grandparent's name on a piece of paper. Either way, there is more to find. And this is exactly what I do.
A photograph of Grandad Wally on his motorbike. We knew about the bike, but we did not know the story behind it. A newspaper report from 23 July 1940 explained.
Read the full story →I have been researching my own family for many years, working through the records of Nottinghamshire, Liverpool, and Ireland. I know the archives that matter, the gaps that frustrate, and the alternative routes when the obvious ones run dry.
A DNA result changed the direction of my own research. The match did not connect where I expected. Following the DNA group carefully, I traced it to a cluster of Goddards from Nottinghamshire. After many hours of research, I found one who had lived just a few doors from my great-great-grandmother. More work confirmed it. He was family.
Finding him didnt change how I felt about this side of my family, but it completed a picture that had always been a bit foggy. This is what this work does at its best. It does not rewrite who you are. It helps you understand who you are and where you came from.
I bring the same patience to every investigation I take on. Whether your family is rooted in Nottinghamshire, scattered across Liverpool, or traces back to Ireland, I know those records and those routes. That is why Meet Your Past exists.
Old family photographs deteriorate over time. Torn, faded, water-damaged, scratched. Professional restoration recovers what is there and returns it to how it should look.
Every restored photograph comes as a high-resolution digital file, ready to print or share. No original is needed in person.
Find out more about photo restorationEvery investigation includes expert research, a sourced family tree, and a written family history, presented clearly and beautifully. Fixed prices. No hidden costs. No hourly surprises.
Fully investigated across your chosen family lines. You tell me what you know, however little. I handle everything from archive searches to DNA interpretation to written narrative.
From £199 · Single surname
£449 · Half roots · £799 · Full roots
Unexpected DNA results. Unknown matches. A test that raised more questions than it answered. I combine DNA evidence with documentary research to find out what your results actually mean.
From £449
Learn moreIrish genealogy is genuinely difficult. Records were largely destroyed in 1922. But alternatives exist, and many Irish families came through Liverpool. I have spent years researching both sides of that journey.
From £349
Explore Irish researchMost investigations begin with almost nothing. A grandparent's name. An old photograph. A family story that nobody could ever quite confirm.
A free 30-minute conversation, by Zoom or in person at your home. You tell me what you know and what you would like to find. I will tell you honestly what is likely to be possible, and what a realistic investigation looks like.
I search the archives, census records, parish registers, DNA databases, and wherever else the trail leads. I follow every relevant thread, including the difficult ones, and document everything I find.
A beautifully presented family history, written in plain English, fully sourced, and yours to keep and share. Not a database print-off. A narrative that tells the story of your family as it actually was.
Home visits across the East Midlands. I am happy to come to you. Many clients find it much easier to share old photographs, letters, and documents in person than to describe them over email. A home visit also means I begin the investigation with richer, more accurate source material. There is no extra charge for this.
No preparation needed · No obligation · No sales pitch
Family history investigation is one of the most personal gifts possible, beautifully presented and completely unlike anything else. Gift vouchers are available with a printable certificate, ready to give on the day.
Nottinghamshire lace workers, Derbyshire coal miners, Leicestershire hosiery families, Lincolnshire agricultural labourers. These are the communities I have spent years researching. I know the record offices, the gaps in the archives, and the local history that helps make sense of what the documents show.
I am based in Nottingham, I offer home visits anywhere across the region, and I work with clients further afield by Zoom. Many East Midlands families also have a Liverpool or Irish chapter. I know those records well too.
Most investigations begin with almost nothing. A grandparent's name. A date that does not add up. A story that was never quite explained. That has always been enough to start.
Book a free 30-minute call and we will talk about what might be possible. No preparation needed. No obligation. Just a conversation about your family and what it might take to find their story.