You will almost certainly discover names of family members you never knew existed. UK census records - a vital source of information for the family tree detective - can be accessed through the National Archives website.But do not assume that someone else’s research is 100 per cent accurate. Sites such as FamilyRelatives, LostCousins and GenesReunited can help put you in touch. A number of social networking websites exist and you may well find that someone else has already researched your family history.If you are looking for information about a particular district, it may be worth contacting the local family history society - see the Federation of Family History Societies website. A name or an address that seems irrelevant at the time may become important later in your research. And be careful what information you discard. This is part of an all-important note-taking exercise. Start a family tree based on what you - and other relatives - already know.Coming from a generation that seldom threw anything away, you may find they have some interesting documents - not just birth, death and marriage certificates, but newspaper cuttings, photographs and letters that will bring your family history to life. Their knowledge and memories of relations can provide a mine of information. Firstly, get in touch with elderly relatives.All provide millions of online records - at a price.īut before you subscribe to one, the Society of Genealogists suggests you explore other options. In the UK, three of the biggest family history websites are Ancestry, Find My Past and The Genealogist. Yet the process of uncovering your genealogy has in many ways never been simpler with the advent of online research tools. It will bring out the armchair detective in you. Researching your forebears contains a few moments like that, along with many laborious hours of checking and crosschecking facts and poring over documents. It felt as if I had come home… albeit seven generations apart. But then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something that made the journey worthwhile - the road’s name was Tilbrooks Hill. It was as if this large family had never lived here.ĭespondently, I returned to the car and prepared to leave. My ancestors had clearly moved away long before the 20th century. I pulled into the road and scanned the obelisk. Maybe it would list a Tilbrook or two who had fallen in one of the world wars. The gravestones were far too modern to help in my researches, and none were engraved with my surname.ĭriving out of the village, I spotted a war memorial in a side road and my hopes rose again.

But the village churchyard was a disappointment. I recently travelled to a small village on the Suffolk-Cambridgeshire border, full of optimism that I might find clues to the lives of family members from the 18th century or perhaps earlier. But even if you feel your research has led you into a cul-de-sac, it can pay to keep your eyes open. In the Tilbrook family, that person is me. There tends to be one person in every family who slowly becomes obsessed with tracing the roots of the family tree. Searching for your ancestors can be rewarding and frustrating in equal measure. Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

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