I had always been passionate about history, and after completing an MA in the subject I was keen to use my degree professionally. I found a job as a researcher at The National Archives in Kew, where I was trained in their wealth of genealogical and historical records. From there I was fortunate enough to join Who Do You Think You Are? as a genealogist in 2006, and although I left for a stint working in probate genealogy as an ‘heir hunter’ I rejoined the programme full time three years later, and have been working constantly since then. My first episodes were broadcast in 2007 and featured rower Matthew Pinsent and actor John Hurt, and I’m afraid that I’m the one to blame for disproving John’s supposed Irish ancestry!
I feel so lucky and privileged to have a career where I can indulge my love of all things historical and genealogical. All our family histories are so unique, and the researchers on the show are constantly uncovering new stories so there’s always new historical moments to discover and learn about. The research always feels new and exciting.
I am involved from the very start of the process, meeting the celebrity as soon as they have expressed an interest in featuring in an episode. After the initial conversation, I then build up the family tree on all branches as far back as possible. I work closely with the research team who look in depth at emerging characters, and chase down records online or in archives. You never know where the story might go. For example, in the latest series nobody would ever have predicted broadcaster Mishal Husain’s connection to the American Revolutionary War.
If watching Who Do You Think You Are? has made you curious about your family history, here are my top tips on where to start...
1. Reach out to distant family
As well as building the tree backwards, it can also be beneficial to look for the extended family and trace forward distant relatives. Not only is it exciting to find ‘new’ living relatives, but they may also have extra information or documents relating to your mutual ancestors. On the show we regularly do this, and it often pays dividends. For example, in Mishal’s episode we found lots of correspondence between her 4x great grandfather Joseph Swasey Farley and his siblings, and tracked down old photographs of her forebears including her great great grandfather Thomas Quinn and many of her Farley ancestors too.
2. Consult local experts and archivists
As you build up your family tree, always pay attention to where your ancestors lived because you may find further records in local archives and repositories. This is another integral part of our research process on the show. Model Jerry Hall’s episode is one such example. Although she was born in Texas, her great grandfather James Hall emigrated to the USA from Lancashire. After learning that James had worked in a cotton mill in Oldham, we were able to take Jerry to a local cotton mill so she could speak to historian Emma Griffin and understand what his working life entailed. We also carried out additional research in Oldham Local Studies and Archives to find more records, including sales deeds for James’ house in 1881 – property deeds and titles are mostly held locally.
3. Check regional newspapers in online collections
As more and more old newspapers become available online, it is becoming easier to access these invaluable sources. They are the cornerstone of the research we conduct for all individuals on a tree, and we have uncovered a wealth of stories this way. For example, newspaper research led us to the story of actor Claire Foy’s 3x great grandfather John Martin. John was born in Dublin but lived in Manchester, and became involved in the Fenian Movement which campaigned for Irish independence. In 1867 he was arrested for the murder of a policeman with his brother William, a case that was featured heavily in the local press.
4. Obtain military and occupational records if possible
Historically the UK has had a very big military presence globally, thanks in large part to the need to maintain the British Empire. Of course, the 20th century saw Britain fight in two world wars as well. This means that many trees will include an ancestor with a military background. Actor Ross Kemp, who starred in the most recent series, grew up hearing stories about his maternal great grandfather Arthur Chalmers, known as ‘Pop’, who had a long career at sea, working in both the Royal Navy and later the Merchant Navy. We obtained service records for Pop for his time in both navies, which are now mostly available online, and were able to confirm the family story that he had been involved in a shipwreck. In 1943 Pop’s ship the Duchess of York had been badly damaged when it was bombed by the Luftwaffe. Luckily he was one of the survivors, and was taken to Casablanca in Morocco.
5. Search the web for ancestors' names
Although so many records are now available digitally on dedicated genealogical websites, it is always worth doing a general web search for each of the names on your family tree. You never know what information might have been published online about them, and this is how we first uncovered actor Danny Dyer’s royal ancestry. We Googled relations from the Gosnold part of Danny’s tree, and struck gold by finding a mention of a Rev. Lionel Gosnold in an entry in Burke’s Peerage that linked him back to Edward III. We were then able to verify the information, and connect Danny to the Plantagenets.
6. Always track down institutional records
It was not uncommon for our ancestors to spend time in hospitals, asylums and – from the 19th century onwards – the dreaded workhouses too. You may come across this when finding individuals in census records. It’s a good idea to look for any further records of their time in such places. Some workhouse records are online, otherwise they will be available in local archives. Actor Brian Blessed’s episode saw him uncover a riches-to-rags story involving his great grandfather Jabez Blessed using workhouse records. Jabez began life as a workhouse orphan following the death of his parents; his father Barnabas had lost his job as a bookbinder in London, and ended up as a pauper.
7. Remember to source death records
The digitisation of many civil records, along with the reduction in the cost of ordering, as well as the widespread availability of online indexes, are making death records increasingly accessible. It’s always worth looking for such records for your ancestors, because you never know what you may uncover. The death certificate of Strictly Come Dancing head judge Len Goodman’s great great grandfather led us to his tragic suicide in 1889.
8. Check local parish records
Civil birth, marriage and death records were introduced in 1837 in England and Wales and in 1855 in Scotland. Before that, records were kept by local church parishes, so it's important to know where your ancestors lived and where their parish records are. Scottish kirk session records are also a good resource - when we researched Annie Lennox's ancestry, we used them to discover that her great great grandmother Isabella McHardy had an illegitimate child with William Ferguson.
9. Take a DNA test
DNA testing is becoming increasingly useful in genealogical research, for two main reasons. First, DNA tests can help you break down brick walls when trying to identify a grandparent or other ancestor. As more and more people take these tests and upload their results to online databases, it’s becoming easier to find near or distant cousins and thereby uncover a common forebear who may be missing from genealogical records. Second, a DNA test gives an individual’s ethnic origin by comparing the tester’s DNA to a reference population from a certain geographical area. Actor Naomie Harris became intrigued by her family history after a DNA test revealed that she was 48 per cent Nigerian, and in her episode investigated her mother’s family in Jamaica. Tracing back through the generations Naomie’s tree sadly, but inevitably, led her to enslaved ancestors. Naomie discovered that her 5x great grandmother Elizabeth Leevers was a slave who was originally from Africa. Naomie’s DNA test helped her understand where in Africa her ancestors first came from.