To find out more about my Genealogy Research Services, please click [here]

Qualifications and Memberships
I hold the Pharos Family History Skills & Strategies intermediate qualification, achieved with Distinction, and the Pharos / Society of Genealogists Advanced Certificate, also achieved with Distinction.

I’m a Member of AGRA – the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives.  As such I undertake to operate fully according to the professional standards set down by the AGRA Code of Practice and Ethics.  I also offer clients the peace of mind of the AGRA Complaints Procedure. 

As of November 2024 I’m a member of the Board of Assessors for new Members and Associates of AGRA.

I’m a lifelong learner and a qualified lecturer and trainer of adults. Previous qualifications at Higher Education level include:

• Bachelor of Laws (LLB 2:1) This included Family Law, Land Law, Trusts and Criminal Law.  Back then, I never realised I would one day be putting this legal knowledge to use in understanding the lives of my own and other people’s ancestors!
• Masters in Politics (MSc Econ)  I’m passionate about social justice and politics, and I love researching the stories of ‘ordinary people’.  Drawing upon local, social and political history and the law, what fascinates me is the impact on the many of those big, important decisions made by the few.
• Bachelor of Arts: Modern Languages (French & Spanish, BA Hons First Class)  Although I appreciate that the relevance of this to family history is not immediately obvious, I regularly draw upon my sociolinguistics studies to help me work through spellings in the context of accent and dialect.  This is relevant to English accents (for example how a clerk in Yorkshire might ‘hear’ and write down a place name from Devon) but has also proven useful in the context of immigration at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries. Although this degree was pursued ‘for fun’ (Yes, I know….!) producing essays in three different languages really provided the opportunity to develop my research, information and writing skills.

I’m a ‘reflective practitioner’, always looking for ways to improve what I do, and I look for useful Continuing Professional Development (‘CPD’) opportunities.

I’m a Member of the British Association for Local History.

I’m also a Member of the Society for One Place Studies and have registered two One Place Studies with that Society:

• Starbotton in Wharfedale (before 1750)
• Shackleton’s Fold in New Wortley, Leeds (1840s-1930s)

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I hope that through the pages of this blog you’ll get to know me, my style, my commitment to quality and in-depth understanding.  I often use it to explore and deepen my own knowledge about an aspect of genealogy or family history, sometimes something I’m working on as part of a much bigger project.

I hope you’ll find something useful for yourself amongst the hints, tips and general thoughts about genealogical practice, the finds relating to my areas of genealogical interest (but hopefully of wider general appeal) and the odd story from my own ancestry.

To contact me, please click [here]

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Although I’m now based on the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England, my personal family research interests are largely based in Yorkshire.  They include:

• The Lucas family in Woodhouse, Leeds, 17th to 18th centuries
• The Bumby family of Wharfedale and Thirsk
• The ancient parish of Calverley in the 17th century
• The Simondsons of Wharfedale
• The Listers of Gisburn
• Guild society in the City of York
• Nonconformity in the West Riding of Yorkshire
• The impact of the Industrial Revolution on tradesmen and their families
• Textiles: I have tailors, clothiers, dyers, silk, linen and woollen weavers. I’m looking for cotton workers to give me the full set!