Genealogists | Local Services | Classifieds.co.uk :

A genealogist is a person whose expertise and experience lies in the study and practical application of genealogy, which is an increasingly popular pursuit in the Western World today. Genealogy looks at personal, localised history rather than the grand narrative of history which is contained in many history books. It looks at individual histories and the history of a given family. Family trees, family roots and records are used to help document and piece together the ancestry of a given individual. A lot of people are interested in finding out where they come from and about their ancestry and the ancestors themselves. Genealogy is thus the study of family history. Whilst as an amateur genealogist, one can play detective and browse the internet, go to the local library and access some public records such as most marriage and birth certificates and various forms of local census, tracing family roots can be a difficult, demanding and time consuming business.

Tracing your Family Roots
To trace your ancestors it is a good idea to use a family tree model to start piecing together the pieces of the puzzle. Begin with yourself and your immediate family and the information you have on them. You can then find existing materials such as photographs, letters, recording of conversations with relatives, birth, death and marriage certificates and so on for extended family. This can be used as material for the starting point. To find out about relatives you do not have full information on or to complete the picture of the family, you can do some research by accessing the national census which was first taken in 1801 and every ten years following this, although the names of individuals were not recorded until 1841. From 1851 a person's health was also recorded however medical records differ greatly from today as the terminology was hardly politically correct and people were referred to as 'imbeciles' and 'idiots' !! On the night of the census, details of persons staying on the premises were also recorded and therefore may prove useful. When accessing the Census records, search from the individual census and do not search under exact matches unless you are certain about full names and ages. Not all census records are yet available for consumption by the general public, there are gaps and missing parts and you will have to wait until 2009 to get details from the 1911 records.

You could, alternatively search the Births, Deaths and Marriage certificates if you have access to enough information for searching these records. These are complete for the years 1837-83 and partially complete for the years 1837-1983 but fully complete from 1984 to the present day. Again you will need to search from the individual records and if you don't have the exact information you will be presented with a number of possibilities.

Another means of searching is to check websites on genealogy as some of these contain online family trees and have members who could potentially help you with your search. You could also check your local library information archives and newspaper article archives. However putting together a family tree is often a time consuming and laborious task which may frequently require additional help in the completion or nearest possible completion thereof. A good genealogist or genealogy company can help with experts who know many ways to research and put together family trees, track family members and trace ancestry as far back as possible.

Choosing a Professional Genealogist
A professional genealogist or company often uses an online method of contact. There are many genealogy websites to look at and professionals will often describe their methods of research and what they do for their clients such as searching parish records which is quite common for these companies. They usually offer to trace records back as far as 1841 and look through a large number of sources including churchyards and cemeteries, business and trade directories, immigration and emigration, newspapers, schools and education, military records, shipping and seamen, criminal courts, wills and probates. Most of them look at records in Britain but there are companies which are very much localised and concentrate their expertise in a particular area of Britain. If there is a genealogy company local to you it is worth investigating this company as the first point of call as they will be experts in local records and history and may be able to trace roots more quickly, more accurately and thus stand a better chance of finding information on your family or the person you are specifically attempting to track.

Why choose the service of a Genealogist?
You can find out all kinds of fascinating history about your family. There are many things a genealogist can discover apart from births, deaths and marriages. They can find out what kind of lifestyle your ancestors lived, what involvement they had in the War, what jobs they had and where your ancestors are really from. Many people are quite surprised to discover that their family, who they thought had lived in one area for generations are in fact from more widely dispersed areas. A genealogist seeks out this history and presents it to you.

A genealogist can also help with tracking down a missing family member or family members that were adopted -- or if you are adopted, details of your real family. The search for the location or history of an individual can be a difficult and an expert genealogist will probably have more success in finding an individual as they have experience and access to a great deal of information.

Genealogy companies or professional individuals can help with complete or partial searches. They charge both by the hour to research something specific for you to help complete your own family tree and also take on the project of putting together your family history. If you are asking them to search for something specific then charges per hour are typically in the range �10-17 whereas you could be paying around �300 for a complete family tree. Any reputable service will also allow you to check their worth by looking at client testimonials, qualifications in a related subject and associations with any professional bodies such as those whose records they search