Uncover the secrets to overcoming stumbling blocks in your family history research! Discover new and innovative search strategies to locate those elusive relatives. Explore unique record collections that can tell you more about your ancestors’ lives.

A technical talk that examines the key sources that you'd use to trace industrial labourers and a variety of professions linked to transportation networks, factory workers and mining and how to find out more about their ways of life.

Unleash the power of historical records and maps to track an ancestor throughout their life. Also learn how to discover how an area changed over time and what that would mean for your ancestors' lives. Join us for an illuminating talk that brings your family’s past to life through geographic connections.

English and Welsh probate records are split into two eras – pre and post 1858 – and how to track down your ancestors’ probate records is different in these two timescales. This talk takes you through the differences for these two eras, the types of records you may find and what they contain.

DNA testing is a powerful tool for solving genealogical mysteries, from identifying unknown parents and grandparents to uncovering hidden family secrets such as an unnamed father on a birth certificate. It can reveal unexpected truths—like discovering a half-sibling, an unknown close match, or even that your father isn’t your biological parent. DNA analysis also plays a role in high-profile cases, from helping adoptees and donor-conceived individuals trace their roots to solving cold cases and even identifying a king buried under a car park.