HOW DID YOU GET INTO GENEALOGY?
I first became interested in genealogy as a teenager when some Australian relatives made contact while tracing their family history. As long as I can remember, I have had an interest in local and social history and this came to the fore even when I studied history at degree level. To me, family and house history encapsulate, at a micro level, social and local history. They are about people and places. Family history, in particular, is more than just names and dates; learning about our ancestors’ lives and putting them in context leads to a greater understanding of history in general.
While I was completing my MA, I worked as an archive assistant at a local record office, where I undertook research, cataloguing and assisted the public with enquiries. After working there for six years, I decided I loved the research side so much that I wanted to work for myself and teach others, so I undertook a training course for teaching adults and launched my business as a genealogist and house historian.