Real research examples

Genealogy
Case Studies

Examples showing how I approach difficult family-history questions, test evidence and use archive or local record material to move research forward.

Evidence in practice

How research questions become research cases

Every family-history problem is different. These case studies focus on the research process: what was known at the start, which records I checked, what the evidence revealed, and where uncertainty remained.

Privacy: identifying client information is removed from published case studies. Historical individuals may be named where they are necessary to explain the research, and some case studies draw on my own family history.
Cumbria archive case study

James Forster of Lanercost: Following a Name Change Back to 1816

A missing baptism, an exact birth date, a recurring middle name and a visit to Cumbria Archives created a strong new theory about the origins of a nineteenth-century bookbinder.

Read case study → Brampton local history case study

Who Made Brampton? A Graveyard Tour at Brampton Old Church

A reflection on three tours exploring the people, memorials and documentary evidence behind Brampton Old Church and its surrounding community.

Read case study → German church records case study

Louisa Gierschick of Schönheiderhammer: When the Record Wasn't Online

An exact birth date and birthplace led nowhere online, but a direct church enquiry uncovered Louisa's 1873 baptism, her parents, an illegitimate birth and new family lines to follow.

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More case studies will be added as suitable completed projects and family research examples become available.

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