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I am a professional family history
researcher living in Bishop's Stortford on the Herts/Essex border.
My main period of interest is the mid-18th century onwards.
In particular, I may be able to help you if
...
- you need someone reliable to undertake genealogical archive research for you in central London.
- you have become "stuck" with your research and need some fresh ideas.
- you need help with the presentation of your own research.
- you have inherited an interesting family story and would like to know whether it is true.
- you are intrigued by your ancestors, but you just don't have time to do the work yourself.
- you would like to give someone their family history as a special gift.
For those who are just becoming interested in exploring their English family history, perhaps as a result of seeing a program like the BBC's "Who Do You Think You Are?", I particularly recommend the Family Folios Starter Package or the heirloom Victorian package.
Meet your ancestors ...
For most of us, our ancestors
have played a major part in shaping our lives. As well as inheriting
our physical features from them, less tangible things such as
their attitudes and cultural habits, shaped by their experiences,
will have tended to filter down through the generations to influence
our own upbringing 
and
the people we have become. Decisions your ancestors made generations
ago about moving to a new area, perhaps in pursuit of a particular
line of work, may be the reason that you live where you do today.
How much do you actually know about your family over the last 200 years? Was your great-great grandfather a shopkeeper, a musician, or perhaps a skilled craftsman? Did he spend all his life in the same community, or did he travel far from his roots?
Some people are lucky enough
to have inherited a collection of letters or diaries to give
a detailed insight into their ancestors' thoughts and personalities,
but for most of us clues must be gleaned largely from the traces
they left in official records. 
From
these we can discover where they lived, the kind of work they
did, and the family structure that surrounded them. This in turn
enables us to find out about the physical conditions of our ancestors'
lives and the social pressures that they lived under. A family
history should be so much more than names and dates. In some
cases, the names our ancestors chose for their children might
reveal their political or religious sympathies. A simple death
certificate may provide evidence of a tragic accident or years
of illness.
Some fragments of stories that
your parents or grandparents passed on to you may have become
distorted over time, or perhaps it is no longer clear which ancestor
the stories applied to. With a sound understanding of the family
tree it may well be possible to substantiate and add more detail
to these old stories, or at least narrow down the possibilities
of who they refer to. A name engraved on a watch or written on
the back of a photo will take on a whole new significance when
you know more about the person and the life they led.
Every family has a unique story.
If you would like me to help you discover yours, please read
about the services I offer.
Angela Aldam BSc DipInfSc
(AGRA Affiliate)
Tel: 01279 755089
Angela@FamilyFolios.co.uk
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