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When researching family histories and local histories, every case is unique, so we begin by understanding your particular needs.  Tell us about the services and outcomes that you would like as well as your starting point – you can send us this information using our contact form or email it to us at hello@shamrockroots.com.  Guidance on what to include is provided below and you can attach documents if relevant.  By sending information to us, you are indicating acceptance of our Privacy & Cookies Policy so please read it and make sure that you understand and agree to it.

Let us know if you have a deadline in mind because that will inform our assessment of what is feasible.  If it is for a special occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary, it is advisable to contact us well in advance as it may not be possible to begin work immediately and research can sometimes be prolonged by the time it takes to gain access to records.

We will review the information you send us and arrange a conversation to clarify details, discuss options, explain the next steps, and answer any questions you may have.  We will then draw up a work plan, which is free of charge and you can decide whether to proceed with it.

Tell us which service you would like:

• Research report
• Research report plus a poster or book or other memento
• Research support
• Look-up

If you do not have specific objectives for the research, we can start by establishing the key names, dates and places associated with your research subject, and then proceed according to the most promising or interesting avenues that are discovered.  If you have particular outcomes in mind, the research strategy will be tailored accordingly.  Here are some questions to help you consider the possibilities…

 

Objectives for researching family history:

• Are you curious about your ancestors generally or are you interested in finding out more about a certain generation or a particular branch of the family or a specific person?
• Would you just like to establish the key facts to populate a family tree or are there aspects of your ancestors’ lives that you would like to understand in more depth (e.g. their house, job, migration event, military service)?
• Is there a story you would like to verify or a mystery you would like to solve?
• Are you focused on tracing your lineage backwards only or are you also interested in following other descendant lines and potentially looking for living relatives?

 

Objectives for researching local history or house history:

• Are you interested in finding out more about the place/building generally or are there specific aspects of interest (e.g. owners, occupiers, a particular event, a certain time period)?
• Is there a story you would like to verify or a mystery you would like to solve?

 

Objectives for research support:

• What are the key questions that you would like to find answers to through your research?
• What obstacles have you encountered in your research so far (if applicable)?

 

Objectives for look-ups:

• Would you like a search log, photographs, transcripts, and/or other outputs?

Tell us what you currently know about the family or place that you would like to research and how you know it.  Is it a story that has been passed down through your family or do you have documents that corroborate the details (e.g. birth/marriage/death certificates)?  If research has been done before, what searches were made and what were the findings?  When gathering this information, it is advisable to talk to your relatives (especially older generations, if you are lucky enough to have them!) in case they can add to what you know.  If you or your relatives have old family letters, photos, newspaper clippings, or other documents, then it is a good idea to review those for clues.  Here are the key pieces of information that will be helpful…

 

Starting point for researching family history:

• Names of family members, including any known nicknames, aliases or spelling variations;
• Any known dates and places of life events for each person (e.g. birth, baptism, residence, education, occupation, migration, marriage, death, burial);
• Any other details you have that might help to identify them in records, such as their religion, job, distinctive characteristics, and notable occurrences in their lives.

If you would like a form to help you keep track of the information, Ancestry provides printable PDF templates for both a simple ancestor chart and a detailed family group sheet.  Do not worry if you have little information to go on – we will review whatever you have and let you know whether it is sufficient to begin research.  If you have little or no reliable information about your ancestors, it may be appropriate to consider DNA testing as part of the research strategy.

 

Starting point for researching local history or house history:

• Location details; if this is a historical address, the corresponding date will be useful because street names and building numbers can change over time;
• Any known owners or occupiers, ideally with the corresponding dates;
• Any other details you have that might be helpful.

 

Starting point for research support:

• If you have already done some research – what you have looked for, where, how, and what the results were;
• If you have done a DNA test – which company and which test you have used.

 

Starting point for look-ups:

• Regarding records in archives – the repository and the titles of the records you are interested in plus any reference codes or other identifiers found in the catalogue;
• Regarding burial grounds – details of the burial ground (name, address or other location information), details of the deceased (names, dates of birth and death, residences, occupations) plus your reasons for believing they are buried there;
• Regarding other locations – the type of building/place, its address or other location information plus the significance of it and/or the people connected to it.