When I first started doing my family history research in the late 1980s there was nothing online and everything had to be done “in real life” or IRL as the youth like to say. I would go to Kew or Somerset House and open out heavy volumes to look at the indexes and then wait for the post to deliver the results of those searches, sometimes with positive outcomes, many times not.
In all these cases there was the opportunity to interact with other family historians, get some hints and tips, share some war stories or just connect with others doing the same as you. This seems to be lost in the days of so much being online when you can sit on the sofa in your PJs and search Ancestry.
Meeting irl
There are still plenty of opportunities to get out of the house to do your family history research. I have already written about visiting the record offices in London and, yesterday, I travelled up to Kempton Racecourse for The Family History Show.
These are a series of in-person events held around the country (London, the Midlands, and Liverpool) and online that are organised by The Genealogist. I have attended the London show twice and I am assuming that the others follow a similar format: a large area with tables for local family history groups, book and product sellers and others to show their wares and a theatre for live talks. All of this for only £6 if booked in advance.
What is there to do?
The stalls included a number of family history societies, such as London Westminster & Middlesex Family History Society that I am a member of, to more far flung places such as the Friends of Gibraltar Heritage Society. This gives you a good opportunity to chat to people from the societies and buy some of their excellent guides to their areas. There were also stands from the likes of Living DNA, Family Search and My History.
The show also give you the opportunity to book a ten minute slot with an expert to discuss whatever might be relevant. I chatted to Donna Rutherford about how to start my DNA research. You obviously cannot get much done in ten short minutes but it was enough to point me in the right direction.
The most interesting part (to me) were the talks of which there were five during the day. Two were presented by Mark Bayley from The Genealogist and felt more salesy than the others, unsurprisingly using The Genealogist to show how you could pin down your ancestors and break down brick walls. I’d seen both these talks before but were still worthwhile as they set my mind considering routes I’d not taken before.
The other three talks were by Nick Barratt, who will be well known to many family historians (on the History of Buildings), Donna Rutherford (AI) and Amelia Bennett (DNA). All the talks were well presented and give me plenty of ideas for what I might do that could forward my research.
I would definitely recommend the The Family History Show for the talks alone. I was there from 10:00 to 15:30 so I would call that excellent value for money at only £6. The Family History Shows return again in 2027 and, don’t forget that Family Tree Live returns for 2027 so there are plenty of opportunities to get off that sofa!
