Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine not only explores the stories behind the popular BBC genealogy TV series, but also helps you uncover your own roots. Each issue is packed with practical advice to help you track down family history archives and get the most out of online resources, alongside features on what life was like in the past and the historic events that affected our ancestors.

Welcome

TO START YOUR FAMILY TREE

STEP 1 Start with yourself • It sounds obvious, but you are the first entry on your tree

STEP 2 Contact family • Getting in touch with living relatives opens up many new avenues

STEP 3 Interview relations • Try to record your family members’ testimonies face to face...

STEP 4 What do you want to achieve? • Planning in advance will save you time in the long run

STEP 5 Now get online • Most research is now done on the internet – so get online!

STEP 6 Subscription websites • They may cost a little money, but these sites can pay dividends...

STEP 7 Start your family tree • Now is the time to start recording the fruits of your research

STEP 8 Order a birth certificate • Confirm your research with o_cial documents

STEP 9 Order a marriage certificate • After the birth certificate, look for the marriage of the parents listed

STEP 10 Consult the census • Census returns are a genealogical staple

STEP 11 Order a death certificate • Death records can provide vital information

STEP 12 Decide what to do next • With many avenues now open to you, where do you go next?

STEP 13 Visit an archive • Get more from documents that aren’t online

STEP 14 Parish records • Trace your ancestors with church records

STEP 15 Military records • Uncover your ancestors’ wartime experiences with these records

STEP 16 Occupation records • Work records can tell you a lot about your kin’s day-to-day lives

STEP 17 Poor records • Ancestors who needed financial aid left a trail of records to follow

STEP 18 Read all about it! • From weddings to obituaries, newspapers can be a goldmine....

STEP 19 Take it further • Delve deeper into your family history, just like the professionals...

STEP 20 Share your family history • Don’t keep your research to yourself – others may benefit from it!

10 FAQs for tracking down lost births • Birth records are one of the most valuable tools in the genealogist’s arsenal. Family history expert Jenny Thomas answers the essential questions about this crucial resource for your research

CASE STUDY FROM THE SHOW AMANDA REDMAN

A guide to birth certificates • In order to make sure you’re extracting the correct information from your family’s paperwork, here we dissect Winston Churchill’s birth certificate...

Find that marriage! • Marriage records are one of the most important family history sources, says Jenny Thomas, who shows you the best methods to pin down that elusive wedding

CASE STUDY FROM THE SHOW MARTIN FREEMAN

How to date old family wedding photos • Rebecca Arnold guides you through the early 20th-century wedding fashions that will help you date those unidentified family snaps

A guide to marriage certificates • Wedding certificates hold crucial details to unlock mysteries in your family tree. Here is the paperwork from Arthur Conan Doyle’s second marriage...

Records of death • Jenny Thomas shows how using death records can reveal a multitude of new genealogical details to fill in the blanks on your family tree

CASE STUDY FROM THE SHOW RICK STEIN

Deaths overseas

A guide to death certificates • Death certificates don’t just record the cause of death. They can also hint at the life of the...