Family Tree Talk – Details, episodes & analysis

This week we conduct a scientific* test in to whether doing family history make you feel that little bit more happy… Did Nate do any of his family history homework? Tune in to find out. Plus, we have a Q&A on war medals

* the test was not really scientific, but we feel as though we have a clear answer.

** in the recording at one point Helen rants about science. Take her with a pinch of salt. She is neither a scientist nor a DNA expert. She has a little knowledge… and we all know what that means…

Family Tree Designer Nathan Ward and Editor Helen Tovey shoot the breeze as Nathan embarks on his family history journey…

After a long 20 minutes Nathan had summoned up enough spit, spat in the tube, sealed the kit, and popped it in the post. But, how was he getting on with the rest of his family history investigations? Turns out it can be hard to know where to start, especially if you feel like you’re going round in circles! Plus a Q&A on birth times

Nathan and Helen take stock of their family history progress over the past week. Nate’s feeling a tad overwhelmed at the sheer number of family history things to do. Helen gets bossy and orders him to make a family history plan – right there and then. Research logs, Using tags in Ancestry, AI photos, a bit of history - it's all here!

What’s next for Nathan, who has built his tree back to his 2x great-grandparents in just a week? What’s next for Helen who is in the process of lopping an erroneous branch of her tree, which has been happily attached since 2016? And, question of the week: ‘What’s a good methodology for researching back 7 generations?’

With a shiny new year of genealogy opportunities ahead of them, Nathan’s got his DNA test results back and is mulling over what they mean, and Helen’s recommending that he gets down to his traditional research and investigate the 1921 Census – now new on Ancestry – for clues about his family a century ago

Nathan’s tracked down his great-granny’s marriage record (despite some sketchy information from Helen) – but he’s wondering is it worth paying for? What will he gain?

This week Nathan and Helen ramble down research paths, discussing the value of family history research logs, pondering on whether to pay or not to pay, and reflect on the ideal ways to pass the family history baton on

DN-who-cares … Forget DNA for the moment. Nathan is now obsessed with tracing his ancestors using old-school documents to build his family tree. Showing off his ace family history organisational skills – we take a tour (in our mind’s eye) of his worksheets and research log. Podcast with Helen Tovey and Nathan Ward.

Helen puts on her super sleuth hat and tries to help a listener solve a family history mystery, giving plenty of top research tips along the way. Meanwhile, Nathan sulks about his DNA test results

Yes it’s painstakingly slow, precise, particular – but that’s also the joy of genealogy research. Immersing yourself in a family history search. Join Helen & Nate for a real-time genealogy session as they go on the hunt for Auntie Mildred

Along the way find tips to help you take control of your search and do your genealogy smarter