Family Tree UK

Learn how to trace your family tree! Every issue is packed with: family history research advice hands-on learning experiences to help you become an ancestor super-sleuth & step-by-step guides to show you the path to tracing the past. From vintage documents to the latest in DNA, we’re here to help you discover more! Get the latest in genealogy news, software, books, archives and expert answers. Plus enjoy those reader stories that remind what it means to trace your family story. Research & remember your roots with Family Tree!

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Ministry of Justice Scraps Plans to Destroy Original Wills • Professional genealogist Richard Holt reports on the Government’s response to the consultation and invites us to ‘remain vigilant of a number of issues raised’

Newly available 1939 Register details

Storied acquires AI company • Genealogy newcomer Storied launched two years ago, with the aim of helping people to tell, preserve and share their family stories well. The two-year anniversary sees Storied acquire artificial intelligence company MemoryLane

RootsTech 2025: Discover. 6-8 March • ‘Be part of the world’s largest family history celebration, March 6–8, 2025,’ announces RootsTech – the global genealogy conference which will be welcoming family history enthusiasts in 11 different languages

HistoryScapes: storytelling app from the National Trust • Three National Trust properties, in partnership with the University of Exeter, have developed HistoryScapes, a GPS-triggered storytelling app

DNA news • DNA Advisor Karen Evans reports on news from the genealogy scene

11.6 billion new ‘records’ on MyHeritage in just 2 months • Extracting details from historic newspaper collections from the UK, USA, Canada and Australia, MyHeritage has created a collection of 11.6 billion newly available details

ALL THINGS WELSH for the family historian • We are all very familiar with hitting brick walls due to trying to establish which possible ancestral line is the correct one, but this problem is especially common when tracing ancestors in Wales because of the history and customs of the country. Genealogist Fiona Gray-Davies is here with practical advice to help you surmount the research conundrums you may encounter that are particular to Wales

RESEARCH SKILLS STUDIO • 29 APRIL TO 20 MAY 2025

21ST CENTURY TONGES • Anchors away! Gill Shaw sets out to navigate her mum’s dad’s side of the family, the mysterious Tonges …

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Making the most of THE GRO INDEXES • This month, Family Tree Academy tutor David Annal invites us to look more closely at the General Register Office (GRO) indexes for births, marriages and deaths, and shows us how to access and use them

Researching your ancestors who were OVERSEAS • Have you ever wondered how to go about tracing ancestors who may have travelled to, or lived in, another country? Here, Mary Evans gives us a comprehensive guide to the record sources that can help us trace our ancestors overseas

HOW WILL DNA HELP ME IF I DON’T HAVE A FULL TREE? • If you don’t have a family tree showing your biological family, with both your paternal and maternal sides, or if you have a branch that ‘stops’, ending with an unknown ancestor at some point in the last 5 or so generations, read on. Karen Evans is here to help explain how DNA can fill in the blanks in the tree, solving mysteries and answering questions that you may have wondered about all your life.

How DNA helps the piecing together of clues • Back in December 2020 Karen Evans had a match of 223cMs appear on 23andMe. The match’s name was Sue and she was adopted and wanted to find family.

Your mini guide to the 1921 CENSUS • On 7 January 2025 the 1921 Census...