Family Tree Talk

Family Tree Talk podcast co-host Nathan Ward loves aeroplanes. Long has he wished to have an aviation connection in his family tree. And it was when he recently got the family talking that the clues – which would lead to his wish becoming true – gradually came out into the light. Tune in to hear about his recent family history discoveries and the power of chatting to parents, aunts, uncles, siblin...

Join podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey for this week’s Family Tree Talk chat, as Nathan shares where he’s got up to in his research. He’s looking at 4x and even 5x great-grandparents 🙌, but is feeling a bit unsure about the details he’s finding… Has he got it right or not? Together they mull over ideas to help with clarity and confidence about putting the pieces together and making sure...

You know the feeling when you’ve been researching all those great-great-grandparents… but you’ve not really looked into the generations that are closer at hand, because you ‘already know them’. This is the spot that Family Tree Talk podcast co-host Nathan Ward found himself in this week. Tune in as he and Helen Tovey share ideas for gathering clues about those family members that people remember…...

‘Don't beat yourself up for not doing as much family history as you want,’ says podcast cohost Nathan Ward. ‘Yes, even if you're doing a little, you're still winning,’ agrees Helen Tovey. Join Nathan and Helen this week for your next dose of family history chat - and encouragement to keep going, even when it can feel as though you have the world of genealogy tasks you’d like to do. When that sense...

Join podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey for genealogy chat. This week Nathan Ward is continuing on the trail of his great-grand uncle Alexander MacKay. Feeling a little stuck where to turn next, he tentatively asked listeners for help… and they have come up trumps. Tune in for family history discoveries, learning points, and to see how a family history helping hand makes all the differenc...

Once we start on family history we all soon realise that it’s not that easy-breezy experience that we sometimes see portrayed on the telly. But, nonetheless, it can shake our confidence in our ability if we can’t find the info we need. This week on Family Tree Talk, cohost Nathan Ward weighs up the info he’s found, and not found, with Helen Tovey. Has he forgotten those family history search skill...

Tune in for family history chat as Family Tree Talk podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey discuss 'negative space', how to work out whether you've searched high and low enough, and the way in which Nathan's Excel sheet may be just what you need to keep your research in order. Plus Nathan dives into the whisper of a family mystery, a possible child, and the question of 'Who Was Dolly?'.... We...

Tune in for this week’s genealogy chat with podcast co-hosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey … who are joined by a very special guest – Family Tree publisher Matt Hill. He’s got some exciting news to share about our BRAND NEW website, which is, though we say it ourselves, as delicious as a box of genealogical chocolates. Tuck in! PS Has Nathan been visited by The Family History Angel?

This week Family Tree Talk podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey mull over the topic of ‘how do you know it’s right?’. You know, those questions that we’re all faced with when doing our family history, such as ‘How do you know that an index entry is definitely for your ancestor?’, ‘Is that old photo really who it’s said to be?, and so forth. Plus, they chat about which steps to take to try t...

Join Family Tree Talk podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey this week as they chat family history. What it feels like when you make a mistake... How you unpick the problem, and then pick yourself up and keep going. The value of stopping to take stock and reflect on your findings. The importance of learning about your ancestors' lives and times - both to help you get a feeling for the world t...

Join podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey as they catch up about their recent research forays. Nathan has completed his quest to find the death dates for all 16 of his 2x great-grandparents, while Helen has been enjoying the new 1926 Irish Census... and wishing she hadn't been leaping to too many false conclusions. (She'd like to apologise for getting into monologue mode in her excitement)....

Are you feeling a bit stuck? Facing a family history situation that you can’t work out? Then tune in to the latest episode of Family Tree Talk, where Dr Sophie Kay will be chatting about some of the techniques she uses to make research progress – even when the going gets really tough. Plus, first, podcast co-hosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey catch up on their recent research forays – and Nathan te...

For weeks and weeks now, podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey have been chipping away at their respective research goals. Nathan is working on finding the death dates for each of his 2x great-grandparents, while Helen is building her family tree out and down, tracing her ancestors’ siblings and their descendants. Is it taking time? Yes! But is it worth it? Definitely so. See how the researc...

Podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey catch up on their recent research. Discussing what they’ve found. Discussing how to look for answers without necessarily spending money. Reflecting on the importance of doing the tasks… but also how absolutely important it is to keep it fun! Thoughts on the possibility of ‘getting your tree done in a single weekend’… and why would you want to?! The corre...

In this week’s genealogy chat Family Tree Talk podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey chat about a world of family history related topics, from the ethical dilemmas of doing research for a friend; to how to make sure an online family tree is secret (if it needs to be), plus chat about Ancestry tags, scores and more!

Usually family history can be a bit of an escape, can’t it? … An oasis of calm in our busy lives. But sometimes those research puzzles and projects and send us hither and thither like headless chickens, rushing about making a lot of noise, but very little progress. This week in Family Tree Talk, podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey chat about their recent research forays, and discuss ideas...

In this episode of Family Tree Talk, podcast co-host Nathan Ward shares his most recent discoveries and reflections with Helen Tovey. They discuss the family history process – considering: what does it really feel like to do family history? What is the best next step to take, when you completed a family history goal, before you move on to a new chapter in your research? And they chat about the man...

Podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey chat family history, as Nathan discusses the research steps he’s taken recently to unpick an online tree tangle, dig deeper into the records, and work out once and for all who his 3x great-granny really was. Tune in to see how he got on, and the usefulness of enlisting the power of the Genealogical Proof Standard to help ensure your research is rock soli...

Ertswhile newbie Nathan had nearly finished collecting all 32 of his 3x great-grandparents (superb effort, hey?) … when he realised that not all the facts were stacking up. Where had his research taken a wrong turn? And how was he going to get it back on track? This episode podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey chat about recent research forays and share ideas and steps to help fix those fac...

Family history erstwhile newbie Nathan Ward has only been tracing his family tree for a little over a year, but this week sees him ‘collect’ the final missing ancestor of his 3x great-grandparents. But is that 32 nd person really his. With impressive will-power, Nathan weighs up the facts before proceeding to add them to his tree. Tune in for Family Tree Talk podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen...

This week podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey chat about the tools that help you manage your Ancestry tree the way that you wish: how to cope with hints; how to merge duplicate people on your tree; how to check that living people’s details are really hidden & more. Plus the battle of the tree score continues – Nathan is leading the way with an impressive 9.9. Is an Elite score of 10 ou...

Making a start on your family history can be a quick and simple thing to do. Keeping going, digging deeper, sticking to the plan and getting your goal accomplished are another thing entirely. This episode podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey chat about Nate’s on-going project to find all his 3x great-grandparents – with search tips and research hacks woven in along the way. Tune in & en...

In the latest issue of Family Tree Talk, podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey talk about their recent tree-building exploits. Nathan Ward discusses his recent discoveries on his quest to add all 32 of his 3x great-grandparents to his family tree. He’s even found one set of 4x great-grandparents... without finding the 3x great-grandparents that should be the missing link. How is this even po...

Podcast co-hosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey roll up their sleeves and get going again on the quest to trace Nathan’s ancestors in Scotland. It’s Nathan’s first research foray over the border from Pudsey and Nate and Helen chat about: ways to get unstuck, and some useful websites for embarking on Scottish family history research.

Tune in for genealogy tips and chat. In this episode of Family Tree Talk podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey reflect on death certificates: Why order them? What can you learn from them? What clues and insights do they provide beyond the cause of death? Plus they take a whistle-stop tour of some of the many other useful records that shed light on our ancestors’ passing. What will you discov...