Hannah Cunliffe - Historical Researcher

The project:  I was approached by John Burnett who was interested in finding out more about his ancestors.  At that time he knew only the names of his grandparents and was unsure whether he had many relatives.  He wanted to uncover as much as possible.

The process:  My first move was to visit the Family Records Centre.  Here, I ordered certificates for those relatives he knew, and with the information given on them was able to work backwards another generation. In this manner, and using the census wherever possible, I was able to trace his ancestors back to 1837, discovering that they had initially been a farming family living in Devon. Pre-1837 it is necessary to use parish records, so a trip to Exeter County Record Office took the trail deeper into the past.

The result: This research was very successful in that John Burnett had a much larger family than he had imagined.  His grandfather had nine siblings and further down the family tree there were branches that he had not known existed.  John was able to make contact with a distant relation and is still hoping to find others now shown on the tree.  He has also been able to follow his family migration from Devon to London and learn the professions of his ancestors in the city.