Dead Rel Hunting

Maybe you’ve already started building your family tree, but you don’t have the time, or maybe the knowledge, to dig deeper?

Maybe you’ve had your DNA tested, but you don’t know how to use the results to work backwards to find out more about your ancestors? Again – maybe you don’t have the time, or perhaps the technology’s doing your head in (which is understandable!).

Or perhaps you’ve been building your tree, but you have lots of duplicates, or DNA matches tied to the wrong profiles, you-name-it – and you need someone to help clean up the mess?

Here’s where I come in … I am an avid family history researcher or, as Arnold Schwarzenegger might say, ‘I am the dead rel hunter’. 😀

And boy would I love to do some dead rel hunting for you!

How I got started and how I can help you

I first became intrigued with my family history when one of Mum’s cousins back in England sent a copy of the tree he’d created. I was about 12 at the time and it fascinated me – I loved the visual representation of my heritage and being able to see the links to the people Mum talked about.

Fast forward several decades (and many iterations in technology!) and I joined Ancestry.com in 2006 to begin my own hunt. A few years later I had my DNA tested and that really helped me begin discovering my roots. I now have over 7,500 people on my family tree, an Ancestry tree rating of 9.2 out of 10 (although it can go up and down depending on what I’m working on), and DNA matches everywhere. I also have a couple of dead ends here and there that I’m still working on, so the challenge never leaves!

I simply love the chase, the hunt, the analysis of the information and the piecing together of the puzzle. In fact, I love it so much that from 2026 I’ll be studying a Diploma of Family History with the University of Tasmania to help consolidate my knowledge and give me even more ways to help my clients other than just doing the research, such as helping write the stories of your ancestors.

I’ve assisted others with their family trees over the years and would love the chance to work with you. So … how can I help you?

Dead Rel Hunting Starter package

If you haven’t yet started building your family tree or had your DNA tested, or if you’ve put your toe in the water and just don’t know how to start swimming, then my Dead Rel Hunting Starter package is probably the best bet for you. Find out more here.

Dead Rel Hunting in general

If you’ve already started building your tree on Ancestry and have had your DNA tested (or are very close to doing so), then I’m happy to have a look and see what work might be required to take it further. Or, you might have specific issues you’d like me to work on.

For this work, you can book me in batches of hours, starting with 3 hours. Find out more on my Dead Rel Hunting in general page here.

Making use of family history stories

If you’ve been collating family history stories, or are currently interviewing relatives and others for family history, I can help you bring those stories to life with the following self-publishing services (click the links to find out more about the individual service):

Transcription services: If it’s easier for you to record your stories rather than write or type them up, or if you’re interviewing family members for your family history research, I can transcribe those recordings into Word docs for you.

Manuscript development and writing: If you’re interested in writing your family stories, I can help you develop those stories to be engaging and interesting, rather than just a list of facts, so that future generations will be more likely to want to refer to them.

Self-publishing assistance: If you’d like to do more with your stories than just have them on Ancestry or in Word docs, I can provide a range of self-publishing services to help you bring those stories to a wider audience.

Why Ancestry?

As I’ve worked on Ancestry for nearly two decades, learning another system is not worth it for me now. So with apologies in advance, if you don’t have an account with Ancestry, there’s not much I can do to help. 🙁 (I do, however, use additional external resources when searching for information, but I only build trees on Ancestry.)

Please also note that I do NOT receive any kickbacks or financial return from using Ancestry or for mentioning them on my website here.

When you’re ready to start

Get the ball rolling by clicking on the links above to work out what you’d like me to help with, then shoot me an email via my Contact form. Each of the pages above will also have a link to my Contact form.

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