All About Ancestors

07/01/2026

✨✨ Exciting news! ✨✨

My latest article has just been published in the January 2026 edition of Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine.

This one explores the lives of steamship stokers, the men who worked in intense heat below decks to keep ships moving. Without them, no ship could leave port. Britain could not have sustained its empire, fought the Boer War or the First World War, or transported millions of emigrants across the Atlantic in such vast numbers. Steamships brought speed and reliability, and that reliability is what made mass migration possible.

The article directly connects with my work in maritime and family history, and with the kind of social history I care most about telling. The images here are short excerpts from the article, offering a glimpse into the working conditions and lives of men who are often missing from the historical record.

If you want to read the full 5-page article, it is out now in newsagents or you can subscribe here:
https://www.whodoyouthinkyouaremagazine.com/magazine

If you are researching someone in your own family who worked in the engine or boiler rooms of steamships, feel free to message me for help, as this is very much one of my specialisms.

06/01/2026

With the wintry weather setting in, it felt like the perfect moment to share a few tips for discovering your ancestors. I hope they’re useful.

❄️❄️ Seasonal Clues in Family History❄️❄️

January can be a surprisingly useful month for family history research. Many ancestors’ movements and decisions followed seasonal patterns, and these often show up clearly in the records. If you’re digging into your ancestral lines this month, here are a few practical places to look:

📜 Apprenticeships: Many indentures began in early January, especially for children from poorer families. If someone “appears” in a new parish around this time, an apprenticeship record may explain why.

🏛️ Poor Law Records: Winter was a common time for settlement examinations, removal orders, and applications for parish relief. These documents often give rich detail about family structure, employment, and movement between parishes.

🌾 Hiring and Employment Patterns: Agricultural labourers frequently changed employers after the Christmas hiring fairs. If an ancestor suddenly shifts parish in January, seasonal work may be the reason.

🔍 Quarter Sessions: Winter offences and disputes often appear in the January quarter sessions (court records). These can reveal occupations, relationships, and even character details you won’t find elsewhere.

Looking at your ancestors’ lives through the lens of the season can help explain sudden moves, new occupations, or unexpected appearances in the records.

06/01/2026

I thought this might be helpful for anyone interested in UK family history. The National Archives (UK) are running some really good free online sessions at the moment, covering everything from getting started to using WW1 and WW2 records.

Sharing the links here in case they’re useful to anyone:

📚 Book your place here:
• Using TNA's Discovery search tool: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/using-discovery-tickets-1972536014318?aff=odcleoeventsincollection&keep_tld=1
• WW1 Records: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/family-history-using-first-world-war-records-tickets-1972756419556
• WW2 Records: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/family-history-using-second-world-war-records-tickets-1973331981076

🌳 They’re completely free and really well put together, so hopefully useful for anyone digging into their ancestors’ stories.

05/01/2026

❄️❄️ Seasonal Clues in Family History❄️❄️

January can be a surprisingly useful month for family history research. Many ancestors’ movements and decisions followed seasonal patterns, and these often show up clearly in the records. If you’re digging into your ancestral lines this month, here are a few practical places to look:

📜 Apprenticeships: Many indentures began in early January, especially for children from poorer families. If someone “appears” in a new parish around this time, an apprenticeship record may explain why.

🏛️ Poor Law Records: Winter was a common time for settlement examinations, removal orders, and applications for parish relief. These documents often give rich detail about family structure, employment, and movement between parishes.

🌾 Hiring and Employment Patterns: Agricultural labourers frequently changed employers after the Christmas hiring fairs. If an ancestor suddenly shifts parish in January, seasonal work may be the reason.

🔍 Quarter Sessions: Winter offences and disputes often appear in the January quarter sessions (court records). These can reveal occupations, relationships, and even character details you won’t find elsewhere.

Looking at your ancestors’ lives through the lens of the season can help explain sudden moves, new occupations, or unexpected appearances in the records.

05/01/2026

✨✨ Lovely follow-up news ✨✨

My article in the December 2025 edition of Who Do You Think You Are? 📖 prompted lots of positive reader letters. Readers wrote to say thank you 🙏 and to share how much they enjoyed it.

It’s so encouraging to see my work landing well and prompting responses ✍️. That kind of engagement is always good news for editors, and as a writer, it’s rewarding to see research resonate.

Even better, the article was referenced in the Star Letter ⭐ in the January 2026 edition 🎉—an unexpected but lovely bonus.

Reader responses like this really make the research and writing worthwhile ❤️.

03/01/2026

📺 Titanic Sinks Tonight – One of the Strongest Retellings Yet 🚢❄️

Over New Year, the BBC released a new four‑part series, 'Titanic Sinks Tonight', and I thought it was definitely one of the better accounts we’ve had in recent years. It reconstructs the sinking minute‑by‑minute using letters, diaries, and survivor testimonies, and as someone who has read extensively on the Titanic for both research and publication 📚, I recognised almost every quote. Even so, it was fascinating to see how the BBC wove these sources together into a coherent, emotionally grounded narrative.

The reconstructions were well done, and several of the actors gave moving and powerful performances. One of the most inspired choices was the inclusion of Somali‑British novelist Nadifa Mohamed as an expert. Her reflections on the mindset of third‑class emigrants were outstanding, capturing the trust many emigrants placed in the systems around them and reminding viewers how profitable the emigrant market was for shipping lines of the era 🌍⚓.

I did find myself wishing they had included a dedicated crew specialist, as some of the operational details would have benefited from expert verification. Given how central the crew were to the unfolding events, that extra layer of accuracy would have strengthened an already strong production .

Overall, the series highlighted the stark differences between classes on board and how access to information shaped people’s chances of survival. It’s a reminder that the human stories behind the disaster are far more complex than the familiar Hollywood narrative 💔✨.

If you’ve watched it, I’d love to hear what stood out to you 👇

26/12/2025

Boxing Day in England was traditionally the day when servants, apprentices, postal workers, and tradesmen received their “Christmas box”, a small gift of money or goods from employers and customers. In many households it was the one day of the year servants were allowed home to visit family.

If you have English ancestors who were in service, Boxing Day may have had more meaning for them than Christmas Day itself.

Thought I would share, as this kind of context can add a lot of colour when you see the date pop up in records.

If anyone has found a Boxing Day reference in their research, I’d love to hear about it.

25/12/2025

Sending Christmas cheer from All About Ancestors.

18/12/2025

🚢 How New York Helped Titanic Survivors

Most people know what happened in the North Atlantic. Far fewer know what happened when the survivors reached New York.

What unfolded on the night of 18 April 1912 is one of the most powerful, overlooked acts of compassion in the city’s history – and the original records reveal details that rarely make it into the documentaries or books.

I’ve written a new blog post using those primary sources, uncovering what really happened on the piers, who stepped in to help, and how the city rallied around hundreds of traumatised survivors.

Read the full story here:
https://allaboutancestors.com/how-new-york-helped-titanic-survivors/

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15/12/2025

Proud to share that the University of Strathclyde invited me to provide a testimonial for the MSc in Genealogical, Heraldic and Paleographic Studies. It’s genuinely lovely to have my work recognised in this way.

The MSc gave me a rigorous and modern grounding in genealogy, from DNA analysis to global record sets covering the USA, British India, Australia, Europe and Ireland. It also let me explore specialist interests through projects on DNA genealogy, transported convicts and the British Merchant Service, and my dissertation tracing Titanic families after 1912.

It was a transformative experience that strengthened both my confidence and my career. If anyone is thinking about studying genealogy and wants to know more, I’m always happy to chat.

https://www.strath.ac.uk/studywithus/centreforlifelonglearning/genealogy/nicolajohnsontestimonial/

11/12/2025

🎁 Looking for a unique Christmas gift that goes beyond the ordinary?

Send an All About Ancestors Genealogy Gift Voucher to offer a personalised experience - ideal for anyone curious about their roots.

Recipients can choose from:
✔️ Traditional family history research
✔️ Specialist Maritime and Titanic or transported convict genealogy
✔️ DNA detective work using Ancestry or MyHeritage results - perfect for identifying unknown relatives.

📍 Learn more at:
https://allaboutancestors.com/family-history-gift-vouchers-dna-research/