Discover your past
Learn from the experts whether you are starting out on your family history or in need of specialist advice
23andMe files for bankruptcy protection
23andMe, one of the world's largest DNA testing companies, is filing for bankruptcy following financial and legal problems
California attorney general urges 23andMe customers to consider deleting their data
Discover how to delete your 23andMe data after the company announced it is filing for bankruptcy
Public invited to share WW2 family letters as part of VE Day anniversary celebrations
Members of the British public are invited to share their family letters from the Second World War as part of the VE Day 80th anniversary commemorations
Battle of Britain pilots: How many pilots were killed, are any still alive and how can you trace them?
Jonathan Scott surveys the best websites for researching Battle of Britain pilots and ground crew
The best genealogy courses available now
Discover how to learn family history skills with our pick of the best online and correspondence genealogy courses
What's new?
From school records to shipyard registers, over 11 million West Dunbartonshire family history records have been published online
Over 11 million West Dunbartonshire family history records have gone online at Ancestry
Discover your Irish ancestry in 48 hours: The complete tourist's guide to Dublin's archives and museums for St Patrick's Day
Discover how to research your Irish family history on a 48-hour tour of Dublin
What UK census records are available?
UK census records are a crucial family history resource, but when was the census taken and where can you find census records including free census websites?
Irish census records and census substitutes: Where to find them
Although many have been destroyed, Irish census records and their substitutes are still essential tools for anyone researching their Irish roots
How to trace the privateers who pillaged ships on behalf of the British government
How to find out more about the privateers who terrorised the seas on behalf of the British government
DNA
Discover how DNA testing can unlock your family history
10 things you should do with your Ancestry DNA test results to get the most from them
Not sure what to do with your AncestryDNA test results? DNA expert Debbie Kennett offers 10 tips that will help you get the most from them
A DNA test revealed the truth about my Dad's biological father — and his tragic death
Sonia Limm explains how she solved the mystery of her father's father's identity with a DNA test
My grandfather never knew who his biological father was — could I solve the mystery with a DNA test?
Crime novelist Sarah Ward reveals how she took a DNA test to solve her own mystery — the identity of her grandfather's father
Occupations
Discover the occupations and jobs people in your family history did
The 15 best websites for finding clergy in your family tree
An Anglican or nonconformist clergyman in your family tree can be a treat for genealogists, says Jonathan Scott
Munitionettes: Who were they and what did they do?
12-hour shifts, poisoning and deadly explosions... discover the hidden lives of the women who built Britain's arms during the First World War
Post Office records: How to find Post Office employee records
Susannah Coster from The Postal Museum reveals how to use Post Office records in family history
Military
Military and army records, history, research and family history
WW2 War Diaries: What are they, and where can you find them?
Find out how you can find WW2 War Diaries at The National Archives and use them to find out what your family did in WW2
Remarkable drawings from artist’s First World War scrapbook go online
Findmypast has published an illustrated scrapbook by First World War soldier Henry Page
Second World War Army records: Where to find them
If someone in your family history served in the Army during the Second World War, here's how to track down their records
Overseas ancestry
Learn how to search for your ancestry overseas and discover your international family tree
"The need to defend the truth has been given new urgency": Thousands of Holocaust records go online
The Wiener Holocaust Library has launched Wiener Digital Collections, a new digital portal
The best websites for finding Holocaust records
We look at the websites where you can trace the records of family members who were killed in the Holocaust
Reader story | My family came here with the Windrush generation
When Adrian Stone's mum fell ill, he was compelled to research her heritage. A decade and 6,000 ancestors on, he has made some amazing finds that have led him from Jamaica to his African roots.
Photo dating
Find out more about dating and caring for your old family photographs
Old photographs: Your complete guide to cleaning, storing and displaying your family photographs
Helen Dawkins on the best way to make sure your old family photographs survive for future generations
RHS calls for help identifying 16 Victorian calling card photographs
The Royal Horticultural Society has published its collection of 756 Victorian calling card photographs online
Do you have photographs of your family in their gardens? Here’s how to uncover the stories behind them
Discover how to use clothes, photo types and more to date old photographs of your family outdoors in their gardens throughout the years
Photo dating
Find out more about dating and caring for your old family photographs
These family photos are all I have left of my grandfather and uncle who both died in the world wars
Debbie Cameron from Formby in Merseyside shares her family photographs, including of her grandfather and uncle who died in the world wars
From fishing trawlers to Second World War submarines, my family have a long connection with the sea
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Hazel Garas shares some of her family photographs, including Second World War heroes
From a mysterious disappearance to meeting the Queen: These photographs reveal my family history
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine reader Pamela Spencer shares her family photographs, including from the First and Second World Wars
Church records
How to access church records, religious records, and discover religious ancestors
Over one million Teesside parish records go online
A new collection over one million Teesside parish records has been added to Ancestry
How to find baptism records
Genealogist Paul Blake explains why English and Welsh baptism records are important in family history research, and where you can find them online
Parish chest records: What are they, and how can you use them in family history?
So-called because they were kept in chests in the parish, parish chest records include churchwardens' accounts, settlement orders, bastardy examinations and more
TV series
Discover more about the Who Do You Think You Are? TV series
Issa Rae discovers her ancestor was deposed royalty in Senegal on No Taste Like Home
Actor Issa Rae traced her Senegalese roots on No Taste Like Home
When is Who Do You Think You Are? next on TV?
When is Who Do You Think You Are? next on TV, and who will appear on it? We answer your questions about the popular family history TV show
Andrew Garfield and Will Young to star in Who Do You Think You Are? 2025
The BBC has announced the celebrities who will discover their family history on Who Do You Think You Are? 2025