Genes Reunited Blog

As we all know, Family History is a very addictive hobby. However, it can be really confusing when you start out. There's so much information out there, but you just don't know where to go, what to do or who to ask. Even for the experts, there'll often be something that you are unsure about. We have gone back to basics and stepped away from the computer. We asked some of the family history experts we know to come up with a list of 10 useful books to help you with your family history. From beginners to experts, we've got something for you all.

1. Mark Herber - Ancestral Trails

This book was suggested by all of our experts and is a definitive guide to researching your family history. This covers just about everything you need to know, including full details about the different types of records you can research, how to organise your research and some personal recollections.

2. Society of Genealogists - "My Ancestor was a .." series

This useful series of books is published by the Society of Genealogists. It covers many topics including occupations and religions.

3. Anthony Adolph - Tracing Your Family History

Written by our very own resident genealogist, this is a great book to get you started. It covers all the basics, such as using census records and birth, marriage and death indexes. It also includes help with ancestors born outside of the UK and DNA testing.

4. Peter Christian - The Genealogist's Internet [Illustrated]

This book is a practical guide to using the internet for your family history research. If you want to build your tree online, research records or just join family history message boards, then this book will tell you the most useful websites.

5. Nick Barratt - Who Do You Think You Are? Encyclopaedia of Genealogy

This is a very thorough book that will help you through every aspect of researching and building your family tree. It is written by Nick Barratt and the makers of the BBC programme Who Do You Think You Are.

6. Debbie Kennett - DNA and Social Networking

For those of you interested in DNA and Genealogy then this is the book for you. It discusses DNA testing in depth. There is also a section on social networks and how they can help you with your family history research.

7. Jayne Shrimpton - Family Photographs and how to date them

Most of us have old family photos and we have no idea when they were taken. Jayne Shrimpton takes old photographs and shows how you can date them by looking at the clothes the people are wearing and the backgrounds they are set against.

8. Susan Lumas and Terrick Fitzhugh - The Dictionary of Genealogy

This book does what it says on the tin. It is an alphabetical list of family history terms. This is useful for both beginners and experts.

9. Cecil Humphery-Smith - Atlas and Index of Parish Registers

There will come a time when your research will take you back to before 1837. You will have exhausted the census and birth, marriage and death records. The next step is parish records. This book is a great help and explains all about the old parishes. There are also old maps so you can see exactly where your ancestors lived.

10. Stephen Friar and John Ferguson - Basic Heraldry

This is an interesting book that covers all aspects of heraldry, including the description of tournaments, the orders of chivalry and an explanation of coats of arms.

We do hope you find the book list useful. We feel it is always good to have something to refer back to. If you have read any of the above books then please add your review in the comments section at the bottom of the page.