Family Tree UK

Learn how to trace your family tree! Every issue is packed with: family history research advice hands-on learning experiences to help you become an ancestor super-sleuth & step-by-step guides to show you the path to tracing the past. From vintage documents to the latest in DNA, we’re here to help you discover more! Get the latest in genealogy news, software, books, archives and expert answers. Plus enjoy those reader stories that remind what it means to trace your family story. Research & remember your roots with Family Tree!

Something old, something new…

MORE FROM US…

A World first: 200th anniversary of Brunel’s underwater tunnel • 2025 marks the 200th anniversary of the start of the construction of the Thames Tunnel – the world’s first underwater tunnel. Designed by Marc Isambard Brunel, and constructed with his son Isambard, the ambitious project was eventually completed 18 years later.

Digitisation of adoption records discussion • Ahead of the centenary of the 1926 Adoption Act views have been sought to examine the status and retention rules relating to the records of adoption and care-experienced people

Ancestry appeal to access Scottish records • Ancestry has taken legal action with regard to the National Records of Scotland’s refusal to allow the commercial genealogy company access to its records

Heredis 2026 out now • The latest version of PC, Mac or PC-Mac-bundle software, Heredis now available.

RootsMagic 11 out now • September 2025 saw the new release of both the UK and US latest versions of RootsMagic

DNA Club news • DNA Club news reporter Karen Evans shares news from the genealogy scene

RootsTech registration 2026 now open • RootsTech will be held 5-7 March in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA and online at RootsTech.org

BRANCHES AND LEAVES the importance of researching the whole family • This month, Family Tree Academy tutor David Annal explains the importance of not restricting our family history research to a single line, and describes how a broader approach can pay huge dividends

SUFFERING & SHELL SHOCK THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TOLL OFWWI AND WWII • Genealogist Julie Johnson tells us the story of Theodore Oriel, whose experiences during World War I took a terrible emotional and psychological toll, and cast a painful shadow over the rest of his life

TANGLED WEB • After the thrill of finding ‘father William Grindle’ on Thomas Tonge’s marriage register entry, Gill Shaw goes on the trail of her new ancestor’s interestingly named wife …

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Getting started with AI for genealogy confidently • ‘By the end of this guide,’ writes family history & AI tutor Carole McCulloch, ‘you’ll understand how to harness AI as your assistant while maintaining complete control over your family’s narrative integrity’

THE NEW MITOTREE AND MILLION MITO PROJECT: what’s new for mtDNA testers? • Lecturer and author John Cleary outlines developments in FamilyTreeDNA’s mtDNA test, introduces us to the Mitotree, and explains how the new Discover™ service can help us get closer to our ancestral roots

HOW TO PUT YOUR STORY TOGETHER FOR PUBLISHING … anywhere • Genealogist, researcher and author Wayne Shepheard encourages each of us to pen our family stories. With material as good as that provided by family history, we are sure to have something well worth recording.

FAMILY TREE MAKER 2024 (FOR MAC) • This issue, in our series of articles reviewing family tree programs, professional genealogist Mandy Geary looks at Family Tree Maker 2024 (for Mac). Read on for her thoughts and experiences

FURTHER RECORDS OF THE CROWN MEDIEVAL RECORDS FOR THE GENEALOGIST & LOCAL HISTORIAN 1066-1485 • Discover the record collections and...