roots

Tracing your tree

"Who Do You Think You Are?", currently being broadcast on BBC1 on Wednesday evenings, has encouraged many people to take up family history for the first time.
Anything that can bring tears to the eyes of Jeremy Paxman must have something going for it! But don't be fooled - because each of the family trees that is shown on the programme has taken many hours of patient research, in libraries and archives or on the Internet.
Sometimes everything falls neatly into place, but every now and then you will run into the famous "brick wall" - the dead-end where you are stuck and don't know where to turn.
That's when you need the services of the experts at Hull City Council. Staff in many departments - Libraries, Archives, Register Office, Burial Services, Museums, Electoral Registration and so on - will all have pieces of the jigsaw that is your family tree, and all of them will be happy to answer your questions and help with your research.
In addition, Hull History Services employs a full-time professional genealogist who runs a variety of classes and courses around the city (ring 300300 for details).
You can also have a free one-to-one "starter session" with the genealogist at Hull Central Library in Albion Street. They last for one hour and are limited to one session per person (ring 616828 to book).
The genealogist is also available at set times each week for "Help Desks" at the Central Library. These are drop-in sessions, so there's no need to book - just come along any Tuesday 6.30-7.30pm, any Wednesday 9.30-12.30pm, any Thursday 2.00-5.00pm, or on the third Saturday of each month between 9.00am and 4.30pm. The genealogist will usually be able to spend 20-30 minutes with you, but at busy times there may be a queue, in which case you should obtain a ticket from the staff at the library counter.

Gareth Watkins
Genealogist
Hull History Services