Help Clinic

Maybe you've only just started your research or maybe you've been researching your tree for a long time. There may come a time when you need some help and if so you have come to the right place. Welcome to our Help Clinic where we will try and point you in the right direction.

We have a thriving community where you can post messages and ask for help. There are two different help boards, one for ancestors and one for living relatives. We have a large group of volunteer members who kindly help other members with their research.

Find ancestors - if there's one particular name you just can't find then this is the board for you. Ever wondered what happened to your great Uncle who left home at 16? Are you having problems finding your family in a census? Post your request here.

Find living relatives – if you are looking for someone who may well still be alive you can post your look up request here. There are guidelines at the top of the board to help you.

Genealogy chat – this is a message board for more general genealogy questions. Maybe one of your ancestors was a 'Higgler' and you want to know what that was.

Here are a few helpful hints as to how to get the most out of our message boards.

Give as much detail as possible when explaining who you are trying to find. All known information will make it much easier for volunteer helpers to help you.

If known, try putting the name, place of birth and year of birth in the subject line of your thread.

After posting a question, please stay on the boards for a while as replies are very quick. You may be needed to answer questions and give feedback to the replies given.

You can 'watch' a thread by clicking on 'watch this' at the top of the thread. When you watch a thread we will email you once a day when anyone has added to it.

To reply to a post, simply click on the purple 'Reply' button found at the very top of the thread.

To return to a thread that you posted on Genes Reunited click on 'My Threads' in the left hand navigation of your screen, then click on your thread title.

Please don't post about the same person or family twice as this can make extra work for the volunteer helpers.

If you want to bring attention to your thread and nudge it up to the top of the boards to gain more attention just add to or comment on the thread yourself.