This website provides further information about the two books I have written, and also includes accounts of my research on the history of parish registers and on the origins of William Davenport, an ancestor of Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, now Princess of Wales. As I no longer carry out paid research for clients, the name of this website has changed from John Wintrip Genealogy Services to John Wintrip: Genealogy Specialist.
After many years of personal family history research and several years as a professional genealogist, I had long been aware of the dearth of books focusing on research before 1837, when the sources available are markedly different to the Victorian period with its civil registration and census records, and 'brick walls' are much more likely to be encountered. In the continuing absence of such a book, I eventually decided to write one myself, which subsequently evolved into two complementary but self-contained books. Tracing Your Georgian Ancestors 1714-1837 focuses on sources and the relevant historical background. It is aimed at both total newcomers to research before 1837 and readers who wish to learn more about the sources available for research in this period, and the historical context within which they were produced. Tracing Your Pre-Victorian Ancestors: A Guide to Research Methods for Family Historians, focuses on research methodology and is aimed at readers who already have some experience of using the sources available for researching ancestry before civil registration.