This website provides further information about the three books I have written, and also includes accounts of my research on the origins of William Davenport, an ancestor of Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, now Princess of Wales. The photograph on the left is of my maternal grandfather, John Surtees Hunter, 1888-1921.

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 era 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, which focuses on sources and the relevant historical background; and Tracing Your Pre-Victorian Ancestors: A Guide to Research Methods for Family Historians, which focuses on research methodology. While writing these books, I developed a particular interest in aspects of the history of parish registers that had received little previous attention, culminating in the publication of my third book: A History of Parish Registers in England and Wales: From the Restoration to Civil Registration in 2026.