Journeys into Genealogy podcast

Genealogy podcast covering family history, research, tips, stories, interviews and more. Stories and interviews with people from the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa amongst others.

RootsTech 2025 with Ariel McDonald-Smith 01/09/2025

RootsTech 2025 with Ariel McDonald-Smith RootsTech 2025 is nearly here. Ariel McDonald-Smith of Family Search is sharing some of what's in store for us and how to make the most of the show which runs from 6-8 March 2025. The transcript (available on Substack) contains links to keynote speakers, famous relatives and how to sign up for the event itself. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/34078071

Celebrating 4 years and 100 episodes of Journeys into Genealogy plus what's in store for 2025 12/31/2024

Celebrating 4 years and 100 episodes of Journeys into Genealogy plus what's in store for 2025 A short episode with the roundup of 2024 with what's ahead for 2025... /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/34078116

The Prize Papers with Anne Ramon 12/16/2024

The Prize Papers with Anne Ramon The Prize Papers is a treasure trove of documents captured by English naval ships and privateers in the 1700s. Anne Ramon talks about the project and some of the papers captured during the American War of Independence. From crew lists to poetry and the letters which never reached their intended destinations, it's a fascinating insight into 18th century life. The image of Mrs John Deas is used with permission of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Museum Purchase. Mark and Loretta Roman and The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/34078026

The Lost 57 with Ron Williams 11/21/2024

The Lost 57 with Ron Williams Imagine not knowing your grandfather's history before he was 57. Ron Williams found himself in this situation and he has crossed the Atlantic from Canada to England to the US and back to Canada in search of answers. This has led him to write and self publish the book "The Lost 57". /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/34078016

GENUKI with Brian Randell 11/05/2024

GENUKI with Brian Randell Have you heard of GENUKI? It's an essential tool to help find out more about records for individual countries, counties and parishes within the UK and Ireland. Brian Randell was one of the co-founders and he explains about its history, structure and some of the wealth of records that can be found in this "union of libraries". Plus we also talk briefly about GENEVA the genealogy event diary. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/33791797

Researching insanity and disability with Kathy Chater 10/23/2024

Researching insanity and disability with Kathy Chater Kathy Chater takes us through a discussion about mental health and disability in the late 18th and 19th centuries and how to find ancestors who may have had these issues. We talk about the differences between private and public asylums, how and where ancestors may have been treated, where to find records and how the poor were treated as well as those who could afford to pay for treatment. There is a transcript of this interview on Substack together with a list of the resources mentioned. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/33581347

Postcards with Helen Baggott 10/10/2024

Postcards with Helen Baggott Have you ever wondered about the people who sent postcards in the past? Helen Baggott has researched hundreds of them and found the stories and lives of the senders and recipients. Helen shares tips for finding, evaluating and buying them and for researching the people and places plus stories of some of those she has found herself. We also discuss the books she has written "Posted in the Past" and "With Love from Grace" raising money for Parkinsons UK. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/33402377

Herstmonceux Castle with Scott Mclean 09/28/2024

Herstmonceux Castle with Scott Mclean Over the last 600 years Herstmonceux Castle has had mixed fortunes. From the first brick castle in England in the 1400s to ownership by a Canadian university in the 21st century. Former archivist Scott Mclean brings its history to life and that of some of its former owners and visitors including the Fiennes family, the Dacre family, Colonel Claude Lowther, Sir Paul Latham, the Royal Greenwich Observatory, Queen's University (Canada) and others. There have been some illustrious visitors over the years and Winston Churchill used to come and paint in the gardens. There is a second interview on Substack regarding some of the more unusual uses and goings on at Herstmonceux together with a transcript of this episode. Available here: /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/33242202

All About That Place 2024 with Ruth Willmore and Barbara Tien 09/06/2024

All About That Place 2024 with Ruth Willmore and Barbara Tien All About That Place and All About That Place Pacific Edition start on 27 Sept 2024. Find out more about both events with Ruth Willmore of the Society of Genealogists and Barbara Tien of Projectkin. These are two separate interviews and Barbara starts at approximately 11.25 of the recording. Transcripts are available via . /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/32910722

Collaborating on your family history via a committee with Freda and Daniel 08/22/2024

Collaborating on your family history via a committee with Freda and Daniel Have you wanted to write your own family history book? This family have had an annual newsletter going since the 1950s and Daniel had a vision of creating a book to share with other family members. Daniel who is in his 90s, and one of 13 siblings, worked with his daughter Freda and some of her cousins. Freda and Daniel talk about their experience of collaborating via a committee and how they produced a coffee table book and even a cake to celebrate the launch (shown on the cover image here). There is a second interview with Freda on Substack where she talks about how it all came together and some of the lessons learned. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/31510757

Getting started with DNA with Michelle Leonard 08/06/2024

Getting started with DNA with Michelle Leonard DNA expert Michelle Leonard shares the do's and don'ts for anyone who is considering doing a DNA test and what to do once you have your results. She explains what information you receive when you test and how far back you can reliably trace your ancestors. With advice on how to organize matches, the definition of a 'genetic community', how reliable Ancestry's ThruLines and Origins are, whether you should upload your results to more than one company and if books and courses are helpful and much more. There is a separate Journeys into Genealogy on Substack interview on the new Ancestry Pro Tools and whether it is worth signing up for (hint: we both think it is!). /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/32455247

Great Uncle PJ - the bard and poet with Patricia Ahern 07/25/2024

Great Uncle PJ - the bard and poet with Patricia Ahern P J Ahern was a bard, poet, journalist and storyteller in Limerick, Ireland in the late 19th and early 20th century. His great niece Patricia talks about him, his life and poetry and the parallels with her own life. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/31070288

Researching Migration to Australia with Ruth Graham 07/15/2024

Researching Migration to Australia with Ruth Graham Ruth Graham talks about migration to Australia from the first non-indigenous settlers in 1788 up until the £10 POMs in the 20th century. We covers convists, ships, their crews, assisted immigration, non assisted immigration, mining, free settlers, trade and much more. The transcript for this episode will be added for paid subscribers on Substack. There is a resources sheet available for free on Substack. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/31510722

The Gentleman's Magazine with Julian Pooley 06/26/2024

The Gentleman's Magazine with Julian Pooley The Gentleman's Magazine was the world's first modern magazine. Julian Pooley of the Surrey History Centre is an expert on the magazine and tells us about its history, contents, readership and how it is helpful to family historians. He also shares some of the stories contained within it including how Samuel Johnson was involved. A full interview transcript is available on Substack at . /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/31510732

Wayward Girls with Stephanie O'Connell 06/13/2024

Wayward Girls with Stephanie O'Connell In New York in the early 20th century young women who broke the rules or didn't obey their parents were called 'wayward' and sent to reformatories to change their ways. Stephanie O'Connell discusses her case study titled "Wayward Girls," exploring the 1923 Wayward Minor Act in New York, which criminalised female disobedience and sexual delinquency. We learn about the New York State Reformatory in Bedford Hills, where young women were sent for being 'wayward' or 'incorrigible.' Stephanie explains the social context of the time, the daily life of the girls in the reformatory, and the impact of these institutions on their lives and on her own grandmother who was sent to this reformatory. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/31510697

Researching Jamaican Ancestors with Wendy Aris 05/28/2024

Researching Jamaican Ancestors with Wendy Aris Wendy Aris has spent years searching for her Jamaican ancestors. In this episode we discuss what records are available and how far back they go. Visiting the National Archives and National Library in Jamaica, slavery, manumissions and emancipation and some of the surprising places records can be found. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/31494412

Researching Ancestors in Australia with Ruth Graham 05/14/2024

Researching Ancestors in Australia with Ruth Graham Ruth Graham, chair of the Society of Australian Genealogists, talks about the history of Australia, how the states are organized (it's changed quite a bit over the years!) where to find records, what records are available, including burial registers, newspapers, national and local archives, Trove, electoral rolls, Australian cemeteries, the services provided by the Society and much, much more. Ruth has provided a resource guide which is available on Substack alongside an interview transcript. This is the first of two interviews with Ruth about Australia, the second one will be focussed on migration. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/31286397

Preserving the Past with Melissa Kitchen 04/29/2024

Preserving the Past with Melissa Kitchen Melissa Kitchen shares family stories and gives us tips on how to find and record them. We discuss living in the USA, ancestors who came across on the Mayflower, New England and lots more. There is a guest blog post to accompany this episode with some of the suggestions and resources on . Also please visit for additional content including an extra interview with Melissa. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/30063873

US Family history, Pryor Wives and more with Vanessa Wood 04/12/2024

US Family history, Pryor Wives and more with Vanessa Wood Writer and researcher Vanessa Wood talks about her own family history including migration from Sweden to Tennessee and Virginia USA and her book "Pryor Wives" about the women who married into several Pryor families who shared a common surname, but probably did not share blood or share a family tree. These included pioneer women and their journeys across the US, a former slave and others. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/30255148

Researching New Zealand Family History with Sarah Hewitt 03/26/2024

Researching New Zealand Family History with Sarah Hewitt Sarah Hewitt is chair of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists. We discuss what records are available in New Zealand, where they are located, what is available for free including birth, marriage and death records, wills and probate, school records, immigration, newspaper and other archives plus the benefits of joining the New Zealand Society of Genealogists including access to the Kiwi Collection. Sarah has put together a resource sheet which is available via this blog post: . /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/30545708

Manchester History with Dean Kirby 03/12/2024

Manchester History with Dean Kirby Dean Kirby has researched his ancestors amongst industrial Manchester in the 19th century and his book "Angel Meadow" is about the slum neighbourhood that they lived in and some of the interesting characters who were their neighbours. We discuss pauper ancestors, Manchester industries, cotton and textiles, manufacturing, Irish migration and ancestry, using fire maps, rate books, the "Friends of Angel Meadow" and more. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/30063863

East Surrey Family History Society with Hilary Blanford 02/21/2024

East Surrey Family History Society with Hilary Blanford Hilary Blanford explains the area covered by East Surrey (for non UK listeners part of this is directly south of the River Thames in London), the resources available from the Society, events held including online family history fairs, in person meetings and genealogy/local history walks and some of the transcription projects the Society is working upon including the Philanthropic School for Boys, the Westminster Lying In Hospital and the old psychiatric hospital in Epsom. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/29934443

Researching South African ancestors with Natalie da Silva 02/13/2024

Researching South African ancestors with Natalie da Silva Natalie da Silva of the Genealogical Society of South Africa () talks about all the records and resources available for researching South African ancestors. Plus South African history, immigration, how the country is setup, locations of archives, where records are stored and if they have been digitised and who to contact. The accompanying blog post gives links to many of these: . /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/29871263

Storytelling with Bridget Badoe McQuick 01/31/2024

Storytelling with Bridget Badoe McQuick Bridget Badoe McQuick (aka Lady Esi) is an oral historian, storyteller and local heritage champion. We discuss her family history, stories and culture in Ghana including burial traditions (funerals go on for 3 days and are a celebration of life and family and some include 'professional wailers') and how this fits with life in England. Plus her work as a heritage champion in Tottenham, London and how to ensure diverse voices are heard and celebrated. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/29733383

Unravelled with Fanny Mills 01/24/2024

Unravelled with Fanny Mills Fanny Mills discusses her book "Unravelled" full of family secrets, missing people, culture clashes and what she discovered about her family's hidden past. From high society and aristocracy in England in the late 19th and early 20th century one one side and Jewish refugees on the other, to propaganda in north Africa in WWII, all woven around her upbringing in Hampstead, London in the 1960s and 70s. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/29610333

Goodbye and thank you 2023 and hello 2024 12/29/2023

Goodbye and thank you 2023 and hello 2024 Celebrating the third anniversary of the Journeys into Genealogy podcast with a short round up of 2023, statistics, tips from some the interviewees and what's in store for 2024. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/29257358

Running, ancestors and "Makin a Mackem" with Julie Carter 12/21/2023

Running, ancestors and "Makin a Mackem" with Julie Carter Fell runner Julie Carter made a running pilgrimage to visit Gateshead in north east England where her ancestor John Nowell setup the Gateshead Harriers running group. We discuss her book "Makin a Mackem" which talks about her journey, mental health, the benefits of running, her family history and how she found out about her ancestors and met Sir Brendan Foster along the way. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/29169648

Dead Fred with Joe Bott 12/05/2023

Dead Fred with Joe Bott Find out about Dead Fred the genealogy photo archive setup by Joe Bott. Over the past 40 years or so he has collected hundreds of thousands of old photos including daguerrotypes, tintypes, cartes de visite and cabinet cards and even some post mortem photos. Joe shares the stories of how he found some of them, how people share theirs with him and how some are returned to descendants. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/28934303

Genealogy Fun with Sindi Terrien 11/17/2023

Genealogy Fun with Sindi Terrien Genealogy Fun whilst developing new genealogists is a new book by Sindi Terrien. We talk about lots of games and ways to encourage interest amongst young (and older) people in your family history. There's also a chance to win a copy of her book. An accompanying blog post gives some examples and ways to create your own word search. If you do create something yourself please share it in the blog comments. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/28583248

ProjectKin with Barbara Tien 11/01/2023

ProjectKin with Barbara Tien Barbara Tien is the founder of ProjectKin (), a new global community of people helping to share family history stories using modern technology. Barbara explains how she came to set it up, how it works, who it is for and how it can help family historians, plus lots of stories and tips. /episode/index/show/emmacox/id/28483931

Journeys into Genealogy podcast

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