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Your family

Every family has its own unique history, and everyone leaves behind records of their life - perhaps personal records such as photographs and letters, or official documents such as birth certificates, or wills. Perhaps there are family stories about service during the war, or origins in Ireland, Scotland or Wales. Perhaps there are tales about connections with the gentry and a lost inheritance, or perhaps there was a black sheep that gran would not talk about (who often turns out to be one of the more interesting members of the family).

All families have their stories, and most people wonder at some stage about the history of their own family. Genealogy is a fascinating and rewarding hobby and the skilled and enthusiastic amateur researcher can find out a great deal, but if you need the help of a fully-qualified professional researcher in this area then please read on.

About UK Origins

Gareth Watkins is one of the leading professional genealogists in the North of England.

He is the only East Yorkshire-based member of AGRA (the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives, the body which examines and regulates UK researchers) and is a signatory of their Code of Practice, which stresses the need for a high professional standard of work along with complete confidentiality. He is also a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (USA) and a current or past member of many local family history societies such as the East Yorkshire FHS, the City of York FHS, the Doncaster and District FHS, the Calderdale FHS and the Ryedale FHS. He is also a member of the Guild of One-Name Studies (GOON for the surname OMBLER).

Since graduating from Hull University in 1972 with a degree in history, Gareth has spent over 30 years in the region as a professional historian, working in the fields of archaeology, local and family history. He has lectured and taught widely in these subjects, and has published many books and articles on various aspects of the history of the region, including Wilberforce and Hull, the award-winning story of Hull's most famous son (co-author, published by Kingston Press 2000) and the Forgetten Hull series (with the late Graham Wilkinson). He has taught numerous courses around the region, including modules on Intermediate, Advanced and Expert Genealogy for the University of Hull's Centre for Lifelong Learning.

From 1997 to 2007 he was employed by Hull City Council as a full-time professional genealogist, running the Family History Unit; the Unit provided a free advice and education service for the residents of the city of Hull. Over this period he helped more than 2000 people with their family history projects. He specialises in the records of Hull of the 19th and 20th centuries, but has extensive expertise of all aspects of family history work including: wills and probate research, tracing birth parents of adopted people, tracing living relatives, parish and non-conformist register searches, tracing burial places, and the production of pedigrees and presentation copies (popular as birthday or Christmas presents). Click here to see some examples of current research projects.

Areas Covered

All depositories in Hull and East Yorkshire, including the new Hull History Centre, East Riding Archives (the "Treasure House"), the Borthwick Institute and local private collections. Other depositories in Yorkshire and Northern England can be visited by arrangement.

Costs and Payment

Research costs £30 per hour (currently about US$48), with a minimum fee of £60. For a quote please email your details to gareth@ukorigins.co.uk telephone 01482-444455, or post your details to:

J Gareth Watkins, B.A.
(Genealogical Research)
14 Prince's Road,
St John's Wood,
Hull HU5 2RD, UK

Payment can be make by credit card or debit card (in most currencies), or by personal cheque made payable to "J Gareth Watkins". To make a payment by credit/debit card (via Paypal) please click the BUY NOW button below.