Family Tree Talk

In the latest issue of Family Tree Talk, podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey talk about their recent tree-building exploits. Nathan Ward discusses his recent discoveries on his quest to add all 32 of his 3x great-grandparents to his family tree. He’s even found one set of 4x great-grandparents... without finding the 3x great-grandparents that should be the missing link. How is this even possible? Tune in to find out more

Podcast co-hosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey roll up their sleeves and get going again on the quest to trace Nathan’s ancestors in Scotland. It’s Nathan’s first research foray over the border from Pudsey and Nate and Helen chat about: ways to get unstuck, and some useful websites for embarking on Scottish family history research.

Tune in for genealogy tips and chat. In this episode of Family Tree Talk podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey reflect on death certificates: Why order them? What can you learn from them? What clues and insights do they provide beyond the cause of death? Plus they take a whistle-stop tour of some of the many other useful records that shed light on our ancestors’ passing. What will you discover?

This week on Family Tree Talk podcast co-hosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey discuss marriage records. Thinking about the go-to places in which to look for marriage records. Reminding themselves to make sure they’ve gleaned every last clue from these precious papers. Check that they’ve tracked down the family wedding photos. And perhaps even taken a peep at the historic Met Office report for the day – to see whether their ancestors wed in sunshine, showers, or perhaps, even a romantic dusting of snow…

In this episode of the Family Tree Talk podcast, cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey go back to the beginning, and reflect on the rich range of clues a birth certificate holds… quite aside from that little nugget of an ancestor’s birthday. Join us as we continue our tour of the key family history records where we are constantly reminded that there is always, always, something new and exciting to learn, even about the most familiar of old-friend family history records.

This episode podcast co-hosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey chat about the census: the clues, the stories, the value of taking a new look at these oh-so-familiar documents and more. Plus Helen puts Nathan on the spot with a quick Census 101 test, and Helen has to admit the doesn’t know the answers to more questions than you’ve had hot dinners. The link to our comprehensive census guide is: https://www.family-tree.co.uk/how-to-guides/uk-census-records/

Podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey are joined this week by a very special guest - genealogy AI guru Carole McCulloch. They ask her the how, what, why of using AI to help us with our family histories. Tune in to find out - is AI for you? And how can it really help you accomplish more in your genealogical research?

Podcast co-hosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey chat about the how, what & why of creating a rock solid family tree. Plus learn about: Nathan’s multi-millionaire ancestor, how to assess whether an old photo you’ve found online is credibly that of your ancestor, and thoughts on when to call in the heavy guns and get some specialist help with your family history.

From free online palaeography courses to thoughts on AI transcription tools, learn about the resources that can help you read old handwriting. Podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey chat about deciphering documents, setting realistic family history goals, working on new branches of the family tree and more.

Hello and welcome to a very special episode of the Family Tree Talk podcast! Our one-year anniversary! 52 episodes of stories, discoveries and plenty of genealogical detective work.And speaking of detective work… there’s someone who’s been on quite the journey over the past year: podcast co-host Nathan Ward. When this all began, he was our resident family history newbie. But look at him now! He’s survived censuses, conquered civil registration, put tree hints under the microscope and so much more.To celebrate one whole year of family history podcast fun, we’re putting him to the ultimate test. Join him and podcast co-host Helen Tovey and see how much you know. The clock starts now.

Don’t you just love it when you come across a new record or two, and all the details match perfectly? Nathan Ward shares just such a pleasing piece of research, about his WW1 air mechanic family member. And podcast co-hosts Nathan and Helen Tovey chat family history: from the importance of recording memories, to what to do when you spot a mistake on someone else’s tree, and the dangers of drawing false assumptions when basing conclusions on just a single fact.

Podcast co-hosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey catch up on their latest family history endeavours, reflect on the importance of remembering, and begin to think about which family history goals they want to actually complete between now and the end of the year. Wish them luck!

It’s a busy week in this episode of the podcast with co-hosts Nate Ward and Helen Tovey. If you only do a few things in the coming few days: 1. Order any wills you need from https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate (£1.50 - going up to £16 on 17/11/2025). 2. Make sure you make use of the free access to online military records (eg check the major family history data websites). 3. Go download the combat reports of Czech Battle of Britain flying ace Jan Francsizek. And yes, go on - tune in to this week’s episode of the podcast to find out more!

Nathan Ward is 99% sure that Private A Hearn, who died in 1918, is his relation. He has papers a-plenty, notes from a distant cousin, and even an annotated family tree from them. But he can't quite see how his Albert Hearn matches the poor young man MIA in that final year of the First World War. Tune in as Nate and podcast co-host Helen Tovey weigh up the information and try to piece together the true story of the past.

From short walks down the lane to the neighbouring village, to brave voyages across the world, when doing family history we discover that our ancestors sometimes moved about more than we might think. What was it that made them move though? Podcast cohosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey chat about push-pull factors - and other family history hacks, hints and chat.

This week podcast co-hosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey chat about their recent family history research forays and reflect on those unexpected details that are there – waiting to be found in the records. From census records to the sisters of King Henry VIII - the chat is all about those tiny clues, that we, as family historians, tend to treasure.

Podcast co-hosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey catch up about their recent research forays. Nate’s been making great progress filling in the details of his Victorian soldier in the 36th Foot... It turns out his Mum had some of the details already. But we think that one of the joys of family history is doing the detective work yourself – agree? Let’s what he’s discovered.

Well it turns out that Nathan's many times grandpa did marry his Irish sweetheart, and her life as a soldier's wife would see her travel the globe. Nate & podcast cohost Helen Tovey go back to the beginning and see what clues can be spotted on his discharge papers (found in the extensive military collections on Findmypast) and make a plan of where to look next.

Podcast co-hosts Nathan Ward and Helen Tovey compare notes on their family history endeavours over the past few days. Nate has been busy tracking down his direct ancestors’ siblings - to gain a timeframe for when the family was in India, and when they returned to British shores. Wrestling a little with several generations by the same name, he’s managed to do it! Helen has been mulling over the challenges of telling the stories of more recent ancestors, but has actually made a start.

Podcast co-hosts Nate Ward and Helen Tovey chat family history. Nate’s been revisiting his first forays into family history research, and making sure that the research he did right at the beginning of his genealogy journey is as solid as he’d like. (And what a good idea that is too – after all, everything that comes after, is built on each of our earliest endeavours. So getting those foundations solid is an excellent plan). Helen’s been skipping a bit of home-work, but is actually writing up some of her family stories at long last.