My Story

A born and raised Yorkshire Lass, my love affair with genealogy started at the tender age of 13 when my dad showed me our Family Tree. Suddenly I was connected to all these people I’d never heard of, who’d lived lives I couldn’t even begin to imagine. I was captivated and from then on, always had some sort of research project on the go.

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Seven years ago I turned 30 and decided it was time to try make this obsession into a full-time career. So I did what any sane person would do and quit my job with absolutely no plan whatsoever!

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I spent the next two days cobbling together a business plan, learning how to build a website and do all the other things that come with being a self-employed sole trader.

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The first family tree I did was a 90th birthday present for a local man. His daughter told me he cried with happiness and said it was the best present he’d ever received. I realised this is what I’m supposed to be doing with my life and I’ve never looked back.

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Since then, I’ve researched thousands of people, made hundreds of family trees, written countless books and made some lifelong friends along the way.

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Family Trees by Hannah is a name I chose because I wanted something ‘that does what it says on the tin’. Like me, it’s decent, straight-forward and hard-working. My aim is to make sure everyone has the opportunity to find out about their ancestry and regardless of their budget, will think of my work as ‘money well spent’.

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Of course, the answers to some family mysteries can’t be found because our ancestors take them to their grave with them. But what I can guarantee is that no matter how boring you think your family is, there is always an ancestor with a fascinating story just waiting to be uncovered….Every. Single. Time.