History Consultancy
I am absolutely delighted with all the information that you have found for me. It had taken me a great deal of time to find the correct person, working on the problem for about five years! I was not positive even then that I had the correct one! Your research has I believe, proven that I have the correct lady. Thank you very very much for carrying out this research for me, you have done a wonderful job.
BW, Oxford
Pharos Tutors
Emma teaches the online Pharos course, Church and Community: Selected Records 1540-1800. This course, part of the Pharos Advanced programme in association with the Society of Genealogists, builds on prior knowledge of the parish and its records, giving students the tools to understand the nature, jurisdictions and administrations under which different types of community existed in the past.
Students' comments on what they had most enjoyed about the course:
"It reinforced my learning from the 17th Century Sources course and I developed a better understanding of townships and boroughs. The workload each week was reasonable with enough time to explore the subject. The chat sessions were structured, friendly and informative. The tutor was excellent; very involved and encouraging."
"The variety of records covered; the tutor's enthusiasm and help given."
"The detail and guidance in the course was exceptional and very useful. It may me think about source material and the various records that were created."
"The course directing to use your own ancestors as the subject of research. Not only did it add further interest but also opened up avenues in my personal research."
"Gained a better understanding of different administrative structures and about the potential uses of different types of parish records, such as vestry minutes and churchwarden's accounts. I really enjoyed learning about the bawdy courts and discovering the York diocesan cause papers. Emma was very responsive to my questions and I appreciated her summaries of the chat/zoom sessions."
History Advice Sessions and Talks
Emma is available for family history advice sessions for individuals , institutions or special events. She is experienced in giving advice in libraries, at family history events (including Who Do You Think You Are? Live), and the Florence Nightingale Museum.
Emma took part in the Society of Genealogists' Women in Military and Wartime full-day online event on Saturday, 22 March 2025. She presented My Ancestor Was a Woman at War, exploring records of women in wartime and how to trace their stories.
Emma presented a talk on researching Women in the Second World War via Zoom to the AGRA Study Day on 11 May 2024.
Emma gave an online talk to the Society of Genealogists on 1 July 2023, sharing the fascinating history of Wharf Road and the area around the Society's new home by the Regent's Canal.
"It was all extremely interesting - learning about the history of the area and finding there are still some of the older buildings standing." (Liz)
"This talk was an example of what Zoom does best - not too long, didn't overrun and nicely self-contained." (Patricia)
On 19 June 2023, Emma presented "How We Used To Eat", a Zoom Tutorial for IHGS, on what our ancestors ate in the past. The presentation explored British ancestors and their eating habits, encompassing regional differences, institutional menus, and changes over time.
On 24 January 2023 at 6.30pm, Emma gave an illustrated Zoom talk for Family Tree Magazine on "Family history and identity: why DO we research our ancestors?".
For Dorset Family History Society, Emma presented her talk, “Mummy What Did You Do in The Great War?” over Zoom on 17 May 2022 (8-9.30pm).
Saturday 12 March 2022 at 10.30am GMT, Emma gave a talk and engaged in an online discussion about the roles women undertook during the First World War for the Society of Genealogists.
19 October 2021, Tuesday at 2pm Emma presented a Zoom Tutorial for IHGS, "Mummy, what did you do in the Great War?".
On 25 January 2022, 7.30-9pm, Emma gave a virtual talk, 'Family History and the Concept of Identity' to Devon Family History Society http://www.devonfhs.org.uk/events/.
Emma gave a free virtual talk on "The Stones of Seafield" as part of the Scottish Indexes Conference XI on 10 July 2021.
Emma gave a free virtual talk on "Researching Kincardineshire Ancestors" as part of the Scottish Indexes Conference IX on 20 March 2021.
Emma gave a virtual talk, “Family History and the Concept of Identity”, for the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies as part of their Diamond Event celebrations on Monday 8 February 2021.
Emma gave a virtual talk, “How to Use the Census for Family and Local History”, for Camden Local Studies & Archives Centre in Holborn Library, London WC1X as part of their lockdown online events programme on Tuesday 3rd November 2020.
In association with Cityread London, Emma gave a talk, 'Exploring Family History at Camden Archive' with archivist Tudor Allen on 22 May 2018 at Camden Local Studies & Archives Centre, Holborn Library, London.
In February 2018, Emma represented the Society of Genealogists as part of a Twitter Q&A organised by the Imperial War Museum to mark the First World War Centenary Partnership's WomensWork100 campaign. The Q&A looked at how to research women during the First World War.
Emma also offers a personalised telephone/Skype consultation service where she can take you through the steps required to solve your family history dilemmas.
