Example of a completed family history
Narrative Family History Research
Carefully researched, thoughtfully written family histories, preserved for future generations
“With nearly thirty years’ experience, I create detailed narrative histories that bring your ancestors to life in a clear and engaging way”.
“I also provide focused genealogy research for those who have hit a stumbling block or have unresolved questions within their own family history.”
- Tim Maddox, Maddox Genealogy
Introductory offer — my first four Signature Family History projects are available at a reduced price of £1500.
Each project is individually researched and written, typically resulting in a detailed narrative of 10,000–15,000 words, often more depending upon the depth of research.
🌿 Bespoke family history research
I offer a carefully structured and highly effective genealogical research service that goes the extra mile to deliver detailed, insightful and enlightening information to those interested in discovering their family history.
My research projects are comprehensive and carefully conducted, drawing upon a broad range of historical records and other information to build as complete a picture of your direct line family history as possible, whilst taking your ancestry as far back in time as the records allow.
And the research reveals more than just the basic facts, I explore the wider context of your ancestor’s lives, their occupations, environments, the circumstances in which they lived, whilst also uncovering those finer details and hidden stories, including ancestors who emigrated overseas or served in the armed forces, creating a richer and much more meaningful record of your family’s past.
Beyond one surname - a deeper family history
Unlike many family histories that focus on a single surname, my research also explores the families your ancestors married into, their wives, parents and earlier generations where appropriate, providing carefully curated connected family narratives in the form of short, focused histories of key maternal lines, delivering additional insight into the wider network that shaped your family story.
What makes this different:
Direct ancestral line traced as far back as records allow
Rich narrative history - not just names and dates
Carefully selected connected maternal family histories
Historical context, records, and storytelling combined
Each project is undertaken with care, attention to detail, and a commitment to producing a family history that is both accurate and meaningful.
Service offered & what you receive
Your completed family history will typically include:
Direct ancestral line research – Your family traced back in time, typically to the mid-late 1700s, earlier if possible, depending upon the availability of historical records.
Connected maternal family narratives – Focused research into the families your ancestor’s married into, usually consisting of three or four generations of key maternal lines, typically your mother’s family, and those of your grandmother and great-grandmother.
Narrative history – A fully researched and structured narrative history, a clear, engaging and lasting written account of your family’s ancestral journey through time, to be enjoyed, shared, handed down and preserved for future generations.
The completed family history is presented as a professionally prepared, book-style document, carefully structured and printed, and housed in a high-quality presentation binder with slipcase.
Historical records – Supporting historical records used to tell your family story, allowing you to view the original documents for yourself. These supporting records, organised by generation and maternal line, are provided digitally for ease of reference.
Optional additions:
Family tree – A carefully designed visual representation of your ancestry, suitable for printing and display. (Price on request)
Printed and bound book – Your completed family history professionally printed and bound as a high-quality hardback book. (Price on request)
Additional copies– Additional copies or alternative presentation formats can be arranged on request, where appropriate, with any associated costs discussed in advance.
A deposit is required to begin research, with the remaining balance payable upon completion.
Estimated timeframe:Typically 6–12 weeks, depending on the depth and complexity of the research.
Each project is a substantial piece of work, combining in-depth research and thoughtful writing to create a detailed and lasting family history.
🌿 Signature Family History
£1,800
A fully researched and carefully written narrative history of your direct ancestral line, with optional additions available.
A sample of my work
The following pages are taken from a completed family history project, anonymised to protect client privacy. They offer an insight into the structure, level of detail, and presentation you can expect from a completed family history.
Read a sample chapter
For a more detailed understanding of how a completed history reads, you are welcome to view an anonymised sample chapter.
No obligation — simply an example of my work.
Every family history is unique. While the details and stories uncovered will naturally vary, each project is approached with the same depth of research, care, and attention to detail and narrative approach.
What a client had to say
Client testimonial
Tim has provided me with two fascinating and detailed family histories, one for each side of my family. I was delighted, surprised and at times even a little shocked by what Tim was able to unearth about each family going back several generations. Tim could not have met any of my relatives because the majority of them are dead but when I read my family histories he brought them back to life again and it felt as if he knew them as well as I did. Tim really got under the skin of my family to reveal the good bits and the not so good bits, the rogues and myths, rumours and embellished stories that every family seems to have. He also presented me with brand new facts and information that are both interesting and surprising. I would never have known about the existence of certain family members, where they lived and what they did for a living and why if Tim had not brought them to my attention.
When I first met Tim, I told him a couple of my family stories that I was sceptical about. When I read my family histories I was astonished to find that Tim had meticulously researched each of them and had largely found them to be true. An example is the fact that my father Edward who was born in 1922 always boasted that he was knocked off his bike (but lived to tell the tale) when a bomb exploded near his home in the East End of London in 1940, most likely during the Blitz. Tim looked at the “Bomb Sight” and other wartime bomb records as well as maps of the area near my father’s home. He produced precise details of exactly where the bombs had dropped in the vicinity of my father’s house thereby proving that my father’s tale of bravado was almost certainly true. I was so impressed by Tim’s attention to detail and wish I had never doubted my father’s tale when he was alive.
Tim’s research is very detailed and thorough and wherever possible it is backed up with documentary evidence which he includes in the family history, for example, photographs, maps, records, birth, death and marriage certificates. He is particularly strong when it comes to military and naval history and records and also transport and emigration information. By way of example, Tim produced some fascinating research into my mother’s role as a WWII code breaker while she posed as an officer in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry. He also described in some detail my uncle’s role in clandestine bombing raids while serving in the Royal Air Force during WWII. He included wartime records, photos and newspaper cuttings to support his research.
To conclude, the family histories that Tim has produced for me are detailed, easy to read and beautifully presented. When I received mine, I found them so interesting that I couldn’t put them down and I often dip into them to remind myself about my roots and my ancestors. I found Tim very easy to talk to, approachable, and a very good listener, and he clearly has both a passion and a talent for genealogy and was genuinely interested in providing me with a detailed family history I would enjoy for years to come. I am so grateful to him for what he has uncovered about my family, and I would highly recommend his services.
Michelle, Lancashire
This feedback was provided by a client following the completion of two separate family history projects.
🌿 How we will work together
At the heart of every project is thorough research carried out on your behalf, supported by a clear and collaborative process between researcher and client.
Initial questionnaire
You will be invited to complete a short questionnaire, and the information you provide will be the foundation upon which I start my research, helping to guide and focus my investigation in its early stages.
Your own introduction
Records relating to more recent generations of the family are often protected in law and therefore inaccessible to researchers.
You will be invited to contribute your own personal introduction to the family history, to tell the story of the most recent generations in your own words, from your own living memory, giving you the opportunity to document and preserve those memories, experiences and important events for future generations to read.
Family photographs
Many families possess old photographs, of parents, grandparents and sometimes even earlier ancestors. These images are windows to the past and they can be incorporated into your family history narrative, putting faces to names and bringing your family story to life in a much more visual and emotional way.
How far back can your family history be traced?
“How far back can you go?” is often the first and most fundamental question asked by those thinking about their family history.
It is not possible to guarantee how far a family line can be traced, as this depends entirely on the survival of historical records.
An example of what can be achieved
In a recent project, I was able to trace a family line back through seventeen generations to around the year 1485. This resulted in a highly detailed narrative history supported by a wide range of historical records. However, this level of research is exceptionally rare and unlikely to be achieved in most cases.
What you can realistically expect
For many families, especially those originating from England and Wales, it is often possible to trace ancestry back to the early-mid 1700s, sometimes even earlier, but reaching back into the 1500s is much less likely due to the lack of early historical records, although every effort will be made to uncover these early documents if they do exist and take your family history as far back in time as possible.
During research, my focus will always be on creating a reliable and meaningful history, rather than simply extending a family line without sufficient supporting records.
The aim is always to deliver a carefully researched and valuable account, regardless of how far back the records allow us to go.
Focused Family History Research
Need help solving a family history problem?
It is not uncommon for those researching their family history to hit a ‘brick wall’, whether it be a missing ancestor, conflicting records, or a family story that has been passed down over the years but can’t be confirmed or corroborated within the available historical records, and this can often prevent further progress.
In addition to narrative history, I also offer the following focused genealogy research services designed to help resolve ‘brick wall’ family history problems and move your research forward.
🌿 Focused Research Package — £150
Focused research designed to investigate a particular family history problem or unresolved line of enquiry.
🌿 Extended Research Package — £250
More detailed research for complex family history problems involving multiple individuals, records, or lines of investigation.
What you will receive:
Written summary of findings
Copies of relevant historical records where identified
Explanation and interpretation of records
Suggestions for further research where appropriate
So, if you have a particular family history problem you are trying to get to the bottom of, please feel free to get in touch.
About Tim Maddox
I am a professional genealogist with nearly thirty years’ experience researching and documenting family histories, creating detailed and carefully written accounts of the past.
Most of my professional life has been in public service. I served in the armed forces, as a soldier with the Royal Signals, followed by twenty-five years with the Lancashire Constabulary, of which twenty of those years were in investigative roles, fifteen as a qualified detective. After retiring from the police, I spent a further five years as an investigator with the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
My investigative experience has shaped the way I approach family history research, working methodically, carefully, and with close attention to detail.
I started researching my own family history in the late 1990s, and what began as a personal interest soon developed into a long-standing passion. Over time, I took on increasingly complex projects, creating detailed narrative histories that have been greatly valued by those who received them.
I now specialise in researching and producing narrative histories, bringing together in-depth investigation, documentary evidence, and historical context, to create well-researched, clearly written, and genuinely engaging accounts that can be preserved for future generations.
Each project is approached with the same care, attention to detail, and commitment to quality that has defined my professional career.
My Approach
I take a structured and methodical approach to family history research, focusing not only on tracing direct ancestral lines and the families your ancestors married into, but also uncovering the deeper stories that bring those lives into context.
As well as your direct line family, I also research some of those families your ancestors married into, creating additional short, connected family histories to give you a much wider insight into your family’s past.
Each project is developed into a clear and engaging narrative that is designed not only to inform, but to be enjoyed, shared, and preserved for future generations.
Research Methods
My research is conducted using a broad range of historical sources and records that I obtain from genealogy databases, archival records, newspaper collections etc.
I am Lancashire based and my work is carried out remotely, but I have extensive experience researching families from across the United Kingdom, and remote working does not limit the depth and quality of my research.
Where necessary, additional documents such as birth, marriage and death certificates may be obtained to clarify specific details and assist me in the research process.
What to Expect
Family history research is a detailed and time-intensive process, but the scope and extent of each project depends upon the availability of historical records, and it is not always possible to determine in advance how far a family line can be traced back in time and the length of time it will take to do so.
To maintain the highest standards, I limit the number of projects I undertake and often focus on one family history at a time. There may be a waiting period before research can begin, and any potential delay will be discussed at the point of enquiry.
🌿 Begin your family history journey today
You are very welcome to get in touch — whether you are ready to begin a family history project or simply exploring what might be possible.
Every enquiry is treated individually, and I will provide a clear outline of the proposed research, including scope, timeframe, and cost — with no obligation.
Signature Family History — £1,800
A fully researched and written narrative history, with optional additions available.
Contact
No obligation — I am always happy to have an initial conversation by email.
I personally respond to all enquiries.
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