Q. Naturally you make use of resources available on the Internet. Which websites do you use most often?

A. I do make use of the excellent IGI on "FamilySearch Internet", and of some other websites such as "FindMyPast.com", "FamilyRelatives.com", and "Ancestry.co.uk" (with numerous useful sources, including Census indexes and images for the whole of England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, plus indexed transcripts only for Scotland, for 1841-1901), as well as TNA's "DocumentsOnline" (with sources including an index of all Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1383-1857) in the course of my searches, where appropriate. The availability of the GRO indexes, including "FreeBMD", on "Ancestry", and of the excellent databases of births, marriages and deaths (1866-1920) on "Family Relatives", is a great help. I regularly use these, as well as the GRO's own online certificate ordering facility.

Q. Do you make general searches on the Internet, for instance would you be able to find all references to my surname in all the resources available online?

A. I do not specialise in making searches on the Internet for, for instance, all occurrences of a surname or references to a parish. Nor am I able to offer to determine whether or not a given family or person has already been researched by others; therefore enquirers should themselves make any such searches as required, or at least they should be aware that I do not offer this service.

Q. I feel sure that my surname must already have had extensive research undertaken on it and I do not want to waste time, money and effort duplicating this. Any ideas?

A. Why not join the Family History Society covering the area in which you are interested, where your ancestors came from? These keep registers of Members' Interests and you may well find that other members share your own interests. Alternatively - or additionally - why not become a member of an FHS which covers the area where you yourself live now? FHSs also organise meetings and events locally and you might find it convenient and helpful to be able to attend these. There is a great reservoir of experience and knowledge in the membership of every FHS. For details of FHSs in the UK, see www.ffhs.org.uk

Q. What about publications in print, or other sources listing research which has already been done on a given surname - do you check these as a matter of course?

A. No, I do not offer this service. There certainly are publications, such as the "Genealogical Research Directory", which list researchers' surname interests. If you are very lucky, you may even find that a surname of interest to you is the subject of a One Name Study. See www.one-name.org

Q. Why do you not offer these services?

A. My strong preference is for undertaking original research, rather than attempting to ascertain whether the research "has been done before", and I prefer to use original records or, where appropriate, transcripts and indexes of these (all now usually on microfilm, microfiche, or CD etc). Given that the Internet is accessible to all, I feel that original research is a better use of my time than making lengthy Internet searches.

Q. I have checked the readily available Internet resources and joined an FHS and studied its Members' Interest lists. I have made contact with anyone who might share my interests and I have asked older family members for any details which they can give me. I have assembled all these notes, which have become very bulky. Do you need me to send you every last detail of all these voluminous research results, in order for you to attempt to take my research farther?

A. If only index searches or other short searches are required, it is only necessary to provide sufficient details of what is known, and of what is being sought, to enable me to make my searches effectively and efficiently. I do attempt to give the best possible service, and so, where extensive research is planned, it is important that I should be provided with the results of any relevant research which enquirers have already carried out, had done by other researchers, or discovered by some other means.

Q. I do have a lot of research notes, but am not confident that these are accurate, or that they refer to my own ancestors. Since my research is in the part of Kent in which you have a particular interest, can you help me decide whether I am on the right lines?

A. Yes - if required, I can often check the results of others' research using the original sources (for Kent and especially South West Kent), and this may well prove very helpful, given the errors which can arise when, for instance, relying solely on the Internet for research. I prefer to work backwards from near the present day, checking each generation in turn, so that I can advise as to the accuracy or otherwise of the research results presented to me. Such careful checking is time-consuming and I would charge for it at my usual hourly rate.

Q. Do you specialise in research into Nonconformist ancestry?

A. No, I do not. Although I do have an index with some details of various Nonconformists, mainly in Kent, I certainly do not claim to specialise in research into Nonconformist ancestry. This can be a very difficult field and I prefer to leave it to those who are more expert in this area than I am. However, I do feel that my own index, within its obvious limitations, can make a useful contribution.

Q. Which Record Offices do you visit?

A. I undertake research at the Centre for Kentish Studies in Maidstone and at Canterbury Cathedral Archives, but not at Medway Archives, or those which cover places formerly in Kent but now in London, such as Bexley and Lewisham. I do visit the Society of Genealogists' Library, which holds transcripts of many Kent parish registers, and can often use my own microfilms of registers of parishes in my area of interest to obtain fuller details of entries found in transcripts held there.

Q. What other sources do you have readily available in your home library?

A. I also have KFHS fiche copies of Sir Thomas Colyer-Fergusson's indexed transcripts of the registers of many parishes in West Kent up to 1812 and again, can often use my microfilms to check entries found in these. Other sources I have available include indexes, or in some cases calendars (indexes which are not fully alphabetical and therefore take longer to search) of Wills and Marriage Licences.

Q. It would be reassuring to know whether you are a member of a reputable professional organisation?

A. I am a longstanding member of AGRA, the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives, and support its Code of Practice. For details of this, please visit www.agra.org.uk

Q. If I entrust my research to you, can you guarantee success?

A. If I feel able to take on a particular search, I will naturally always do my best to achieve results. Unfortunately, however, success can never be guaranteed - there may be gaps in available records, or people may not have been born where they said they were in a Census return, or they may not have been baptised, and so on. It is only possible to do one's best to search the records which are the most likely to yield useful results, and to take the best possible care with those searches. No researcher or indexer could ever say with truth that his or her work is absolutely, 100%, accurate. All that I can say is that I do my best to make my work as accurate as possible.

Q. You say "if I feel able to take on a particular search". Why do you not take on all and any searches which may be requested - would this not provide a better service?

A. Sometimes I am asked about searches in areas which do not interest me - for instance military research, tracing living persons, or research in London, to name but three. In other cases, I prefer not to take on a commission because I do not feel that it is likely that I can make good progress without spending a great deal of time (and hence the client's money), with perhaps still very little to show for it at the end.

Q. This seems an unusual attitude - how do you decide which searches to take on?

A. I always consider every search request on its merits and am naturally only too pleased if I do find that I should be able to help - after all, this has been my profession for over thirty years and I am always happy to make searches where these appear to have a genuine chance of success. I rely on my long experience when deciding which searches to take on. Sometimes it is quite clear that there is no chance of success, while in other cases, a very tentative enquiry may lead to excellent results.

Q. I am disappointed that you cannot help me with what I thought was a simple and easy search. Can you perhaps recommend a colleague who might be willing to take this on?

A. If I am unable to take on a search request, I do try to suggest an alternative researcher, or indeed to suggest research which enquirers might be able to carry out themselves. I provide a page of select links on my website, including for instance one to the AGRA website, with its listing of genealogists and researchers and their areas of interest. I regularly recommend searches in local indexes created by colleagues and am always happy to provide contact details for them, which are also listed on the useful website maintained by Maureen Rawson (again see my page of links).

Matthew Copus
307 Dale Street
Chatham
Kent ME4 6QR

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