My genealogy research began at the Picton Library in Liverpool, England during the autumn of 1971. Fortunately my mother was able to provide some oral history that was valuable in tracing ancestors, some she had never heard about. During these early years, you often had use of the original manuscripts even though some of the museum data had already been transferred to microfilm or Microfiche.

In the days when genealogy research was largely a paper process, I continued with my research compiling a large amount of ‘paper-based” information. In the early 1990’s, I wrote my own genealogy program which worked on a WANG MVP computer. This was eventually replaced by a PC-DOS based system called “Family Reunion” and then by a product called ‘Family Tree Maker’ then owned by a company called Banner Blue and later sold to Ancestry. I still use Family Tree Maker, but only for special purposes

I continued to use Family Tree Maker through its many versions until 2011 when I was faced with transcribing my wife’s 400+ page family history book. After reviewing my options, I selected a WEB based product from “The Next Generation of Genealogy Software” or TNG. It is open source software using PHP and MS-SQL as its database. I currently maintain five TNG based WEB Sites.

My genealogy research has advanced using DNA testing with the ability to search out DNA matches to my DNA profile. In 2016, I began studying and using advanced DNA matching processes to supplement my traditional research techniques. Much of what I do today uses DNA analysis for evaluating unknown relatives. With a large database of family DNA profiles together with an extensive family tree means new DNA matches can be easily identified on where and which branch of the tree they belong.