Genealogy & Family History Tours

• We can organise a simple, non-invasive DNA test, which will reveal your heritage links to the UK.
• Trace your ancestry with a tailored family history tour in the UK. A professional genealogist will join the tour at key locations to look into your ties to different areas and explain how your ancestors might have been living.
• Perhaps you have links to the slave-trade city of Bristol, where John Cabot departed on the Matthew in 1497, bound for Newfoundland? The Berkeley Company Ship the Margaret also sailed from here in 1619, arriving in Jamestown and triggering the first Thanksgiving. Clifton College was the headquarters of the US Army in Britain during WWII and was evacuated by staff and pupils in preparation for the D-Day Landings.
• Beautiful Cambridge has a wonderful history; many famous literary figures and religious leaders studied within its celebrated walls. Could your heritage trace back to Cambridge graduate John Harvard, clergyman and co-founder of Harvard University, or possibly Puritan minister, Thomas Sheppard, the well-known 17th century preacher who helped establish Cambridge, Massachusetts? Take the opportunity to visit the nearby American Cemetery – the only WWII American cemetery in the UK.
• The stunning South West of England; trace your heritage back to the picturesque fishing villages and traditional mining industry of Cornwall. Many families left from here for the mining regions of North America in the 19th century and the shores of Torquay and Brixham were utilised for embarkation for D-Day. Plymouth is possibly one of the most famous heritage spots on the south west coast – on 16 September 1620, the Mayflower Pilgrims set sail from here to the New World.
• Gloucester, Massachusetts was named in recognition of the British city of Gloucester, with several million US citizens tracing their routes back to this historic city. Famous figureheads include US Declaration of Independence signatory Button Gwinnett and Methodist leader Rev George Whitefield. Visit Gloucester Cathedral and discover the links between this wonderful building and the composer of The Star-Spangled Banner music.
• The lovely county of Kent features the medieval pilgrims’ pathways leading to and from the city of Canterbury, with its beautiful Cathedral. The Historic Dockyard at Chatham is steeped in maritime history and played a vital role in both World Wars. Your ancestry could lead you back to one of Kent’s magnificent castles; Hever Castle (once the childhood home of Anne Boleyn) was bought by the richest man in America, William Waldorf Astor, or Leeds Castle which was inherited by Thomas 6th Lord Fairfax, who left the castle to his younger brother when he moved to Virginia.
• Lincolnshire is brimming with both military history (known as ‘Bomber County’ due to its connections to military aviation) and religious heritage. The city of Lincoln is dominated by the ancient cathedral, whose towers served as a beacon for returning WWII pilots. Discover the original Boston, which with nearby Gainsborough played a pivotal role in the Mayflower Pilgrims story.
• Scotland – the number of Americans of Scottish descent today is estimated to be around 25 million with Scottish settlement in colonial America divided into Lowlanders and Highlanders. Large-scale emigration began in the 1700s, and accelerated after the Jacobite rising of 1745 and the Highland Clearances. Trace your routes back to the Sottish cities, rural highlands and lowlands, self-contained communities such as the Isle of Skye and identify which ‘clan’ you may have originated from.
• Ireland – often referred to as the Scotch-Irish, they emigrated from Ireland due to religious conflicts, lack of political autonomy and worsening economic conditions. They were pulled to America on the promise of land ownership and religious freedom. Visit Cobh, where 6 million Irish emigrated from 1848-1950, the Cliffs of Moher which was a perfect viewing point to watch loved ones sail en route to America, the award winning Titanic Belfast exhibition, a former Kennedy home, many museums and villages relating to the famine, and the National Archives – an invaluable stop off in Dublin to help uncover Irish heritage.

Let us help you discover your ancestors! This is just a small example of the where you could identify links and explore your heritage; there are so many other areas of the country from which you could originate and important industries that we could have your ancestors to thank for.