‘There is a detective element to it’: How Anglia Research can help you investigate your family lineage

Martin Friel speaks to the director of a genealogy firm about how TV shows have been both a blessing and a curse for the industry

Philip Turvey of Anglia research (Anglia Research)

Think of genealogy, the study and tracing of lines of descent, and images of bearded men in beige corduroy trousers, knee deep in the dusty archives of some parish council building, probably spring to mind.

It’s not the kind of profession you would associate with sharp practices, fraud and deception but thanks to a recent surge in the popularity of genealogy, thanks to shows like Heir Hunters and Who Do You Think You Are?, that is exactly what has happened.

“Genealogy is often viewed as a gentle industry with dusty books which to an extent it is in the traditional sense,” says Phil Turvey, executive director of Anglia Research, a probate genealogy firm. (Such firms are hired to establish the family tree of a deceased person, then settle their estate with the rightful heirs.)