We are Steve and Pauline Jones from Yorkshire, England. We’ve been researching our family history for over 20 years, collecting information on around 6,500 individuals and 1,900 families along the way. There have been many surprises: like finding a 17th century murderer and discovering war heroes, including a Victoria Cross holder and a First World War flying ace, both of whom were killed in action. And a great x 4 grandfather who was wounded at the Battle of Waterloo.

Our research interests

The Bradbury family lived in the Saddleworth area of Yorkshire, working for generations in the woollen industry. They moved to nearby Oldham and Aston-under-Lyne, as well as much further to the USA and India. The Chapple family had their origins in west Dorset/east Devon area and, over time, branched out to London, Wales, Canada and New Zealand. The Howard family were another Yorkshire family working in the woollen trade, this time from Holmfirth. They gradually moved north-west to several Lancashire towns and north-east to Leeds. The Johnson family were firmly rooted in the east end of London in St George in the East and Stepney. They were involved in the tobacco cutting and rolling trade over several generations. The Jones family have been traced back to Shropshire but they were a mobile group of people! From there to Staffordshire, onto Leicestershire, then Essex, south London, Hertfordshire and Warwickshire. The Parris family have lived in Kent since the 17th century but we suspect their origins lie elsewhere. This aspect is work in progress. Several emigrated to the USA - Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and California - to build new lives.