I was nearing the end of my stint as an Ancestry Advocate on the stand at WDYTYA 2013, when a lady asked me to ‘help her find out where she had gone wrong’. … Let’s face it, we’ve all been there, haven’t we?

She had obviously spent a great deal of time and money tracing her ancestors. She had all the birth certificates and census printouts for the family and had taken the trouble to go and visit what she thought was her ‘ancestral village’. Imagine her disappointment when a local researcher told her that he had already researched the family and she was not a descendant of that particular person.

Together we tracked back through the certificates and census entries – we confirmed we were looking for a gentleman born in Lyme Regis, Dorset in 1795, I think it was. The person she had found, on the IGI (International Genealogical Index) had the right name and was baptised in the right year but in a different, albeit close, village in Dorset.

We only had 15 minutes and time was running out. But there, on the right-hand side of our screen, were the ‘Suggested Records’ – a list of extra records that related to our initial search. One in particular grabbed my attention, a baptism in Dorset.

With bated breath we clicked on the link – would we simply be back with the person she had already found? No, it was a baptism for the same name and year but this time in Lyme Regis and with different parents.

She was delighted and so was I. Of course there’s no guarantee that this is the right man – her first check is the burial records to ensure that he was not a victim of the high rates of infant mortality. But it’s a great start!

To ensure you don’t go wrong, check out the Help & Advice Centre’s Ten common research mistakes:

Authored by Gill Grocott.  Gill has been researching her family history for more than 10 years, having taken over from her mother. Her research has been almost exclusively in the British Isles, one of the many surprises she has received is to find out that she is almost 100% ‘made in England.’

We’re broadcasting six presentations live from the world’s biggest genealogy show at London Olympia, to our Facebook fan page.

We’d love you to join us at www.facebook.com/AncestryUK so if you’re Facebook fan then log in now. 

For full details on the presentations go to our recent blog post here.

For those of you unable to attend Who Do You Think You Are? Live next week from the 24th to the 26th February, we will be broadcasting LIVE from the  Ancestry Academy at the world’s largest family history event STRAIGHT to our Facebook page.

Just three simple steps are required to watch:

1. Go to www.facebook.com/AncestryUK
2. ‘Like’ our Facebook page 
3. RSVP from the WDYTYA? Live tab (visual below showing how to do this)

A range of Ancestry experts and Historian & TV Presenter Tony Robinson will be talking about a range of topics, including census and birth, marriage and death records, through to Parish records and how to discover your emigrant ancestors.

The schedule for the presentations being streamed live to the Ancestry.co.uk Facebook page:

Friday 24th February 2012

• 10:30 – 11:15 GMT: First steps: Build your family tree with censuses and birth, marriage and death records
• 13:30 – 14:45 GMT: Ancestry.co.uk revealed: the brand new features in the best-selling family history software
• 15:30 – 16:15 GMT: Before 1837 by TONY ROBINSON: Discover the events that shaped your ancestors’ lives, and the records they left behind.

Saturday 25th February 2012

• 11:00 – 11:45 GMT: Going further: Discover your ancestors all over the world with our global records
• 13:00 – 13:45 GMT: Parish records: Uncover the records for your area and trace your family all the way back to Tudor times
• 15:00 – 15:45 GMT: Getting started: Build your family tree with censuses and birth, marriage and death records

This is a great way to enjoy some of the presentations taking place at Who Do You Think You Are? Live so invite your friends, family, and anyone else you think may enjoy finding out about family history - everyone is welcome!

SCREENGRAB SHOWING HOW TO RESPOND:

In celebration of the world’s largest family history show next week from the 24-26 February, of which Ancestry.co.uk is the title sponsor, we’re giving away three pairs of tickets to Who Do You Think You Are? Live*. 

To whet your appetite here are just a few things that will be at the show next week.

- Industry-leading genealogy experts and exhibitors from the online resource holders such as Ancestry.co.uk, to libraries, museums and dozens of family history societies from across the UK
- Informative workshops and celebrities, including Emilia Fox and Tony Robinson, to help you with your own family history research
- Photo-dating experts in the Photography Gallery to help you date your photos and learn more about when and where they were taken  
- Military Pavilion to provide you with the answers to your questions about your military ancestors
- Free computer access at the Ancestry Stand (616)
- FREE tutorials and workshops on everything from building your family tree to searching our records
- FREE scanning facilities to digitize your old documents
- Hands-on displays of objects, archives, records, photographs, films & books to shed light on the working lives of your ancestors

To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is tell us in one sentence what your favourite family history discovery is*. 

All entrants will be entered into a prize draw and three winners will be selected at random to win one pair of tickets to the show.

Good luck everyone!

*By leaving a comment, you agree to accept these terms and conditions. The Promoter of the prize draw is Ancestry.com Europe S.à r.l., 31 of rue Philippe II, L-2340 Luxembourg, Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. The prize draw is open to UK residents aged 18 or over except employees or agents of the Promoter or its group companies. Only one entry per person. Closing date is midnight GMT on the 21st February 2012. No responsibility can be accepted for comments that are not correctly posted or received for whatever reason. The Promoter will enter all the correct responses into a prize draw and two winners will be drawn at random after the closing date. The prize consists of three pairs of tickets to Who Do You Think You Are? Live 2012.  The prizes cannot be exchanged for money. The winners will be notified by e-mail within one day of the closing date. If a winner cannot be contacted within 48 hours of being notified, the Promoter reserves the right to award the prize to an alternate winner. The Promoter’s decision is final and binding. No cash alternatives to the prizes will be offered, and the prizes are not transferable. The Promoter reserves the right to modify the prize draw terms and conditions at any time without notice. Any personal information received by the Promoter in connection with this prize draw will be used solely in accordance with the Promoter’s Privacy Statement and you also consent to the Promoter using your name for administrative and promotional purposes relating to the prize draw. For details of the winners, write to the Promoter at 3rd Floor, Waterfront Building, Hammersmith Embankment, Chancellors Road, Hammersmith, London, W6 9RU.

Only two weeks left until Who Do You Think you Are? LIVE! If you’re planning on attending the world’s largest family history show then make sure you take advantage of our exclusive ticket offer at www.ancestry.co.uk/WDYTYA.

We’ll be at stand 616 with a catalogue of exciting things including:

• Free computer access
  You’ll be able to spend time on Ancestry.co.uk and access all our 7 billion records from all over the world and get expert advice from Ancestry team members.
• Ancestry Shop
  Here you will be able to take advantage of special show offers and get your hands on all kinds of family history goodies. Plus, demonstrations of our Family Tree Maker 2012® will also be taking place.
• Ancestry Academy
  Free tutorials and workshops will take place at the Academy, touching on everything from building your family tree to searching our full range of records. 

These are just a few of the many things that wiill be available at the show. To find out more go to www.ancestry.co.uk/WDYTYA and, if you make it to the show, please stop by and see us.

Join the conversation at www.facebook.com/AncestryUK and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AncestryUK.