About Me
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Why choose me…
Maddy Mills
The Crafty Genealogist
Researching my own family tree has given me a greater sense of belonging and well-being. I would like to help others feel the same. I am currently helping a family member find their relatives using DNA. I am very aware that she has so many unanswered questions about her heritage and I am hoping that by finding the answers she craves it will bring her peace of mind. Again, I would like to be able to help others achieve this.
To ensure the equality of your finished research I adhere to the Society of Genealogist’s “Standards and Good Practice” and the Association of Genealogists & Researchers in Archive’s “Codes of Practice”. I also follow the Board for Certification of Genealogists’ “Genealogical Proof Standard.”
A little company history…
I started The Crafty Genealogist during the summer of 2018. Previously I worked for a charity called Young Enterprise which enables young people to run a real business for an academic year. Whilst running the Company Programme for these young people I kept thinking that I would like to have a go at running my own business. The more I thought about it the more I became determined to challenge myself and give it a go.”
Why am I the ‘crafty’ genealogist?
It’s the way in which I will display your family tree. I offer the traditional pedigree tree written on paper BUT I also offer to display your family tree on different media e.g. embroidering your tree onto shoppings bags, cushion covers and aprons; burning your tree onto wood using pyrography techniques; printing it onto shopping bags, table mats and mugs etc., thus creating unique family heirlooms for you. Do you have an idea for a unqiue family tree display? If so, please get in touch – I love a challenge!
CLICK HERE to choose your unique tree display.
About me…
In the 1990s I worked in a military museum and assisted in the archives creating a new labelling system and looking after the objects in store and on display. I gained a Master of Arts degree in Museum Studies from the University of Leicester in 1999. The work experience and qualification gave me an insight into document preservation and conservation. It also kicked started my love of history.
I started researching my own family tree in 2009. The focus until 2016 was collecting oral histories and scanning photographs from relatives. Since 2016 I have spent more time on researching the tree and have traced one line back to 1780s using civil registration, census records, parish registers and military records. I have visited and used records at regimental museums, local archives and The National Archives. I have recently started using DNA and have found a family member’s maternal Canadian grandfather and her half-brother’s Norwegian father.”
Free 30 minute consultation
Contact me to book your consultation.
Maddy has been so helpful, supportive and interested. She has found information which I would have been unable to find myself. Her eye for detail makes seemingly irrelevant findings prove to be highly significant. Using DNA she has confirmed I have a Canadian Grandfather and proved a family myth that I had a Great Grandfather who was a famous scientist.
Thanks so much for the bag. I’m delighted with it! It’s beautifully done, and very nicely packaged, and I’m sure it will go down very well in NZ.
I commissioned a family tree as a gift for my mum and we both were very pleased with the results! Mum has found the information fascinating and it has provoked lots of discussion and fond reminiscence. We were particularly pleased to find that many previous generations had been involved in the manufacture of shoes as it helped explain our shared obsession and also can be used as a legitimate excuse for purchasing yet more pairs of shoes as clearly its in our genes! Although the family history did highlight some sad stories, these were handled sensitively and made the whole process none the less charming and genuinely captivating. We would not hesitate to recommend the Crafty Genealogist to others interested in researching their family tree.
