9 Ask for help

Sometimes a problem just needs a fresh pair of eyes. Our forum at who do you think you are magazine. com/ forum is a very easy way to get friendly help from other family historians who might come up with that elusive solution. Other forums (eg the excellent Great War Forum at 19141918.invisionzone.com/forums) specialise in particular topics, and attract experts who are keen to help. Joining a family history society can get you access to local advice that may solve your case. You can search for family history societies by location at the Federation of Family History Societies website ( ffhs.org. uk) for England and Wales or the Scottish Association of Family History Societies website ( safhs.org.uk) for Scotland. The professional genealogists who help our readers via our Q&A pages offer another option. When submitting a query to a forum or a magazine, make sure you state your problem clearly with all of the necessary information, including what you know already and any options that you may have ruled out, and why – you don’t want to waste other people’s time replicating your research. You can also opt for professional help – try the Register of Qualified Genealogists ( www.qualifiedgenealogists.org), the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives ( agra.org. uk), the Association of Professional Genealogists ( apgen. org) or the Association of Scottish Genealogists and Researchers in Archives ( asgra.co.uk).