Where are you stuck in your ancestry research?

Drawing on more than 20 years of African-Caribbean family history research, I'll point you to the talks, books and guidance I've created to help answer questions like yours.

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Where are you stuck in your ancestry research?

Drawing on more than 20 years of African-Caribbean family history research, I'll point you to the talks, books and guidance I've created to help answer questions like yours.

Stuck with your ancestry or family history research?

Choose the research problem that sounds closest to yours.

Your question not listed above?

What's the one ancestry question you'd most like answered?

Tell me your ancestry question and I'll point you to the talks, books and guidance I've developed to help answer it.

Try questions about DNA results, surnames, slave registers, Windrush, mixed ancestry, Jamaican records or reconnecting to Africa.

Why learn with Paul Crooks?

Traced ancestry from London to Jamaica and West Africa

Author of Ancestors and A Tree Without Roots (The guide to Tracing African and Caribbean Ancestry)

More than 20 years researching African-Caribbean family history

Speaker for libraries, museums, schools and workplaces

"Through my talk on surname origins, I've helped participants understand how names changed during and after enslavement. By recognising these patterns, they were able to trace family lines that once seemed lost."

Popular resources

Ancestry Talks

Structured sessions addressing where and why family histories break down in the records.
→ Explore the Talks

Books & Publications

Published work examining how African-Caribbean ancestry can be reconstructed through historical records.
→ Browse Books

One-to-One Ancestry Guidance

For researchers who want expert guidance when records become difficult to interpret or connect.
→ Discuss a Research Problem