Talks
Ancestry Talks with Paul Crooks
Most family histories affected by slavery break down in the records.
In many cases, those records appear not to contain the answers.
These talks focus on what becomes possible next.
The Ancestry Talks series presents evidence-led lectures exploring how identity can be reconstructed when historical records are incomplete, renamed, fragmented—or appear not to contain the answers at all.
The talks also examine how historical context, including religion, resistance, and local conditions, shapes how identity is recorded and understood.
Each talk is grounded in archival research and focuses on real problems encountered when tracing African-Caribbean ancestry. Rather than retelling inherited narratives, the series examines how records — including plantation documents, compensation records, migration registers, and parish archives — can be interpreted and connected to recover identities that were obscured, misrecorded, or erased.
These talks are delivered to libraries, cultural institutions, corporate organisations, and educational audiences seeking historically grounded and accessible perspectives on identity, ancestry, and historical reconstruction.
The series forms part of the wider research work presented on this website and is delivered internationally through online and institutional lecture programmes.
For those working on their own family history and encountering specific research challenges,
one-to-one consultations are also available for structured, evidence-led guidance.
What these talks address
These sessions are designed for audiences asking questions such as:
- Why does my family history disappear before slavery?
- Why doesn’t my surname match my ancestry?
- How can identity be traced when records are incomplete or inconsistent?
- What can historical records reveal — and what do they hide?
Each talk approaches these questions through evidence, case-based analysis, and historical context.
Understanding the Historical Contexts Behind the Talks
Visitors often approach Black family history from different historical starting points — Caribbean migration, post-emancipation identity changes, or the legacy of slavery within colonial and American record systems.
The Historical Pathways guide introduces the key historical systems that shaped African-diaspora family histories and identifies the Ancestry Talks sessions that examine each one.
Core Talk Frameworks
The series includes the following themes, reframed as real-world research problems:
Why family histories disappear before 1834 — and how records can bring them back
Examines how slave registers, parish records, and archival material can be used to trace individuals across the point where records appear to stop.
Why your surname doesn’t tell your full story
Explores how surnames were formed, changed, and reassigned after emancipation—and what this means for tracing identity today.
What compensation and plantation records reveal — and what may be recoverable beyond first appearances
AExamines how compensation and plantation records can contribute to genealogical reconstruction, including what they appear to conceal, what their limits are, and what may become possible when they are interpreted alongside other evidence.
Tracing identity across migration and record systems
Examines how migration, classification systems, and administrative practices shaped what was recorded—and what was lost.
The Black and Irish of the Caribbean: identity, migration, and record evidence
Investigates the historical intersections of Irish migration and Caribbean society through archival documentation and genealogical interpretation.
How religion, resistance, and local history shaped identity after emancipation
Explores how historical forces influenced naming practices, identity formation, and the way family histories were recorded and preserved.
How these talks differ
Most historical talks describe the past.
These talks focus on how the past can be reconstructed when the records are incomplete.
They draw on the Evidence–Context Reconstruction Framework, a structured approach to interpreting archival evidence alongside historical context to reconstruct identity where records are fragmented, renamed, or appear not to contain the answers.
This includes understanding how factors such as religion, resistance, and local conditions shape how identity is recorded and understood.
Format Options
- Standalone public lectures
- Structured seasonal or themed series
- Genealogy-focused record analysis sessions
- Identity and historical context talks
- Conference keynotes
All sessions maintain evidential clarity and historical integrity while remaining accessible to diverse audiences.
Booking and Enquiries
Talks are delivered internationally through online sessions and institutional bookings.
Public sessions in the Ancestry Talks series are hosted through the Eventbrite platform.
Visitors in the United Kingdom may wish to view listings on Eventbrite UK, where events are displayed in pounds sterling (£). Visitors in the United States and Canada may prefer Eventbrite US
, where listings appear in US dollars ($).
→ Explore Historical Pathways to view upcoming sessions and reserve a place.
Case-Based Research
Selected case studies demonstrate how fragmented records can be connected to reconstruct identity, and how evidence-led analysis of these records can be used to explore identity, resilience, and leadership in broader contexts: Case Studies.