Nothing can possibly be more exciting or emotionally charged than finding a close relative through research - the closer it is, the greater the excitement and emotion.

People who were Adopted or fostered out as children or, for any one of a number of reasons, became separated from their own families are foremost amongst those seeking a 'reunion' with family they may or may not have ever known. In recent times the so-called "War Orphan" scheme has been in the headlines. This was a scheme whereby underprivileged children were removed from their family environments during and after the Second World War and sent to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other Countries which were, at the time, British Colonies. Tales have been related of these young people being told that their parents had died or been killed when, in fact, this was not the case at all.

On other occasions, the quest may be for a close relative with whom contact has been lost many years before - perhaps through emigration. Or, you may want to find and contact second cousins - that is grandchildren of your own grandparent's siblings. The emotions are not so great but just imagine the stories they might well have which will add to your understanding of those now long-departed family members. Not to mention finding one of them with a Family Bible.

And beyond that, you can easily 'stumble' over more distant cousins through Internet contact or by writing to somebody whose name appears in the Genealogical Research Directory as having an interest in the same family as yourself. As for second or more distant cousins, no more need be said than what is contained in this one paragraph although what follows about closer relations is just as valid in terms of how to go about the tracing process.

In all these cases, the long-held desire to be reunited with close family or more distant cousins - or even to be able to make contact with half brothers and sisters - reaches a climax with a decision being made to "do something about it". But what? How do you, with so little if any research experience or knowledge, actually start?

Strangely enough, most people seem to think of the search for a close relation as being such a huge and forbidding one. Yet, if approached systematically and with care, results can come in hours. The methodology following below relates to researching in Britain - whether or not it can be done with equal ease in other Countries depends entirely on the information available on Birth, Marriage, Death and Probate indexes and the accessibility of these. If the information on these is less detailed than in Britain, the very worst that can happen is that you may have to buy more certificates. However, the certificates may be far more meaningful than their British counterparts because of the amount of additional information they contain.

The secret to researching through the indexes for England and Wales lies in these simple facts: From 1 July 1911, birth indexes show the mother's maiden name From 1 January 1912, marriage indexes show the spouse's surname - because the index reference for the bride and groom are identical, it only takes a moment to discover the forenames of the spouse From 1 April 1969, death certificates show date and place of birth and, in the case of married women, their maiden names.

It does not require much imagination to see the potential value of this - you find the marriage and then look for the children of that marriage where the mother's maiden name corresponds with the marriage entry. Just as simple as that!

By now, you have probably worked out that if you have found a birth, the next step is come forward 20-25 years or so to find the marriage of that child. And so the process continues. It may not even be necessary to purchase a Certificate if the chain established by working through the indexes is so overwhelmingly strong (e.g. because of unusual surnames or forename combinations).

But the research may not necessarily just be by means of methodically following through marriages and births but searching for a death certificate in the hope that the informant might be a close relative or that the deceased person left a Will in which is stated the names and addresses of family members.

Almost there!

The final requirement is to search the Electoral Rolls and Telephone Directories to see if you have found your 'missing' person. In this wonderful age of Electronic media this can be done very rapidly by running a CD ROM upon which this information is stored. Hopefully, the list of names will not be too lengthy. If the person is found, it is far better, if possible, that telephone rather than written contact is made.

These people have not gone into hiding so they cannot be found; they are not missing people - they are live beings who will be absolutely thrilled that you care so much about finding them that you went to all these lengths. If the name does not appear on the CD, there could be any number of reasons why not - death, emigration, re-marriage or simply not registered to vote.

If often happens that the person cannot be found for one of these reasons. But there are just so many ways available to carry out the research by tracking down family members - either children, siblings, cousins etc.

It is my strongest recommendation that the actual contact work is left to those who have the years of experience of conducting the, often, very tricky and unpredictable discussions that take place. My London Agent is in this category - she specialises in adoption work - and has a superb track record in handling these situations.

Above all else, is the need to bear in mind that your birth parent may have subsequently married after your birth and kept his or her secret from the new family. The last thing you would want to do is cause pain to the ones who, in their own ways, are precious to you.

It is for these reasons that any research of this nature that I carry out is subject to the strict understanding that contact details will not be given except with the mutual consent of the people concerned. Yes - it does happen sometimes ... people do refuse consent to have their contact details passed on. Ours is not to reason why but to give the utmost respect to the person's desire for privacy.

I can carry out your search for you on a professional and sensitive basis from even the smallest scrap of information you may have.

Tony Fitzgerald is a professional genealogist based in New Zealand. If you require assistance, please contact him by email or visit his web page for additional information.

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