We are who we are because they were who they were.
Janet did an amazing job of putting all of my collected materials into a wonderful, coherent and detailed family history. She managed to make connections and fill many gaps in our story, whilst offering a deeper social history of the time. She is professional in every way and responds to questions very quickly, but what has impressed me most is her ability to delve into the ancestry archives. Sue, Netherlands​
It was a pleasure dealing with Janet, who I found to be professional, organised, and an effective communicator. I was very pleased with the image quality of the documents Janet provided. Janet completed my project on time and on budget. I recommend Janet to anyone seeking assistance with their family history research journey. - Monica, Australia
Really happy with the service provided by Janet. She communicated with me throughout and produced an easy to read report. Janet cleared up some of the mysteries around my great grandparents. Would recommend Janet to anyone researching family history. - Val, Kettering
It is with pleasure I thank Janet Smith of “The Past Detective” for the well documented research done for me about a soldier from WW1. Janet produced a very substantial details regarding his war records and some wonderful photos of where he is laid the rest in France. Much appreciated your work. - Anthony, Western Australia
Janet’s expertise and patient perseverance penetrated a stout genealogical brick wall to locate our mysterious British forebears. Finding no trace from the scant information we had at hand, she used family DNA to dig further, and her exultant email response (“I FOUND HIM!”) brought joy to the family and shed bright new light on our family tree. It could never have happened without the help of a professional — and that, she definitely is. I recommend Janet's considerable research skill to anyone seeking to know more about their family. - Janice, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Janet is a highly qualified genealogist, proficient and knowledgeable across a wide range of research sources, able to find the most elusive information, and decipher the most impenetrable documents. Perhaps more important, she's a genealogist by interest and nature. She's inquisitive, disciplined, and refuses to be defeated.
All of these qualities were in evidence when Janet helped me to research various family members who went to British India in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. While I already had a lot of records from India, Janet was able to provide a lot of missing information about their backgrounds, both specific and contextual. I learned more about the young German soldier who joined the British army and ended up in India in 1787; the criminal conviction of the son of a successful London silversmith, which led to him being conscripted into the army of the East India Company; and the identity of that man's previously undiscovered brothers. Janet asks the right questions, always delivers the required answers, and does so quickly. She sees things that others don't, and always applies a filter of common sense - which is lacking among many in her trade. One of my ancestors was named Alfred Septimus. I had found two of his brothers, but Janet instantly knew that there must be four more. Why? Because the name, 'Septimus,' meant that Alfred was the seventh child.
Janet's help has been invaluable in researching my family's history, and I know that I'll be asking for more assistance in the months and years to come. Whether you want someone to create a family history for you, or - as I have asked her to do - to help solve some difficult questions in the background, I'm sure you'll find her a pleasure to work with. I can't recommend her highly enough. - Jon, Fremantle, Australia.
I highly recommend Janet Smith as a genealogist. I live in the United States and without the information she gave me on my Irish Grandparents I would have never found it on my own. Janet was able to supply me with not only my grandmother’s immediate family but went back generations on the Murphy family for me. Thanks to Janet I now know my Great Grandfather's family and that he was one of ten children. I now also have his parents’ information and back one more generation.
With all the information she gave me I found joy knowing how my Grandparents were related to other people that immigrated to Upstate New York and those that remained in Ireland. Every detail she gave me tied into my Murphy family here and even found more information from that.
I made a trip to Ireland in 2019 and was able to visit the grave sites of my Great Grandparents and Great Aunt and Uncle that are buried in the Old Caheragh Graveyard as a result of all the information Janet obtained for me. Finding my Roots in Ireland was very important to me and with Janet that dream came true. She is a dedicated genealogist. – Theresa, Elmira Heights, NY USA
I would highly recommend Janet Smith's Genealogy Service. From start to finish the whole process was professional efficient and so informative. The results were easy to follow and it was exciting to read about my great great great Grandparents. Thank you again Janet – Sharon, Solihull
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My brother Nigel and I would like to thank you for all the work that you have gone to in order to present us with a highly detailed family tree. We would have no hesitation in recommending your services. – Terence, Canterbury
I asked Janet if she could find out more about my family. Janet traced back my father’s family to the 1790’s, and included my father’s WW1 records and my great-grandfather’s freedom of the City of London. Janet also traced my mother’s family to the 1770’s.
Janet researched census records and parish records and obtained interesting family information for me, including family trees for both families. – Margaret, Beckenham