Family history is about much more than names on a family tree.
Behind the records are lives shaped by decisions, relationships and events that may never have been fully explained.
Through our genealogical investigations, we sometimes uncover stories that are surprising, moving or simply difficult to piece together.
Here are three examples of the questions that can arise when we follow the evidence.
These accounts are inspired by genuine investigations. Personal and identifying details have been omitted, and some circumstances simplified, to respect the privacy of the families concerned.
When two sisters changed their names repeatedly, proving who was who became a puzzle of its own.
A man presumed lost at sea left a question that remained unanswered for decades.
A chance encounter revealed one secret; genealogical research uncovered another.