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Janet Smith

Qualified Professional Genealogist based in London, UK
The Past Detective
United Kingdom
 


  • Family History Research

  • Document Retrieval / Record Agent
  • Family History Research
  • Heraldry / Lineage Societies
  • Immigration / Naturalization
  • Military

Who could have guessed that a faded sepia photograph, of a young soldier, would spark a lifelong interest in genealogy?  Numerous courses of study have followed over many years culminating in an IHGS (Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies) Diploma in Genealogy.  This has allowed me to enjoy finding my ancestors and now, as a professionally qualified genealogist, I have committed to helping others discover theirs.

Are you intrigued about where you came from? Interested in knowing whether some of the old family folklore is true?

If you don’t have time to discover the answers or don’t know how to do so, I can help you. I can help you uncover the truth about your roots, and write the story of who you are, and where you’re from.

I will tailor my services to your requirements, this may be:

•    Researching a family line 
•    Researching a particular person
•    Taking photographs of churches, gravestones, homes
•    Accessing records in person
•    Lookups of certificates, probate, wills, etc for those unable to do it themselves
•    Helping you overcome a problem in your research
•    Creating that special gift for someone.

Increasingly more family history research is internet-based based but there will always be times when research needs to be undertaken at a record office or a local archive, I am particularly well-placed to carry out research in London and the surrounding counties and am willing to visit archives across the UK. 

I offer a friendly and reliable research service, don't hesitate to get in touch with me for a free consultation, whatever your research requirements.  I look forward to hearing from you


United Kingdom
London
South- East 


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​



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


London. South East

The National Archives
London Metropolitan Archives
The British Library
Various other archives in London.
Experience in many diverse UK Record County Offices such as Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Devon, East Sussex, Essex, Greater London, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, West Sussex and Wiltshire.
 

IHGS Higher Certificate in Genealogy, Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies 
Extra-Mural Diploma &  Certificate Genealogy and Family History, University of London

Member of the Register of Qualified Genealogists (RQG)
Associate  Member of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA)
Society of Genealogists
Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies (IHGS)

Diploma in Genealogy (DipGen), Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies 
BSc (Hons), The Open University