The Known Again method
From family account to evidenced conclusion.
Historical records are rarely as neat as a finished family tree suggests. Our method makes the search, reasoning and uncertainty visible.
01 / Frame the question
Decide what the research needs to establish.
A name, date, place, photograph or family account is a starting point. We review what is already known, notice contradictions and turn the material into a question that records could realistically answer.
A clear question prevents research becoming an endless search for more names. It also lets us explain the likely sources, risk, scope and price before work begins.
02 / Build the evidence
One matching detail is never the whole case.
- 01
Search for the person in context
We look beyond a name to age, address, occupation, relatives, witnesses, travel and the chronology of a life.
- 02
Compare independent records
Records created for different purposes can support one another. They can also expose an error copied from one source into another.
- 03
Challenge the attractive explanation
We actively look for evidence that would make an identity or family account less likely, not only details that seem to confirm it.
- 04
Keep a trail back to the source
The report identifies the key records and explains the reasoning that connects each finding to the conclusion.
03 / State the conclusion
Certainty is not all-or-nothing.
A credible report tells you how firmly each important point can be stated, and why.
DocumentedStated in surviving evidence and tied to the right person or event.
Strongly indicatedSeveral details point the same way, although decisive confirmation is missing.
UnresolvedA plausible account or lead that the available evidence cannot yet prove.
04 / Report what matters
Make the answer understandable and useful.
AI-assisted, with human responsibility.
AI tools help organise material, suggest research routes, compare information and draft text. Nick checks the evidence and citations and approves the final account. A plausible AI answer is not a historical source: unsupported details are removed or clearly left unresolved. The fixed fee buys the agreed work and deliverables, not a claim about how many hours a tool has run.
Client records are shared with a tool only after its data handling and the permitted use of that material have been checked. See the privacy notice.
The final account is organised around the original question. It brings together the people, records, historical context and reasoning without asking the reader to interpret a folder of documents.
If the central question remains partly open, we explain what has still been established and identify further records with a realistic chance of moving the investigation on.
Initial question assessment
What would you like the evidence to answer?
Tell us the story as your family knows it. We will consider which records could test it and reply with a clear proposal only where the starting information suggests a worthwhile research route.
The records most likely to bear on the question
Where the evidence may be weak or unavailable
A clear £695 total proposal, only where the starting information suggests a worthwhile research route
One agreed question or ancestral line, with no VAT or mandatory extras
Two staged payments of £347.50, with the second due when the report is ready and before it is released
Included: sourced report, one-page family summary, diagram or timeline where useful, early progress update and one findings follow-up. Scope and dates agreed before payment.