History | Family Tree Genie

Author JK Rowling traces Harry Potter’s family tree back to the middle ages

September 23, 2015
David Millward

Author JK Rowling is venturing further into the magical world of Harry Potter by tracing "the quiet brand of ingenuity" of the Potter family back to the 12th century in a new piece of writing on her website, Pottermore. Apparently,…

Domesday book now available to the public online

August 10, 2010
David Millward

As of yesterday, an online database is now accessible to the public on the PASE (Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England) website, which let's people search for towns and villages to see who owned their land between 1066 and 1086...

Kurt Cobain’s Irish roots discovered

April 19, 2010
David Millward

Researching family trees can be a very rewarding process. Finding out about past relatives and their life stories can be a great experience, especially if you discover your roots are linked to a famous person. According to an article in the Belfast Telegraph, Fionnola O`Reilly from Co Tyrone in Ireland made such a discovery after an American relative hinted that there may be a family connection to the lead singer of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain.

Ancestry.com Discovers It’s a ‘Family Affair’ Between Ellen DeGeneres and Madonna

April 1, 2010
David Millward

Interesting reading today after genealogy researchers Ancestry.com discovered that Madonna and the newest judge on American Idol, Ellen DeGeneres, are 11th cousins. The family tree experts has found that the two entertainers are related through a common 10th great-grandfather – a Frenchman named Martin Aucoin. Apparently, in the early 1600s, Aucoin's daughters Jeanne and Michele left their native country of France to settle in Nova Scotia...