A professional genealogist and family historian from Eccles has been able to help people all over the UK building family trees – including finding connections to royalty.
Salford professional, Glenn Kennedy has had a career that spanned more than 37 years and has played a part searching through families’ ancestral history.
He said: “Some of the stories I could tell you I’ve found where people are connected to royalty, famous film stars, famous murderers, even people that have been left large amounts of money, in excess of £14 million.
“There are people who’ve got heroic things, and people who have just lived the life.
“People say to me, you probably won’t find much on my family, but it’s the stories that go behind.
“And when you find out, and you go back to where they came from, what they did for a living our life, you build up a picture of what life was like in that period and that’s the fascinating thing.”
Glen’s passion for genealogy started when he was discovering his own family history, when his mother recalled a sibling who was almost forgotten.
He said: “When I said Amelia it triggered a memory for her and for me, I was able to understand who it meant to my mum and who that person means to me.
“This incident, that sort of spurred me on to do things.
“The facts of when you first start doing this and helping people break down the brick walls.
“As they contact me saying, ‘I finally found our great, great grandfather in Ireland.
“They say thanks to you, and they have now been over to the place, visited the grave in the cemetery, and have actually found family over there.” Glenn added.
In accessing well-known sites that offer a similar results to individuals, Glenn discovered that history is not always as seems it, as he added: “I would call myself a variation checker where popular websites offer the same service I do, and fail to often offer accurate information.
“However, in knowing how to navigate these websites, it helps me identify what is missing and is beneficial as it reassure people that I’m doing it correctly for them.”
In the numerous ancestry packages that Glenn has provided, he has had a few memorable discoveries.
As he shared: “A young lady was told that her grandfather fought bravely in WW2 as a soldier and upon discovering past records, he never left the country.
“Turns out he was a chef that worked in the military and he never saw any action! It was a courageous thing but I did feel guilty that I had blown them out of the water.”
Through searching through families past, he has been able to take great pride in his profession but has taken greater pride in supporting the local area making multiple donations within Salford.
He continued: “I’ve just donated two of my ancestry packages and £1000 for the winter warming event to help the pensioner.”
“We’re doing some work at the moment with the family crest, where people are bidding on them which is going towards the same cause.
“The good thing about this profession is that in every way its about giving a bit back. You’re trying to help people.”
Through doing his work, Glenn has been able to build a large following on social media, where he is able to share his contributions helping people.
The support he has been able to offer to the community has been well received, with a lot of social media comments sharing their gratitude for helping rediscover to build their family trees.
In response to the support that he has provided, he shared his thanks to those who support him, as he said: “I do get a lot of people reading my posts or asking questions.
“It’s a subject that pricks people’s ears up to hear their history. They like family history because they’re interested in cherishing it”.
You can find more information about Glenn’s work here.
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