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Ancestry.com – The Perfect Place to Create Your Family History

Ancestry.com is a leading platform for exploring family history and genealogy, providing a variety of benefits that make it a top choice for individuals wanting to discover their roots.

You can currently have a 14 day free trial so you can see how useful it is for yourself.  CLICK HERE

Here are the 15 most compelling reasons for using Ancestry.com:

1. Extensive Historical Records

Ancestry.com boasts billions of records, including birth, marriage, death, census, immigration, military, and more.

The platform provides access to records from numerous countries, making it easier to trace international family connections.

2. User-Friendly Interface

The website is easy to navigate, making it simple for users, even beginners, to start building their family trees and accessing historical data.

Step-by-step hints and suggestions help guide users in finding relevant information without feeling overwhelmed.

3. DNA Testing Services

DNA provides users with an ethnicity breakdown, offering insights into their genetic origins and heritage.

The service connects users with potential relatives based on shared DNA, helping to uncover extended family members and new branches of the family tree.

4. Family Tree Building Tools

The platform offers tools to create detailed family trees that can include photos, stories, and historical records.

Users can collaborate with family members to build and expand their family tree together.

5. Record Hints and Smart Matches

Ancestry.com suggests potential matches and relevant records for individuals in your family tree, simplifying the research process.

This feature helps users quickly discover new information and verify their research with confidence.

6. Educational Resources and Guidance

Ancestry.com offers tutorials, articles, and videos to help users become more proficient in genealogical research.

Users can join forums and groups to get advice and share discoveries with others interested in genealogy.

7. Integration with Historical Context

The platform provides background information on historical events and trends relevant to specific time periods, giving users a richer understanding of their ancestors’ lives.

Maps, old photographs, and newspaper clippings enhance the storytelling aspect of family history.

8. Mobile App Access

The Ancestry mobile app allows users to continue their research from anywhere, making it convenient to access records and update family trees.

Users can scan and upload family photos directly from their smartphones, preserving them digitally.

9. Preservation of Family Heritage

Ancestry.com allows users to compile and preserve their family stories, photos, and documents in one secure place for future generations.

Family trees can be shared with loved ones, ensuring that the collected history is passed down and enjoyed by the entire family.

10. Comprehensive Subscription Plans

Ancestry.com offers various subscription levels, allowing users to choose plans that fit their research needs and budget.

Higher-tier plans provide more extensive access to global records and databases.

11. Access to Original Documents

Users can view original documents and historical images, making the research experience more authentic and trustworthy.

Seeing the actual records can help verify details and provide deeper insights into family history.

12. Support for Adopted Individuals

Ancestry.com can be particularly helpful for those trying to find biological family members through DNA testing and shared matches.

The platform can aid in providing information that leads to emotional closure or a deeper understanding of personal heritage.

13. Continuous Updates and Expansions

Ancestry.com frequently updates its databases and adds new records, ensuring that users have access to the most comprehensive data possible.

The platform invests in improving its tools and features to enhance user experience and research capabilities.

14. Family Stories and Memoirs

Users can add stories and anecdotes about their relatives, keeping memories alive and connecting generations.

Through these stories, users can learn about family traditions, achievements, and challenges.

15. Trust and Reliability

Ancestry.com is one of the most reputable and widely used genealogy sites, trusted by millions of users for its thoroughness and reliability.

The platform places importance on user privacy and data security, giving users confidence in how their information is handled.

In summary, Ancestry.com provides a comprehensive and engaging way to explore and document family history. Whether for casual interest or deep research, it offers tools and resources that make genealogy accessible and fulfilling.

How Stephen Saved The History Of The Titanic…

We’d like to share with you the fascinating story of Stephen Raffield, an avid Titanic historian and collector, who came to us last year with a very special photo album. Stephen and his wife had acquired a personal photograph album of John Kempster’s containing unique, never before seen, historic photographs of both Olympic and Titanic ships. The album was headed for being completely dismantled before they stepped in.

Stephen explains, ‘John Kempster joined Harland and Wolff Belfast in 1900, and was appointed as managing director in 1906 in charge of the electrical plant. Kempster became involved in the construction and launch of both Olympic and Titanic. He was also a very keen photographer and, in 2012, an album of photographs taken and developed by him came to light. A lady walked into a Wiltshire auction house and asked if the album she was holding was worth anything. As well as a number of photographs of the Kempster’s family holiday in America in 1911, the album contained stunning, never seen before, photos of Olympic leaving Belfast for her maiden voyage and also the launch of Titanic and her own departure from Belfast for the first and last time. The photographs are of exquisite quality and finely detailed. The initial plan of the auctioneers was to break up the album and sell off the photographs singly or in small batches. Steve and Jane Raffield, collectors of Titanic memorabilia, were able to negotiate the purchase of the whole album so that this unique record of both Olympic and Titanic at Belfast would be preserved for the future.’

Stephen came to us with the Kempster album.  We scanned the photos in high definition so that each photograph could be safely stored on Stephen’s computer and was also able to appreciate the greater detail of the enlarged images for the first time!

We went on to digitally enhance, and bring out of the photos even more definition by using modern technology, and removing any imperfections from the photos which Kempster himself had developed and printed. We also re-created the album so Stephen could give replica copies to his children.

“The restored photos are simply stunning. The originals are amazing and I didn’t think you could improve much from what are the most detailed photos in the world of the launch of Titanic. Absolutely amazing!”

The original album, photographs and the rest of the Raffield Titanic Collection are currently on display in Brisbane, Australia.

Going, Going, Gone! 

Here is one of the frames we provided showing photographs of the Titanic actually being launched.


It’s very easy to start the process of saving your own precious photos. All you have to do is send us a message!

ENQUIRE TODAY

DJ David Hamilton’s Autobiography – The Long And Winding Road

We recently helped David by restoring two fading 1970s photographs of him, one for the front cover of his forthcoming autobiography.

David says:

“Due out in July/August is my autobiography, David Hamilton’s Long And Winding Road, My life, loves and lessons learned, published by Austin Macauley and celebrating my 65th year in broadcasting.

Choosing the right pictures for the front cover is vital and the publishers wanted a Then and Now, a shot of me in my Radio 1 days in the 70`s and one in my Boom Radio studio today.

I had in a frame at home a picture in the Radio 1 studio taken in 1975 that had faded, probably from sunlight.   It needed enhancing.   I had heard of Photographs Forever through their advertising on Boom Radio.   Since I live in West Sussex it wasn’t too long a journey to pay them a visit.

Richard was absolutely brilliant, worked his magic on the photo and here it is, looking as good as new.   Well done, Photographs Forever and Thank You.”

Norman Wisdom Memorabilia Exhibit

We recently restored several images of Norman Wisdom for his son Nick. These were to form part of an exhibition that Nick is mounting.

We restored these two photographs so they could be printed the appropriate size for the framed exhibit of Norman’s suit dating back to 1952.

Nick says:

“As the Norman Wisdom Exhibition reaches its capacity of circa eighty frames, it’s fair to say that the best has been saved to last. A five foot high frame (below) features Norman’s long tailed suit first worn in the theatre in 1952. As ever, thanks must go to the experts who I have come to rely on. Gerald Fleuss, master calligrapher and Richard Haines of Photographs Forever who can resurrect and adapt any form of photography to great effect.”

Reigate & Banstead Mayors Have Been Restored!

We were asked by Reigate & Banstead Borough Council to restore 49 faded framed portraits of their Mayors going back many years. This involved removing the existing photographs from their frames, scanning and digitally restoring each one as well as reintroducing all the red and gold elements of many.  Here is just one of the worse ones showing before and after our restoration.

Photographs Forever Before and After

When all 49 were fully restored we printed them all on archive grade paper (so the fading will no longer be an issue going forward) and replaced them in their original frames.  Here they are safely reinstalled and being regularly enjoyed by all visitors the the Town Hall.

Photographs Forever

Removing All The Unwanted Parts…

Our customer is creating a gallery of his grandchildren’s’ sports photos and this photo had lots of unneccesary elements he wanted removed.

He was very pleased with the two 16″ x 12″ canvases he ordered of the final image

 

April 2024 – 20% off Digital Colourisation

For this month only (April 2024) we are offering a 20% discount on digital colourisation.

We all understand the power a photograph can have to transport us back to moments filled with laughter, love, and nostalgia, and whilst black & white photos are fantastic, sometimes a vibrant colour photograph can make all the difference.

Photographs Forever Colourisation Example

 

Photograph Restoration Colourisation Example

 

Re-Enacted Scene From Years Gone By

Photograph Colourisation Example

Initially, Keith asked us to restore the picture of him and his sister in Trafalgar Square when they were children. A few months later he came back to us with a re-enacted picture of the two of them taken recently that they wanted to gift to their mum, and we helped to get it looking as close to the original as possible.

 

Photographs – Digital Restoration or Preservation of Original?

We are sometimes asked to restore an actual physical photograph (photograph preservation) as opposed to restoring a digital scan of the same photograph.

Photograph Restoration Example

Photograph preservation can improve a photograph, image quality is not usually the primary purpose. Conservators will try to improve the overall visual appearance, but they would find it impossible to match what can be achieved by digital restoration. Because of the knowledge and skill and time required to carry out the physical preservation, the cost is likely to be prohibitive.

Digital restoration has many advantages including:

  • Preservation of the original photograph
  • Prevention from further deterioration
  • Eliminating scratches, blemishes, tears, folds and fading
  • Increase in the level of detail and enhancement of facial detail
  • Prints of any size can be made and shared
  • The ease of storage of digital files, also able to be shared

Glass Cooker Splashback Project

Brenda C sent us this message to ask if we could help:

I am having new kitchen worktops and was going to have a glass splashback across the cooker wall. I have decided to use two landscape photos placed somehow in the glass splashbacks but details have to be obviously pretty exact.

Would you be interested in creating the photo panorama for the glass manufacturers. It would consist of one landscape view, one central portrait view above the cooker and another landscape view. The photos to be used are of The Solent looking across to the IOW with sailing club yachts. Blue sky with few clouds, blue sea and the yachts have their dark blue spinnaker sails open. Obviously, sky, sea etc have to be in alignment with one another.

We have done this kind of bespoke project before and told Brenda we would be very happy to help. Brenda’s  photos above show the original photographs we were supplied with and the finished result. We increased the proportions to allow for the exact placing of the power point positions which meant more sea was required.

Brenda was very happy with the finished result achieved by us and the glass manufacturing company, and sent us this feedback on the final splashback:

Everyone has loved the splashback with not one negative comment. Most comments are ‘Wow’. I love it and every time I go into the kitchen, it looks so clean and bright. I am also pleased that the upstand removes enough of the sea to balance the yachts being so high. Now you have added my splashback on your new website, I have sent the web page link to many friends.

I don’t know how you did it but it was exactly how I wanted it. I have been trying to find each of the yachts from my photos but have given up trying to find them now!