Introduction to the Database

We recommend that, to get the best from the database, new users should (after reading this page) familiarise themselves with Information about the Database, which contains practical advice on how the database is structured and how to use it, and then have a quick look through Sources and Acknowledgements & Occasionally Asked Questions.

There are thousands of genealogical databases on the Internet yet ours has been called "unique". We are wary of making that claim ourselves but it is true that our database is different from most others in the following ways:

1. Instead of presenting data generation by generation, we show many generations of a family on the same page whilst enabling connections between related families to be followed with ease.

2. The sources used for the data are identified on each page. We try to ensure that, if you manage to access the same sources, you could recreate each page yourself substantially as we have produced it.

3. We make great effort to ensure that our data is as reliable as possible yet even so we do not pretend that it is wholly reliable. We know that the world of genealogy (particularly on the Internet) is dogged by false data, some of which has been perpetuated for centuries but much of which has been created in recent years as too many people have been too quick to presume too much with too little justification. We try to highlight suspect data and to clear up erroneous claims & contradictions. We welcome constructive input & suggestions and are pleased to make corrections where such appears to be justified. With a policy of steady improvement as well as steady expansion, we hope that our database will obtain & maintain a reputation for being as reliable as is realistically possible. This does not stop us from including some ancient & mythical data for fun but we try to distinguish that from the serious part of our database.

4. We aim to do more than just help a few families with their genealogical research. Our main objectives are:
- to help everyone who has any British or Irish blood in them to identify more of their ancestors. To keep the project to achievable limits, we leave it to you to identify the first few generations back but, if you manage that, then there is a good chance that our database will make it easier for you to go much further back;
- to show that we are all connected in one way or another (even if you have to go back a long way to find the connection) and that even those who think of themselves as being of humble roots have some ancestors who were famous and/or played a part in making the world what it is today; and
- to develop this database into something that steadily expands & improves, becoming truly worthy of being widely viewed as (what quite a number of people have told us they think already is) "the best genie database on the Internet".

The Database is divided into 3 sections:
SECTION I - ANCIENT & MYTHICAL
SECTION II - CONTINENTAL FAMILIES - MEDIEVAL & RENAISSANCE
SECTION III - BRITISH FAMILIES - MEDIEVAL, RENAISSANCE & MODERN

Our main focus is on generations of families born in the British Isles, including Ireland, by the beginning of the 19th century. These are covered by Section III which will always make up over 95% of the Database and which we take very seriously. However, whilst recognising that Sections I & II are of interest to many, we include them mainly for fun (to cover the real or mythical early ancestors of many British families including the Kings & Queens of England, Scotland & Ireland down to King James II/VII) and do not take them as seriously. With very few exceptions, we do not cover more recent generations or families outside of the British Isles but we do offer links from our database to other web sites which do cover them (see The Stirnet Portal).

CAVEAT

All of the information in this database is provided in good faith but on the basis of 'Errors & Omissions Excepted'. We have certain aspirations for this database but we make no claims for it other than in respect of our good faith in pulling together data provided by others. For most of the data, reliance has been placed on the integrity of the sources used, some of which are known to contain errors, and no attempt has been made to provide independent 'proof'. However, particularly for Section III to which we give priority over the other sections, we are making genuine effort to make this database the best of its type and are trying to correct the inconsistencies & other errors found in our sources. We welcome corrections & constructive advice and are pleased that a number of serious genealogists are using this site to help identify & correct some of the many genealogical errors that are being propagated elsewhere. If you find errors that we appear not to have discovered, please let us know.

For further comment on the reliability of our data, see Occasionally Asked Questions.

We operate a Membership Subscription Scheme under which viewing of the database is interrupted after a few seconds unless you have logged-in as a Member. We provide a Subscription Guide to help prospective subscribers prepare for making a subscription. Other pages worth drawing attention to are Using this site, Troubleshooting and Frequently Asked Questions. These pages are linked to each other so it does not matter which you start with.