How did you get into probate genealogy?
For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by my own family’s history. From my grandfather’s constant stories of times gone by, to building my own family tree on ancestry as a teenager, I have always had a keen interest in genealogy. As quite a few people at the company would probably say, it is from watching “heir hunters” on daytime television that brought the formal industry of probate genealogy to my attention. After graduating university I applied directly to the company I had been watching for years on the show, and here I am at Finders.
What does a normal day look like for you?
As an assistant case manager, a normal day for me generally begins with checking my emails, followed by a short review of the cases I am managing currently. I spend a great deal of time on the telephone, talking to beneficiaries about our cases and providing them with updates. I remain on hand also to assist my case manager Rohan on his cases, completing a number of his update calls and helping him in his research in any way I can. Whilst I am actively researching all the time, I like to give specific focus to this in the afternoon, looking through available records on findmypast and ancestry.com whilst building family trees.
What is your most memorable case to date?
My most memorable case to date has been one where the deceased was born in Chile, coming to the UK in the aftermath of the 1973 Chilean Coup. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of tracing his family in Chile and ensuring that they were able to pay their respects to him.
What do you love most about working at Finders?
Aside from the exciting research, it has to be the people. The Finders community are some of the most interesting and nicest people I have ever worked with, or known.
Away from genealogy, if you could do any other job in the world, what would you do and why?
Professional footballer. I have always loved my football in addition to probate genealogy.