Along with maintaining the Horrocks Genealogy website, I also do professional research for clients, present lectures, and conduct classes on genealogy bases subjects. 

I am currently the Vice-President of the Orange County California Genealogical Society (OCCGS) in charge of programs.  I also teach the Intermediate/Advanced class on the first Saturday of each month for OCCGS.

Lectures

I have been lecturing in and around southern California for the last few years. My lectures range from 45 minutes to 1 hour in length. All presentations are in PowerPoint. My presentations are full of examples and very colorful.  I also put a fair amount of humor in the presentations to keep it interesting.

The current list of available topics:

• What We Learn from Cemeteries - This presentation is light hearted and very informative.  It explores the different types of cemeteries, looks at the 3 oldest cemeteries in Orange County California, goes back in time to look at death and burial customs from around the world, looks at the symbols on tombstones and what they tell us, and finally takes you on a picture tour of a very old and interesting cemetery.
• Genealogy - Why Do Your Family History - This looks at the reasons why we do family history. I look at the curiosity of genealogy, the medical aspects, the hobby aspect, leaving a legacy, giving something back, getting children involved, and how to get started.
• Using Rootsweb Message Boards and Mailing Lists - This presentation looks at the importance of using Rootsweb to get your family history questions answered. I go through the process of finding the right message boards and mailing lists, posting questions and answering queries. There are many examples given in the presentation that will make it easy for participant to jump right in and start posting their questions.
• Genealogy Clues - an Overview - This is a little different. I took subjects that genealogists seem to be most interested in and summarized them. Each topic is between 10 and 15 minutes in length. For each of the topics I look at:
    - What type of record they are.
    - Where to find them.
    - The history of the type of record.
    - What to possibly expect when you find them.
    - How they will help your research.
    - Note: the Census topic looks at the ‘little known’ clues that are hidden in census listings.
  The subjects are:
    - Church Records
    - Passport Applications
    - Newspapers
    - Military Records
    - US Census Listings
    - Naturalization Records
    - Land (Deed) Records
     -Tax Records
  As many as 5 of these subjects could be put into a one hour presentation. You choose…………
• The British Census – a detailed look at the British census listing from 1841 to 1901, and how to find ancestors and trace them using the census.  Many examples and screen shots are shown.
• The US Census - a detailed look at the US census listing, from 1790 to 1930.  Showing the pitfalls that you can run into and search techniques.  Again, many examples of census listing and screen shots are displayed.
• Birth, Marriage, and Death Certificates - a very detailed look at these certificates, with many examples from the US, England, South Africa, and Australia.
• Preserving Heirlooms - How to preserve the heirlooms that have been passed down through the family.  All forms of treasures are examined, including photos, furniture, clothing and documents.
• British Parish Registers - I go into great detail on what these can do for finding out more about our English ancestors.  Many examples are given including the history of these documents.

If you have other interests, I would be happy to talk to you about what you would like to hear..................

Research Services

Genealogy research can take many forms, depending on what you want to accomplish and how much personal time you want to spend. If you want to do it yourself, I can work with you to show you how to do your own research. If you don’t want to do any of the research yourself, I can certainly do the entire job for you. If this is the way you want to go, then the following items will be addressed:

• We will analyze what you have, with regards to existing information and documentation

• We will define your research goals and what you want accomplished

• Together we will define a research plan

• I will prepare an electronic database for your information

• I will conduct the research necessary to achieve your goals

• I will give you frequent status reports on my research

• I will compile and analyze all the data that has been and is being collected

• I will deliver a final report to you that meet your goals.

• If you wish to publish your information to the web, I can certainly do that also.

If you want to see an example of a family website, please visit mine by clicking

 HERE.

Genealogy Group Memberships

Professional Groups:

• Association of Professional Genealogists (APG)

• Genealogical Speakers Guild

 Other genealogy groups:

• Orange County California Genealogy Society

• Manchester, Lancashire Family History Society (UK)

• Cheshire Family History Society (UK)

• Guild for One-Name-Studies, group administrator for the Horrocks surname

• FamilyTreeDNA, group administrator for the Horrocks surname