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xWelcome!
Welcome to Dixon Newton Genealogy Services, offering fast and accurate internet-based Family Tree resources. Using original research conducted on your behalf and / or your existing Family Tree data, this unique book is a perfect gift for any family occasion; for birthdays, weddings, silver / golden / diamond anniversaries, for Christmas – or just for yourself!
You will discover not only the names of your ancestors, but also those of their siblings and other family members, where they lived, what they did for a living and more.
The recorded events of their lives will reveal the history of Victorian – and earlier – times; their triumphs and tragedies (with tragedies, sadly, often being better-recorded than triumphs!), their daily routines, the seasonal framework of their lives.
The stories of your ancestors could be a source of inspiration for school/personal History projects, or a starting point for more detailed research. Say ‘hello’ to all those who brought you to today!
More about me...
I graduated from University College Cardiff in the mid-1970s with a science degree and a lifelong interest in ecology and the environment, as well as human evolution, archaeology and ancient history. I see my interest in genealogy as the last link in the 100,000-year chain connecting me to our early human ancestors in Africa.
My own paternal ancestors have deep roots in the South Lakes (that’s me on the right as a toddler with my father, grandfather and great-grandfather, photographed several decades ago but just three miles from where I now live back in my childhood home in Furness). My maternal great-grandparents were Scots; they did no great deeds – none of them are to be found in history books. And yet – they contributed: they dug copper, iron and slate from the ground; riveted iron ships on the Clyde; piped kilted warriors into battle in Flanders; and their wives raised their children and ran their homes when that was a full-time job of hard work. My aim is to communicate the stories of unsung heroes like these to their descendants in a way that allows their deeds to be understood, appreciated – and shared among the current generation of family members.
More about you?
If you live in the same area as some of your ancestors, as I do, you’ll see familiar landmarks in a new light, having learned that your ancestors lived, worked or are buried there. Country graveyards can be beautifully peaceful places to spend a summer’s afternoon. If your ancestors are further away, the locations may provide an itinerary for a touring holiday or items on a bucket-list, perhaps.
It may be natural to hope for heroes among your ancestors – and perhaps also to fear the discovery of villains. It has been my experience that every family includes at least one sheep of the wrong colour – and that greater knowledge can often provide, if not a justification, at least an explanation for apparently less-than-admirable conduct. As for heroes, every family has them. Every couple who rear a brood of children – and bear the loss of one or more – by the sweat of their brows and the skill of their hands are heroes.
Your ancestors all have one thing in common – they survived to bring up children who also survived; they are all deserving of your knowledge and understanding, and worthy of your admiration and pride.
Testimonials
“Book and the scroll were the stars of the show…[my sister] was thrilled to bits and so were the family.” “[My sister] was quite overcome.”
– J.S., Scottish Borders
“The book was a perfect gift for a visiting cousin now living in Australia. He always thought his surname had its origins in Italy – in fact it has its roots in a single Cornish sailor who was the first bearer of the surname in Scotland. Fascinating.”
J.R., Scottish Borders
“It has been a wonderful way to bring family together after a recent death and house-clearance. …a talking point and a suitable place for family photographs and certificates – supplemented by maps and photographs, war records and newspaper cuttings of tragedies and triumphs – all of which we never knew existed!
A revelation…”
C.J., Scottish Borders