Meet our team of friendly family history experts
At Findmypast, we're passionate about the past. Our first-class team of family history experts proves just how passionate we are every time they deliver a talk or pen an article. Here, you can discover the team's credentials, explore their work and get to know them a little better.
Ellie Ayton
Ellie Ayton has a Master’s degree and a BA (Hons) First Class in History from the University of London. As the Social Media Manager at Findmypast, she helps to create engaging content and build a thriving, welcoming community. She also assists with research efforts. Welsh born and bred, she can provide valuable local knowledge and historical insights for anyone wishing to research their Welsh heritage. Her research interests also include women throughout history and medieval history. Ellie has appeared on Findmypast’s podcast Step into the Past, is a regular host on Findmypast Fridays Live,and delivered her first talk for RootsTech in 2024.
Jen Baldwin
Jen Baldwin has been working in the realm of professional genealogy since 2010 but has been pursuing her family history since she was ten years old. She is currently the Research Specialist and North American Content Manager for Findmypast, and her work is featured routinely by media outlets across Great Britain. Jen lectures internationally, writes, and consults on a variety of genealogy related topics, and was part of the research team for Genealogy Roadshow, season two on PBS (US). She is excited to discover unique resources that allow for a different perspective in genealogical research. Jen currently serves as a Trustee for the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History and has previously volunteered for her local society as well as the Federation of Genealogical Societies.
Brian Donovan
Brian is the Strategic Initiatives Manager at Findmypast. He holds a PhD in History from Trinity College Dublin where he previously lectured. Brian’s experience in digital technology, as well as his background in history, helped motivate the founding of the well-known Irish heritage company Eneclann in 1998. Since then he has been at the forefront of the digital transformation of Irish genealogy, as well as the initiator of the Irish Family History Centre and EPIC the Irish Emigration Museum. He formed the joint venture with DC Thomson that created Findmypast Ireland in 2010, and continues to help develop their Irish collections. Currently Brian is responsible for a range of global initiatives at Findmypast, involving new products, new markets and new opportunities.
Dr Russell Hunter
Dr Russell Hunter joined Findmypast in 2018 and is currently a Principal Software Engineer in personalisation. Russell has a PhD in Computational Neuroscience and a 1st class Honours in Mathematics with Computer Science. He has had a varied career that spans industry, teaching and research most recently with the University of Cambridge and the University of Stratchclyde. His fields of research have varied from computational neuroscience, computer vision and image processing to software engineering.
Russell’s current role involves research and development, and he plays a large part in the newly formed innovation guild which has a sole focus to develop novel applications using cutting edge technology.
Aoife O'Connor
Dr. Aoife O'Connor joined Findmypast in 2012. Currently Head of Strategic Delivery, Aoife started in our Customer Service department and has held several roles at Findmypast including Project Manager for the 1921 Census.
Aoife has had a lifelong interest in history inspired by her father, who founded her hometown’s local history society. Childhood weekends were spent visiting historical sites. Aoife holds a Ph.D. in history - her thesis, An Ancestor in Crime, Digitisation and the Discovery of Family Deviance explored how family historians react to the often-surprising discovery of an ancestor who broke the law. Before joining Findmypast Aoife was an exhibition curator in the outreach and education department at the National Library of Ireland. One of her exhibitions, Small Lives: Photographs of Irish Childhood inspired a book of the same name.
Mary McKee
Mary McKee is the UK Archives Manager at Findmypast, managing the partnership with the breadth of archives and institutions Findmypast works with every year. Previously, Mary was the Head of Digitisation, overseeing teams that digitise and publish millions of historic records and newspapers annually. Mary studied Irish Women’s History at Queen’s University in Belfast and specialises in Queer History and all things 1921 Census of England & Wales. Alongside working with Findmypast, Mary has started her PhD at Birkbeck, University of London. Mary has appeared on BBC Morning Live, BBC Women’s Hour, and Dan Snow’s History Hit podcast and presented at conferences in the UK, Ireland and America.
Louise Shambrook
Louise Shambrook is a software engineer at Findmypast. Louise has a broad range of professional experience, and she holds a BSc (Hons) First Class in Social Work from the University of West London. After taking the leap to switch careers in 2022, Louise joined Findmypast. Louise initially worked on the team which maintained and developed the tooling for processing digitisednewspapers, and took another leap in 2023 by moving into data science. Louise currently works as part of the Memento team which focuses on structured data extraction using machine learning models. Louise also contributes to the newly formed innovation guild, which focuses on developing novel applications using cutting edge technology, and she is a vocal part of the Diversity and Inclusion efforts at Findmypast.
Rose Staveley-Wadham
Rose Staveley-Wadham is Findmypast’s Newspaper Licensing Manager. With a vast knowledge of all things newspapers, Rose writes and researches blogs on a range of historical themes for the company’s sister site the British Newspaper Archive. Rose is also the company's Royal Expert, having a fascination for the major royal events of the twentieth century, and a passion for understanding the role of the monarch in modern society.
Rose has contributed her expertise to the likes of BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and podcast ‘Unearth the Past,’ and most recently, she has appeared as part of a panel hosted by the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction. A published author, Rose's debut novel was released in 2018, and her research has been featured in The Times.
Charlotte Ward-Kelly
Charlotte Ward-Kelly is Findmypast’s Digitisation Operations Manager, overseeing the digitisation, transcription, and publication of records to the website as well as regularly helping with research campaigns and writing blogs. Charlotte has spent several years working in heritage and archives has an interest in British naval and maritime history. She holds a Masters in Naval History from the University of Portsmouth and a BA (Hons) in History from the University of Leicester, developing expertise in Nelson’s navy, mutinies, royal history, ship building and shipyards, the First and Second World Wars, passenger and cargo ships, the WRNS, and more. Charlotte is mainly interested in the period 1760-1918 but will dabble in subjects around it. She loves delving into Findmypast’s maritime and naval records, tracing nautical careers or journeys across oceans.
Bringing family history know-how into your home
This esteemed team of family history experts regularly appears on Findmypast From Home, our weekly series of live broadcasts on Facebook and YouTube. It's their chance to bring the Findmypast Community together over a shared love of the past and help break down a 'brick wall' or two.
Family-finding favourites
Make your own amazing discoveries with record collections handpicked by the people who know them best.
- Mary recommends old newspapers. They can reveal so much about the day-to-day lives of your ancestors. There is no end to the information you can discover.
- Jen loves the Findmypast Photo Collection and says it's especially insightful if you're not from the British Isles. The pictures provide a window into your ancestors' culture and community.
- Brian’s Irish heritage makes the Petty Sessions Court Registers a must-search for him. They cover every county and feature details you won't find in other records.
- Rose is fascinated by the 1939 Register, which offers a fantastic snapshot of life in England and Wales on the brink of the Second World War.
Knowledge. Passion. Inspiration.
My favourite thing about Findmypast is when the team goes live on Wednesdays and Fridays. I love the interaction you can have with the experts and special guests 💕 Watching them has reignited my passion for family history. Thank you, everybody. Your team effort makes a huge difference.
Michelle
Review collected independently by TrustPilot
Official 1921 Census expertise
The 1921 Census of England and Wales is exclusively available online at Findmypast from 6 January 2022. Now is the time to engage our team about this once-in-a-generation records release.
Are you looking for a family history expert?
Brian, Jen, Mary and Rose are seasoned presenters and authors. If you'd like to tap into their rich knowledge and skills, we'd love to hear from you. Get in touch on [email protected].
