Joanne Penn BA

I am a highly experienced traditional and genetic genealogist. I have now been working in this field for over 25 years. In 1999, I went to work at Norfolk Record Office where I worked in the strongroom with original documents, and then in the searchroom in the research team, where I helped the public with their research and carried out research for people unable to visit in person. I wrote a number of Norfolk Record Office's family history information guides.

In 2006, I set up my own genealogical research business and over the next 11 years carried out over 1000 research projects across England. I have worked on a number of projects for the BBC TV programme ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ and featured in the Mary Berry episode. My experience of working in an archive means I have indepth knowledge of records that many family historians overlook during their research.

In 2017, I joined the international team of Ancestry ProGenealogists, the research arm of Ancestry.com, where I worked for 5 years. There, I carried out hundreds of research projects for clients across the globe, researching families across the British Isles and North America and became proficient in the use of DNA as a genealogical tool. I also worked on a number of cases featured on TV programmes associated with Ancestry.com.

In 2023, I left Ancestry and set up Joanne Penn Genealogy. I cover the whole of England and Wales and have good working relationships with tried and tested researchers across the country. If your project requires work in archives that I cannot access myself, I have the contacts to get experts in that area to do the necessary local work. I offer a full range of genealogical services from determining unknown parentage to knocking down brick walls and researching family trees from scratch. I offer a free, no obligation, initial consultation.

Contact Joanne Penn

Email: mail@jogeni.com

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Norwich
Norfolk

Joanne was amazing to work with and helped us solve a 100 year old mystery. She was really clear with us about the challenges we would face and the likelihood of a positive outcome so we were able to prepare. Her knowledge of DNA and how it connects to different people meant we were able to confirm a theory and close the door on an tragic story.

Ms G-Y, Australia

Joanne undertook nearly twenty research assignments for me over a period of about two-and-a-half years. The people she researched for me were members of half a dozen different unlinked families that lived in three counties (Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire) from the 15th to the early 19th centuries. In all her research, I found that Joanne was very enthusiastic and persistent in seeking alternative sources when gaps appeared in parish registers and was very knowledgeable about the availability of records and where they should be consulted. Joanne skillfully used this knowledge by knocking down “a brick wall” that I had been unable to surmount for five years or more. She demanded high standards of proof and cross-referencing and regularly met her (largely self-imposed) reporting deadlines. Joanne also drew to my attention opportunities for containing costs (e.g. by recommending that lines of enquiry that appeared to hold no promise of fruitfulness be not pursued). I first learned of Joanne through the Norfolk Record Office website. I contacted her and asked if she would consider a research assignment that another researcher had refused to undertake and she readily agreed. I have had reason to be very grateful to her for her care and attention to my research requests

Mr W. Australia

I am extremely grateful for your very skilful and indeed successful efforts in assisting me with my research. You have uncovered such a remarkably wide range of material, always with an appreciation of my objectives. Without your help, I would not now be able to put so much flesh on the bare bones of a simple pedigree. Over the years, I have experienced many researchers in various English counties, but never before have I experienced such efficient and dedicated assistance. Thank you.

Mr W. UK