Books by Emma Jolly

Emma Jolly is a professional genealogist, writer and historical researcher.

She studied at Sussex University – BA (Hons) in Intellectual History (2000) – and Sheffield Hallam University – MA with Merit in History: Imperialism and Culture (2014). In November 2014, Emma was awarded the Russell Finch prize for best History MA dissertation. She has also attained (2006) the IHGS Higher Certificate in Genealogy.

Emma writes regularly for family history publications, and is the author of four books: My Ancestor was a Woman at War (2014), Tracing Your Ancestors Using the Census (2013), Tracing Your British Indian Ancestors (2012) and Family History for Kids (2007).

Emma has also contributed a biography of Mary Trevelyan (1897–1983), warden of Student Movement House, to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and a chapter on to Simon Fowler’s Family History: Digging Deeper (The History Press, 2012). For full details of Emma’s writing, see the Books page.

Besides writing, Emma’s media work includes research for IWC Media, the Daily Mirror, Michael Palin, Dragonfly Productions, and the BBC.

Emma is an active member of the Society of Genealogists, Families In British India Society (FIBIS) and London Historians. Emma is also a member of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA) and is on the recommended researchers list for the India Office Records at the British Library.

Based in Edinburgh, Emma specializes in genealogy problem-solving, London history, social history, women’s history and the British in India, Scottish family history and private work.

When she is not researching for clients, Emma enjoys exploring her own family’s history. Currently she is looking further into the life of her great-great grandfather, William Mitchell Jolly (1842-1889), and following up on the results of her autosomal DNA tests with Family Tree DNA, Ancestry, MyHeritage, Living DNA, and 23andMe.