The purpose of the British Isles research team is to help you discover, gather, and connect your family from areas such as Australia, New Zealand, and, of course, the British Isles. If there is anyone who understands the challenges and triumphs you’ve faced while doing British Isles genealogy, it is this group.
This team is known for their passion for teaching others, both at the Family History Library and around the world, and they love sharing what they know about effective ways to track down ancestors.
Meet the Team
- Dan Poffenberger is the manager, known for his determination in solving tough family history mysteries and for his kindness.
- Phillip Dunn brings 40 years of research and experience to the team. His focus is on England, Scotland, and Ireland.
- Craig Foster is known for his wealth of knowledge, especially on how history has shaped the family history records of the British Isles.
- Kori Robbins is the newest member of the team. She’s an Anglophile who has a great love for helping others find their ancestors.
The team also answers some of the questions posted on the online community and helps train the missionaries you meet on the Family History Library’s British floor. They are always on the lookout for helpful items that we can add to our collection to help you further your research.
Staying Up to Date
The British Isles team works hard to keep their knowledge current. That way, when you ask them questions, you are getting the most up-to-date answers.
This means swapping useful websites or collections they find with each other and attending professional conferences. They also spend a lot of their time in the trenches, doing their own family history and exploring archives in places such as Ireland and England.
It’s a lot of work, but the British Isles team is driven by much of the same stuff that drives your own research. It is an area of the world that somehow feels familiar to members of the team, as if a part of them belongs there. Their quest for knowledge and the tolerance for going cross-eyed staring at lines of cursive comes from a need to discover the story of their family and of themselves.
Meet the Other Area Research Teams
At FamilySearch, we care about connecting you with your family, and we provide fun discovery experiences and family history services for free. Why? Because we cherish families and believe that connecting generations can improve our lives now and forever. We are a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To learn more about our beliefs, click here.
