'The Line of Sixteen: Searching for my children's great, great grandparents' is based around the cohort of direct ancestors four steps back from the two children (who are now adults) in John Rigg's family. Their years of birth cover the period from 1836 to 1869, with their places of origin ranging across England, Scotland and Ireland as well as Malta and Germany.

Some lines go back further to 16th Century Yorkshire and Hannover and 17th Century Suffolk, but the author has not simply sought as many pieces as possible of the (never-ending) jigsaw puzzle. Rather, the focus is on the lives led by the members of the cast list.

There are no Prime Ministers in this narrative, no Admirals of the Fleet or Poets Laureate or Knights of the Realm. Instead, there are the 'ordinary' people whose resilience and determination have taken this family story through to the present day.

Ordinary and heroic. They were the ones who raised their families, worked hard and migrated to better their prospects. They were the ones who experienced the Great Famine in the Ireland of the 1840s, the horrors of the First World War and the perils of service in the Merchant Navy during the Second World War, and whose personal stories deserve to be told.

By describing his detailed research methodology, the author provides valuable insights on the sources to be explored and the pitfalls to be avoided when compiling any family history.