Are you descended from someone who lived, worked, or struggled in
19th century Edinburgh? We'd be honored to hear your family story.
Every family has a story.
Some were passed down around kitchen tables. Others survive only in a faded photograph, a letter tucked away in a drawer, or a name written in an old parish register.
Many are in danger of being forgotten.
In Search of Joe is a documentary project dedicated to discovering the lives of ordinary people whose stories rarely appear in history books.
We are currently researching Edinburgh during the mid-1800s and are looking for family stories that can help us better understand what life was really like for the people who built the city, worked its trades, raised their families, struggled through hardship, and quietly shaped history.
You do not need to have a famous ancestor.
In fact, we hope you don't.
We're looking for the people history almost forgot.
Every submission is personally reviewed.
If your family's story aligns with our current research, we may contact you to learn more or discuss the possibility of including your story in our documentary.
While we cannot include every submission, every story helps us better understand the lives of ordinary people who helped shape history.
Thank you.
Sometimes the smallest detail can illuminate an entire life.
And sometimes an ordinary family story helps explain an extraordinary moment in history.
This is their story.
And their story is ours.