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Helen and Andy Kyle
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FAKTree
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FAKTree
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FAKTree
FAKTree - Making Global Connections from Dartmouth
Here’s something you probably wouldn’t expect to come from Dartmouth – a celebrity website aiming for global appeal. But that is just what Above Town residents Helen and Andy Kyle are now unleashing on the online world.
Six years in the making, FAKTree.co.uk is already emerging as a major research resource with animation that makes it both fun and informative.
Helen and Andy have been professional genealogy researchers ever since they moved to Dartmouth ten years ago and from the start have kept their own database to aid their work. Andy says, “Not long after we started, we realised there was this astonishing web of connections being recorded that simply wasn’t seen elsewhere. We began to imagine and then decided to build a family tree style database and website that could handle the complications of recording modern family life.
“Marriages and other serious relationships are easily recorded, but we believe that FAKTree is uniquely capable of handling ‘the modern day family’ with all the multiple partners, divorces, stepchildren and one-night stands, as well as including the same sex partnerships and gender realignments that make up present day life. And at the same time treating everybody equally.”
If you’re wondering where this data comes from, Helen and Andy explain that it’s out there already in the public domain – everything in FAKTree has been published before either online, in magazines and newspapers or in books. In FAKTree, it is collated and presented in an easy to understand manner.
They also have a reference library with over 2000 books, which includes hundreds of copies of Who’s Who from over 30 countries, plus public school yearbooks and registers along with heaps of biographies.
Helen adds, “We believe that it is the first time that an online family tree has used innovative animation to demonstrate just how a family multiplies, divides and changes over time.
“Many people now have half and/or step siblings,” states Andy, “And unlike other family tree sites, FAKTree can show these relationships clearly and effectively.”
With a backbone of genealogical data on contemporary and historical figures, it is easy to find most of Queen Victoria’s descendants. It is an evolving project, but Helen claims it won’t be all that long before every one of Victoria’s offspring are listed. Yet FAKTree not only includes people of the TOWIE generation but also those in the public eye right now such as EU chief Jean-Claude Junckers and the newly married Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and her husband.
There are some amazing (and sometimes obscure) connections showing up. Did you know that Katie Price links to Ava Gardner? Or that Glenn Close connects to Queen Victoria? As Andy proudly points out, “FAKTree does”.
Andy continues, “Already it has become clear that it is the “who’s been out with who” side of things that is getting most hits and so FAKTree researchers are currently concentrating on more of the Hello and OK generation celebrities. But the serious side is not being forgotten – and historical input continues.
“Most entries link to their various family members with dates and places of birth, plus details of their schools, colleges and occupations. Click on a school and you’ll find who else went there. It’s quite amazing just how many Prime Ministers went to Eton and Harrow. Many people are also linked by their associations – you can find the entire England World Cup team listed along with all their family and scholarly backgrounds, or the boys of One Direction. or indeed the Rolling Stones There is even a list of famous Brownies and Girl Guides.”
You might recognise Andy’s name – he takes the pictures for the popular “The View from The Dartmouth Office” feature that we regularly publish in By The Dart. Contrary to some people’s opinion, the office in question is Andy and Helen’s, not this magazine’s. Perched high up in Above Town, they have the most magnificent view but Andy admits the pressures of creating FAKTree have caused him to neglect his photo website. Pictures are still being taken and posted but are not being updated daily at the moment.
“We are so lucky to live and work in such a wonderful place and we have found fantastic professional support locally. Simon Wishy from Blackawton has been invaluable in getting this project off the ground and we have a number of marvellous researchers, all young mothers who work freelance for us and update the database daily,” says Helen. “They are wonderful and are committed to make this a success. Andy and I really enjoy this work but didn’t really expect to find others who felt likewise, yet it seems we have. The research is always fascinating and can become truly addictive. One researcher, who shall remain nameless joked she might consider giving up her children to continue inputting. Well, we think she was joking.”
With even 10,000 names loaded to the site, there’s still an awfully long way to go - the job is never-ending! It’s still very much a work in progress. The site has been built from scratch using only very limited resources available to Andy and Helen.The next move is to start promoting the site. They are seeking partners and investment from the publishing world and hope to increase the number of researchers and data input staff to speed up the pace of growth. If interested in possibly becoming one of these in the future, let Andy & Helen know by emailing andykyle@mac.com.
So take a look at FAKTree.co.uk – make sure to scroll over and click on all the underlined links.
By the Dart August 2014