I do conduct professional research for others.
It’s important to understand that Genealogy can be a very expensive personal hobby or outlay for professional services.
For example, in parts of The United Kingdom copies of Vital records (Births, Marriages & Deaths) cost £7 for a downloadable PDF, there is a four working-day delay after payment before you can view the file.
For other parts of the world, more costly, less accessible, with months between: requests, payments and, ultimately receiving the certificate, slows the process considerably.
To glean the evidence needed to build your tree, at the very least combinations of: Death, Marriage and Birth records. Perhaps Census returns too.
With four grandparents, eight great-grandparents and sixteen great-great-grandparents … Do the sums! That’s, potentially, 36 certificates just to get back a few generations. Already over £250 for just five generations, assuming you know your, and your parents names ages etc. The more you know the more you save.
With very common names, initial searches may be wrong but the certificates still need to be paid for!
The more information you can provide the cheaper the cost, particularly for Scotland where virtually every record older than 100 years is available online for about £1.75.
Available Packages
| Package | Cost | What to expect |
| Hourly Rate | £25 | My £25 per hour, plus research costs, travel, associated hotels and meals, media, printing consumables and compilation if required. (you will be updated regularly of any progress and advised of costs incurred and so forth).
However, expect most packages to cost between £650 – £many thousands. All information including printable copies of certificates, your report, a family tree and a program to view your Family Tree on a Windows computer, will be presented on a Flash Drive in MS Word and PDF formats. Extra hours can be purchased if necessary and refunds transferred should the trail disappear before the allotted time. This option is ideal for attempting to break down Brick Walls. |
| Budget | From £250 | By an agreed budget of not less than £250. With luck this may get you back four or five generations, with very basic information.
This is equivalent to about 6 hours of research and 2 hours compiling a family tree including the cost of certificates and/or other expenses up to a maximum of £50. All information including printable copies of certificates, your report, a family tree and a program to view your Family Tree on a Windows computer, will be presented on a Flash Drive in MS Word and PDF formats. Extra hours can be purchased if necessary and refunds transferred should the trail disappear before the allotted time. |
| Maternal or Paternal | From £250 | Your Mother’s or Father’s lineage traced back to the earliest possible ancestors. One of your parental branches of the tree will be investigated.
This is equivalent to about 6 hours of research and 2 hours compiling a family tree including the cost of certificates and/or other expenses up to a maximum of £50. All information including printable copies of certificates, your report, a family tree and a program to view your Family Tree on a Windows computer, will be presented on a Flash Drive in MS Word and PDF formats. Extra hours can be purchased if necessary and refunds transferred should the trail disappear before the allotted time. |
| Maternal and Paternal | From £250 | Both your parents lines back to your earliest ancestors.
This is equivalent to about 6 hours of research and 2 hours compiling a family tree including the cost of certificates and/or other expenses up to a maximum of £50. All information including printable copies of certificates, your report, a family tree and a program to view your Family Tree on a Windows computer, will be presented on a Flash Drive in MS Word and PDF formats. Extra hours can be purchased if necessary. It is highly unlikely that leads will dry up before the deposit is used up and very scant details will be recorded at the starting price point |
| Premium Presentation | From £650 | Both parental lines going back as far as possible.
At the starting rate expect full details back to at least 16 Great-Great Grandparents with all their children and, where possible, some of the relatives’ branches leading down as close as possible up-to-date. This is the equivalent of 12 hours of research and 4 hours of compilation. Included: at least 150 page A4 sized bound book printed on archival paper containing:
PLEASE NOTE: a £250 deposit is required before research begins |
| PLEASE NOTE: Certificates, other records, paper and presentation materials are all given at cost price including VAT and postage. | ||
| Printing charges | £0.05 | A4 black & white per side |
| £0.10 | A4 colour per side | |
| £0.15 | A3 black & white per side | |
| £0.30 | A3 colour per side | |
| £23 | A1 colour one sided print only | |
| £46 | A0 colour one sided print only | |
All this said, if you are in America, Australia, Canada or other ex-colonies the cost of your tickets, hotels, time spent finding the records you need, efficiently and effectively, could cost MUCH more.
At some point, despite my best efforts, the evidence just isn’t available but I will have spent time and, perhaps, money trying. You are liable for these costs, even without concrete results. Sorry!
A great deal of mutual trust is involved.
For example: A friend requested a full Paternal and Maternal report and provided details back to her great-grandparents.
I couldn’t find any of them!
I, backtracked and could find the grandparents but none of their reported parents matched. I spent lots of time, nearly three weeks ordering and waiting for certificates from England but nothing tallied with the information I’d been given.
Completely stumped I eventually contacted her to admit defeat. She laughed stating ‘I know they were wrong, I was just testing you’.
She didn’t laugh when I produced receipts for over £200 and the time I’d spent because I trusted her information.
Luckily I was confident in my own findings so had a very comprehensive, completely accurate, presentation ready for her in the next month. At considerable additional expense to her.
In the past I have conducted a full service of research, provided a Premium Presentations but, in just two cases (out of nearly a hundred), I’m still waiting for payment.
These folk spoiled it for everyone else.
I must now charge a deposit of £250 and trickle-feed information as I find it without divulging the whole family story until I get paid in full. Or refund deposit money not used.
I know that my basic information is as accurate as the highest priced researchers and that for about £100 extra (included in the Premium package) I can produce a Bound Book containing History of Names and Places, with photos, if available. The Book also holds a Narrative Report from You to your earliest Ancestors and From your earliest Ancestor’s Descendants to a great many relations some of which you are probably unaware. Plus, full sized, printed copies of all Vital Records and Census Returns or any other relevant printable material.
The presentation includes a high resolution A1 or A0 sized wallchart of your Family Tree and a CD, DVD or Pen Drive allowing you to investigate your family tree on Windows based computers and print further reports.
The commission above resulted in a 286 page A4 book containing details for over 1,450 individuals. The research and compilation took 80 hours, 286 pages were printed, many in full colour,127 A3 certificates were downloaded and printed two A0 Wall Charts were required from the customer’s parents, it was impossible to fit all the relations from both sides on one wall chart. Final cost £2,295.
This was an exceptionally big job resulting in a full set of 32 Great-Great-Great Grandparents (six generations) and 48 out of a possible 64 Great-Great-Great-Great Grandparents (seven generations). All of these ancestors were from Ireland or Scotland. Had they all been English and Welsh the certificates alone would have added over £660.
All of this for, typically, much less than other “Professionals” who charge similar prices for a Poly-Pocket containing, perhaps, a dozen sheets of AS ACCURATE but much less information.
Considerations
Another thing to remember is that the process isn’t instantaneous.
“Who Do You Think You Are” has been a boon for humble Genealogists in recent years.
However, viewers sometimes forget, or don’t realise, that there are 35 researchers working in the background for a year to provide results that six Celebrities, per season, seemingly “Discover” in an hour. All using Licence Payers’ money to travel the World to hook up with additional well rewarded specialist Genealogists.
I consider 6 weeks a rush job but, still, typically, get requests a few weeks/days before an important Birthday and have been asked to produce a Premium Presentation as a Christmas present … as late as December 23rd.
It can’t be done properly within weeks! Two months is about usual for a full Premium Presentation.
I can provide contacts for many dozens, if not hundreds, of clients who can vouch for my rigours of research, accuracy and unique presentations. And two who haven’t paid but must be delighted.
Areas of particular expertise:
* All forms of British and Irish research
* Available British Colonial records
* American and Canadian sources
* Australian research
* Newspaper archives
* Trade and Postal Directories
* Graves & Obituaries
* History of Old British Houses (150 years and older)
Solid grounding in:
* German genealogical research
* Italian resources
* Norwegian & Swedish records
* Jewish diaspora
* Genealogical DNA matching
Reliable Expert contact network for:
* Military History & records
* Legal & Probate archives
* Trade & Professional bodies
* Education establishments
Payments
I accept and prefer payments via BACS Bank Transfers, CHAPS , Faster Payments or Cheque in the UK.
International Wire Transfers, Western Union, Pounds Sterling Bankers Draft
At a pinch PayPal
Please note that transfer charges apply at both ends particularly for international transactions. I don’t mind absorbing some of the charges at my end but for refunds there may be a considerable difference in the amount to be refunded as opposed to the amount you receive.