Frequently Asked Questions
How much will researching my family tree cost?
The initial consultation is free. I charge £20 per hour for research, with any supporting documents provided at cost. For first-time research of a single line, I recommend a basic package of £150. This includes 4 hours of research plus 1-2 hours of transcribing and collating the findings. I usually need to order around 3 birth, marriage or death certificates (at £7 each), and the printing, packaging and postage costs are usually around £7. This can take research as far back as the early 19th century, but depends on the quality of information I have to start with, how common or uncommon the surnames are, and how well transcribed and digitised the records are.
Otherwise, I will tailor my research to your specifications with a strict limit on the final bill with a proviso that I will suspend the project if further research is likely to prove fruitless or considerably more time-consuming than previously anticipated. In such a scenario, I would let you know and it would then be up to you to decide whether to continue with the project. As to the actual cost, this will be determined by your budget and how far back in time you want to trace your ancestors, and depending on what supplementary information you would like to discover. Please note that the more information I have to go on (e.g., names, addresses, dates of birth etc., of your immediate relatives), the easier and faster the research will be. All these details will be discussed at the initial free consultation.
How far back can you trace my ancestors?
Tracing a line back to a UK-based ancestor who was born in the early 19th century using statutory birth/marriage/death and census records is relatively straightforward, and can normally be done with 4 hours of research (plus 1-2 hours required to transcribe and collate the information). Going further back can be more difficult. If the surname is unusual then you are at an advantage. Notable individuals have more written about them than humble farm labourers. However, in most cases the only source of data is the parish records, and they are often incomplete, sometimes only available locally, not necessarily digitised (or mistranscribed) and therefore must be searched manually. Having said that, increasing amounts of genealogical data is available online and as often happens, the further back the research goes, the more likely it is that your family tree will link up with an online tree researched by a distant cousin who has done all the hard work already, and may well be able to produce parish records to back up the findings.
What sort of information can you unearth?
If tracing back to the 19th century using the British census records and BMD (birth/marriage/death) records you could expect the following information for each of your direct ancestors and his or her spouse (and in some cases, siblings):
full name at birth (i.e., maiden name for women)
date or year of birth and place of birth
the place of residence at the time of each census, and occupation of every individual at that address
date or year of marriage (where applicable)
date of death (for direct ancestors and spouses).
In addition to the above, the other sorts of information which can be discovered - budget permitting - can be as follows: ships' passenger lists, First World War enlistment forms and medal cards, wills, business directory entries, phone book entries, insurance documents.
The further back you go, however, the less complete, accurate or reliable the available data becomes. At the very least, you could expect a name, a date and place of baptism, marriage or burial. In addition to the above, if you are looking for more interesting information about an individual, there are numerous other sources (newspaper archives, criminal records, etc.) which can yield gems of information which are not only fascinating in themselves, but can give vital clues for further research.
Can I, a family member, or another professional researcher continue where you left off?
Yes. All data is saved as a GEDCOM file (the standard international format for genealogical data) which I make available to you at the conclusion of the research project and also upload to ancestry.co.uk where you can chose to make it public or private, and you can nominate family members or a professional researcher by email to have editing privileges. NB All information about living relatives is kept strictly confidential.
What if my ancestors come from overseas?
I usually only undertake research using British records. If I come across an ancestor who comes from abroad to live in Britain, I can only recommend that you pursue this line of research using a researcher based in the country of origin of that individual.