Services: Consultation

If you like to do your own research, but need some help with evaluating your information, we offer an hourly Research Consultation Service. Our experts can analyze your basic research information and suggest the best sources for you to pursue to find the information you want. We will then consult with you by telephone or in person regarding this analysis. The fee for our hourly Research Consultation is $125.00 first hour and $25 per addtional hour.

This basic consultation service is built upon the supposition that you know what you are seeking but may not be familiar with the sources for the ancestor's geographical area which are most likely to give you that information. The results of the evaluation will be mailed to you in the form of a research planner.

This service includes an analysis of the information you already know about the ancestor in question so we don't duplicate any records you have already searched (including what sources you have already searched and what information was in those sea rches pertaining to this ancestor's parents, children, spouse, and siblings). We will ask you to mail or e-mail that information to us in advance. Please limit your information to three full pages of typed information, a pedigree chart, a list of sourc es, and one or two family group records for this package price.

After the credentialed genealogist has analyzed your materials, a study of record groups will be undertaken to determine which sources should be searched to answer the questions you have in mind. Sources will be provided listing the call number s and repositories of those sources. An appointment will be set up to discuss over the phone the methodologies which should be undertaken to solve this problem.

The 15-minute phone consultation will be followed up by additions or changes in the research plan. The research plan will then be mailed to you.

We do not provide services outside the united states or its territories. 

If you do not know what specific record or records could answer a particular question, this Specialized Record Lookup can help you. Or perhaps you do know an exact record (title, author, etc.) that you are trying to locate from the bibliography or source notes of another's research. Or perhaps you have an exact call number from a Web site such as the Family History Library's Catalog online and you want us to obtain the information in that record as it deals with your research. This search is aimed to provide you with that information. Either enter the title of the record and the information you wish us to obtain from that record, such as:

• name of the individual
• date range to cover
• location of an event
• record type (e.g., tax list, deed, etc.)

You should also enter any other information concerning the individual you are seeking, to help us distinguish your individual from others with the same name. This may include dates of birth, death, and marriage (estimates are acceptable) and the names of spouse, children, and other family members.

If the record or source you are seeking is not available to us, or there is not enough information to do the Lookup, we will not perform the Lookup. We will notify you via e-mail of the problem, and you will only be charged a minimum processing and research analysis fee of $10.00

All records requested through this Lookup will be charged at the research rate of $75.00 per hour (plus the $10.00 shipping and handling fee which are applied to all Record Lookups).

These Lookups are billed at the hourly rate due to the extreme variations in record quality and organization. Many do not have an index, requiring not only more time to search the record page-by-page, but trained individuals who understand the record types and the older handwriting of the original records.

Cost  Fee on a Case by Case  Basics

Do you desire extensive research done as fast as possible on a particular family in order to determine the relationships to a deceased individual for the purpose of settling an estate?

This service includes the following:

• An evaluation of existing materials.
• An overview of potential published materials on the surnames under question.
• Data entry of all materials into electronic format for faster searches of database materials.
• Comparison with existing databases of information, re-evaluation of evidence, setting of research goals, and preparation of the research plan.
• Research to fulfill the goals.
• Evaluation of the research conducted.
• Data entry of new materials into appropriate software programs.
• A complete report.
• Selection of a new goal for the next research session.

Heirship research requires our researchers to drop other task in order to focus directly on your case.