Q: Are you a professional genealogist?
A: I am not a certified genealogist, but a relentless researcher. I have various online and other resources to help me uncover your family history. Here are some of the fascinating facts I’ve discovered recently:
- For a friend who was adopted, I found his birth father’s family and some interesting history, including an uncle who was murdered by one of Pancho Villa’s bandits (he was only four years old at the time). His birth father was deaf and avoided being killed himself because of the bandits’ superstitions regarding handicapped children.
- For this same friend, I discovered he has an ancestor who was on the Mayflower.
- For another friend, whose family would never talk about their history, I discovered she has a rather famous first cousin, seven times removed – Benjamin Franklin.
- For a friend who is part Santee Sioux, I discovered she has Quaker ancestors. Her fourth great-grandmother was struck by lightning and killed in 1817.
- A recent discovery for one client — his great grandfather was one of Abraham Lincoln’s body guards.
Q: How much do you charge for your services?
A: My rates are more reasonable and affordable that many genealogy research firms ($35 per hour). For a price comparison:
- Legacy Tree Genealogists
- Ancestry.com Pro Genealogists
- Hiring a Genealogist Wiki (average fees you can expect to pay)
- Heritage Consulting
- Price Genealogy
I can also work with you to create a more affordable package. Hourly rates are $35 per hour, but packages are available and quotes for special projects exceeding 50 hours can be arranged (see the Pricing page). These rates reflect the need to partially defray the cost of various paid web sites like Newspapers.com, Genealogy Bank, Newspaper Archives. Ancestry.com, FindMyPast, and more which aid research efforts on behalf of clients.
Q: I would like to engage your services for extended research, but my budget is limited. Do you offer payment plans?
A: It’s certainly possible to set up a payment plan, but we would need to discuss it further (contact me here). I have just added a “Genealogy by Subscription” option on a companion site. Payments are recurring monthly and continue until the client requests cancellation or the project is completed.
Q: Do you offer a guaranteed result?
A: When we are dealing with “brick walls” there may or may not be an answer because there simply may be no available records. So, a guaranteed result is not something any genealogist would likely offer. However, I will guarantee you that I will do my best to find you an answer within the time-frame you choose to pay for. I will also provide you with full documentation and details of all techniques and research possibilities for you to pursue on your own.