Family History Genealogy Research

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Why are your rates so low?  First of all, I am just a very advanced amateur with no credentials whatsoever other than thousands of hours of experience.  As a retiree, I am not looking to earn a living, but merely to supplement my retirement income.  If I didn't need some supplemental income, I might do genealogy research for free.  I love doing it!

 

How do you go about doing your research?  Starting with the information you have provided, I begin by searching ancestry.com to try to pick up additional information that you have not provided - missing marriage or birth dates for example.  I am also looking for parents, siblings or spouses that have not been provided.  Census records can be very valuable here.  As I add information, I will search newspaper records.  Obituaries and marriage announcements can provide a wealth of data about the families involved.  It is extremely important to not limit the search to your direct ancestors but to include aunts/uncles and cousins as well, since important information may be found in this manner.  For example, your great grandmother's maiden name might be found on the death certificate of your great uncle while no death certificate can be found for your grandfather. I like to 'flesh' people out, where possible.  In addition to newspaper articles, general web searches can sometimes provide unexpected and interesting results.  Photos of gravestones or even of individuals themselves can sometimes be found.

 

What about sourcing?  Do you use information from other family trees available online?  Many (most?) family trees found online are lacking in information about sources and in many cases simply have errors.  I am reluctant to include any data that I cannot find an original source for.  Even original sources may not be correct, so it is always better to include multiple sources where possible.  I will use other family trees for hints and clues, but will not use those trees as sources - I will generally include data only if I can find original sources to back that data up.  If there seems to be a consensus about a fact, but no original source can be found, I may include that fact, but the uncertainty will be noted and described.  Information obtained from you will be sourced as 'personal knowledge', 'family records' or whatever is most appropriate.  And I will still seek additional sources to back up your information - or possibly correct it.  In short, all facts will be sourced or will include notes on how the fact was derived.

 

Is my family worth researching?  Are records likely to exist?  Many records exist online for the United States, Colonial America and Canada.  In addition, records for much of Western Europe and the former British Empire are available.  Unfortunately, few records are available (at this time) for Eastern Europe, Africa, South/Central America, Mexico and Asia.  Even for North America, records can be spotty.  Much of the 1890 US Census was lost to fire, and 1940 is the most recent US Census available.  Available records may vary significantly from state to state.  Surprisingly, recent records are among the hardest to find, so unless you can provide some information for family members that pre-dates the most recent availble census (1940), it may be hard to gain traction.  That said, I have built a substantial family tree (5+ generations) given only an individual's name and birth year (1951), that person's father's name and his mother's first name.  At the same time, I have reached a dead end after 2-3 generations where I simply could not find any additional information.  So many factors come into play, it can be very hard to predict how successful an investigation might be.  Basically, if your family has been in North America for a long time and/or you have Western European roots, the odds are pretty good that research will prove fruitful.  One reason I do some initial research for free is to be able to give you a good idea as to whether additional research will be worth the effort and cost.

 

Can you include family photos and records?  Certainly.  If  you can send me such information in electronic form, great.  If not, you may snail mail them to me and I will return them as soon as I have scanned them.  I will charge for my time when scanning documents and images, but there will be no extra charges for 'shipping and handling.'

 

What if I don't have Family Tree Maker™ (FTM) software?  How will I be able to view my family tree?  When your family tree is saved in FTM, all facts, sources, images, notes and other material is stored and may be viewed using FTM.  Results can be saved in GEDCOM format which means they may be read by most versions of genealogy software.  Although results can be provided in printed format, such results will necessarily be incomplete and costly - it takes a lot of time to put printed results together.  Purchasing FTM is far cheaper than the cost associated with putting your family tree in printed or PDF format.  FTM is widely available, including at Amazon.  If you have a Sam's Club or Costco membership, you can save around $10 if your local store carries it.

 

You've mentioned ancestry.com.  Will my family tree be saved on ancestry.com?  When I am working on your family tree, there will be a copy saved on ancestry.com.  It is a convenient means of backup and it is necessary if certain information (such as gravestone images) is to be obtained from other family trees.  While I am working on your tree, the ancestry.com version will be kept private, so the data is not available to others.  When I am no longer working on your tree, I will delete my copy on ancestry.com. 

 

I already have begun a family tree using Family Tree Maker™ but find that I simply don't have the time to do it justice.  Can you start with what I have already done?  Sure.  You can simply back up your tree and email me a copy of the backup file.  If it is too big, you may have to copy it to a memory stick and mail me that.  As per my usual practice, I will do some analysis for free and send you the results.  We can then determine whether and how to proceed.

 

I am having problems using Family Tree Maker™.  Can you help me?  Although your best source of help is via FTM itself, I will be happy to answer your questions if I can.  Just send me an email.  No charge.

 

How much information is necessary to get started?  Any information you can provide will be useful.  As noted above, sometimes a significant family tree can be put together starting with very little information.  But every little bit helps.  Names, dates and places are the most important.  But information such as occupation can be helpful.  It is useful to know that Grandpa Jones' parents lived in Maine, even if you do not know their names.  Middle names are valuable, so if you know them, include them.  All that said, it is not necessary to provide a total brain dump initially.  You can always provide additional information as we go along. 

 

You provide a range of rates.  What do you actually charge?  The initial research (typically 1-2 hours) is free.  If you decide to proceed, the first 5 hours will be charged at $35/hr, the next 5 hours at $30/hr and any additional hours at $25/hr.  If I should raise my rates at any time, existing customers will be charged the original rate.  In other words, once you begin, the rates you pay will not change.  You must pay in advance for time in 5 (or a multiple of 5) hour increments.  If, for whatever reason, we decide that further research is not worth it (I run into dead ends and am spinning my wheels, for example), I will reimburse you for any unused time.  Payments are made via Intuit Invoicing™ - you simply receive an invoice via email and respond providing the necessary info.

 

How will I know what progress is being made?  When the block of time you have purchased is used up, I will send you the latest results, along with any comments I may have regarding the progress so far and possible directions for additional research.  You can then decide whether to purchase additional time or to put the research on hold.  Note than once a customer, always a customer.  If you decide to put a hold on research and later decide to continue, you will be charged as if the research was continuous.

 

If you have other questions, just email me and I will respond asap.