Family History
What Can I Do For You?
Amateur or professional, first-time investigator into your family origins or experienced researcher, I can investigate family histories across England after 1837, and help you follow the trail into Lancashire and Cumbria whatever the century. A regular visitor to both counties’ archive centres, I use microform records, local studies collections, and original documents to piece together ancestral puzzles.
I find all families equally fascinating, and I love discovering what the ordinary people of the past have to tell us about themselves. For me, it is not only about names and dates, but also about the greater context of our ancestors’ lives, and how they related to the world around them.
As a professional genealogist, abiding by the AGRA Code of Conduct, I will deliver trustworthy results for you, and you can be confident that my family history work is accurate and has been checked thoroughly.
For my MA, I carried out research into the lives of ordinary people from approximately 1750-1900, broadening my knowledge of families, industrialisation, farming, religion, crime, poverty, and urban development during that era. This enables me to look at the bigger picture of the times in which our ancestors lived, and enhances my research for you.
What Can You Expect From Me?
As an experienced professional and AGRA Associate, you can always expect excellent quality family history research, interpretation, and analysis. I am flexible with regards to your requirements. And I am honest about the costs involved. Whilst every piece of research is different and many aspects of the process overlap, this chart shows an example of what your fee, excluding expenses, may typically cover if you are interested in the full genealogical package.
I work in blocks of time, mainly between six and fourteen hours. More or less time can always be booked. You will always be in control of the process. Within the blocks, whatever their size, the time is allocated in a broadly similar way, depending on your specific needs, and each part of the genealogical process will be carried out with the same high-quality care and attention.
Other Types of Archival Research
For those whose interest lies in lookups, digital images, or transcriptions, whether of parish records, non-digitised newspapers, pages in diaries and journals, or other types of record, I provide a bespoke research service covering the aspects that you require. Whether you are an academic, a fellow professional, or live too far away to easily travel to a particular archive or depository, I can help you.
Family Trees
Dropline family trees are the pictorial representations of the work that has gone into researching your family history. Smaller trees are always included in your report when they are required to illustrate a particular aspect of your family line.
For fuller trees, from a simple tree showing three generations of ancestors, to the more complex, perhaps showing how an estate was passed down through your family, bespoke dropline family trees are an ideal accompaniment to my research. These are provided in standalone digital files, and are composed by hand, laid out in a way unique to your family. Smaller trees can then be printed by you at home, and larger trees at commercial printers.
Family History and Archival Work
For bespoke work such as lookups, digital images, and so on, I charge a standard fee of £30 per hour. For genealogical research, it is more useful to work in blocks of time, with research parameters discussed with the client beforehand. This means that you are always in control and, other than previously agreed potential expenses (such as certificates or parking charges), there will be no unexpected costs.
| Block | Fee | Deposit | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 hours | £180 | £126 | £54 (+ expenses) |
| 8 hours | £240 | £168 | £72 (+ expenses) |
| 10 hours | £300 | £210 | £90 (+ expenses) |
| 12 hours | £360 | £252 | £108 (+ expenses) |
| 14 hours | £420 | £294 | £126 (+ expenses) |
After each block you will receive a digital report containing detailed information about the research I have carried out for you, alongside extensive interpretation and analysis of the results. I will always include some ideas of further potential research. When we have concluded our investigations, I will compile your reports into one complete digital report document containing a frontispiece and full contents page. If you have family images you would like to add, this can be done at the final report stage.