I focus on five areas, described below.
Family Tree Research – When you want to develop your family history and ancestors’ chart on one or more lines as far back as possible, or for specific generations, or for a particular family or person. It may mean researching your ancestors more or less from scratch, or it could mean I pick up the research at a certain point / individual. Most investigations start with online research, and can lead back to all sorts of places. As the research progresses back in time, it may prove relevant to visit a local archive to view original records, that have not yet been digitised, which relate to your ancestors. I can advise about that. Your commission is unique, so Get in touch to arrange a “no obligation” free consultation to discuss and establish your specific starting research brief.
Brickwalls – This is when you’ve come to a halt researching a particular ancestor or family, or it’s all got a bit complicated sorting out who is who from all the possible connections.
DNA matches – You’ve established, or think it likely, that one or more of your biological parents or grandparents isn’t who you thought, and need help understanding how certain DNA matches relate to you. This often involves re-working your family tree.
Transcriptions of wills – I often incorporate information found from wills into family tree research. You may have obtained an old will to do similar, but find the handwriting is just too difficult to decipher. I can help, and the fee I charge depends on the type of handwriting and the number of pages / words involved, so I need to see the document or an image of it in order to quote.
Local archives support – You’re a researcher located outside the UK or at some distance from Cambridgeshire and have identified records held at archives near me, such as Cambridge University Library/ Special Collections, various Cambridge Colleges or Institutes, and/or Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire and Suffolk County archives. I can request, review and assess documents, and take photographs of pages on your behalf (subject to copyright), or undertake transcriptions of documents. Get in touch to discuss further.
Free Consultation, Research Brief and Quotation
When you get in touch I’ll get back to you to discuss your interest. This involves me seeing and understanding what supporting details you have, such as original documents and information about the person(s) or family of interest, and whether the details are certain, second-hand or speculative. Our initial interaction may take place by email, phone or via a Zoom meeting, for about 30 minutes. I don’t charge for this. I’ll also provide you with a copy of my standard terms and conditions of business. Once I’m clear about your supporting details and aims, I’ll provide a written summary of the proposed Research Brief along with a Quotation. Then you decide if you want to go ahead.
My standard fees are £30/hour (research and reporting), plus any expenses. I don’t charge for travel within 5 miles of Cambridge. Payment can be made by online bank transfer, PayPal (an account is not required) or cheque in GBP.
Please see my Privacy Policy concerning all the personal data you share with me. I’m registered with ICO, on their Data Protection Public Register.
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