Do you need expert help to uncover the origins of your ancestors? Well, hiring a genealogy researcher is something that you should consider. Whether you are trying to build a small family tree, find an elusive ancestor, or need help to trace a particular branch of your tree there is help out there.
In this post, I want to show you that there are experts out there willing to help you on your genealogy journey.
I will discuss what you need to consider before you even hire a professional. What can you do to get better results, and also whether you even need to hire someone at all?
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Why You Should Hire?
Firstly, there are many reasons why you may be interested in your family history. My Why Research My Family History post looks at several of them.
The post discusses confirming old family tales, tracing your ancestors’ migration, a desire to preserve your family history, and ultimately because of the excitement.
Similar to the reasons for tracing your family tree there are also reasons, and circumstances, where you would want to hire a professional genealogy researcher.
My genealogy journey
Before I continue I just want to share with you how I started on my genealogy journey. I first became interested in researching my family tree due to the desire of writing up the many fascinating stories that my father would tell me over the years.
As I wrote the stories down I became more and more fascinated with my family history. And as a result, I wanted to continue the genealogy research that my father too had begun.
My father, if he doesn’t mind me saying, is old school. He visited archives for his research and drew family tree branches by hand. Quite tiring I can tell you.
As I grew up with computers I knew that I could find so much about my family tree by checking out the Internet. There is just so much valuable information on there that you can discover about your family tree.
I continued the research that my father began to create a family tree consisting of nearly 2,000 people. The Internet expanded my tree immensely.
Even though the Internet helped me a lot visiting archives can still be a valuable resource to you!
The reasons to hire
That is because, despite the claims, the Internet does not have everything. I must admit that new records are uploaded all the time, but there is so much more that exists in the offline world.
This brings me to the reasons why you should consider hiring a professional genealogist.
They can search for you!
A professional genealogist will know where to find the records. They can visit archives if need be and use tips and tricks that they have acquired to easily find the information that is needed.
They have the resources and tools!
Genealogy software programs, charts, forms, and other resources and tools make genealogy so much easier. Programs make this task much easier.
A professional genealogist will have all of these resources and tools at their disposal. And all this makes the job much quicker for them.
You may not have time!
You may have the desire to learn about your ancestry but you may not have the time. Having a full-time job, a family, or other commitments may take your time away from researching who your ancestors were.
Hiring someone to do the work for you will be a good option for you.
You’ve hit a brick wall!
As you follow your genealogy journey there will be the elusive ancestor, or information about him or her which is hard to find.
Enter a professional who will have the experience needed to know where to look and how to find what you are after.
Please check out!
An interesting article Do I Need The Help of A Professional Genealogist over at Parr Genealogy discusses other reasons that you may have.
Or, check out this short video that explains the reasons and gives you valuable tips.
Credit: GeneaVlogger
Preparation Will Help You!
If you want the experience of hiring a professional to be as smooth as possible, (and cheaper), then preparation is key. You, therefore, want to outline to the genealogist what your aims are.
Here are a few examples of what you can ask a genealogist to do for you.
- Research your family tree to several generations, or maybe just a few branches.
- Reconnect with family members.
- Translate documents.
- Find an elusive record or ancestor.
- Pick up a record from an archive.
- Photograph where your ancestor lived, worked, and died, i.e. by visiting where your ancestor called home.
- Become a mentor for you and show you how to research your family tree.
From the above examples, you can see that it’s not as easy as simply asking for help. The genealogist you are hiring will want to know what exactly your goals are from their services.
And remember once the job is done you can always ask them to carry on more work for you if you wish
Where To Find A Researcher?
I have already reviewed a resource that is available to you, Genealogy Freelancers. Here you can find the genealogist that is right for you, based on where they reside, their expertise, and their costs, amongst other things.
The beauty of this resource is that you can outline what you want to be researched, and they will come to you. You just pick whichever genealogist that you are happy with.
There are alternatives!
But you do not always need a professional genealogist. If you are like me then you will want a cheaper alternative, (or even a free option).
Genealogy Freelancers is one resource that is open to you, and that I recommend. But there are other ways of obtaining what you are after.
And I want to briefly discuss these here.
Archivists
The archivists themselves will be able to help you with your inquiry, there is, therefore, no need to hire a genealogist. As long as you provide as much information as possible then an archivist will be of great assistance to you.
There will most likely be a cost involved with their services, but it can be significantly cheaper than a professional.
Library
Visiting a library is a great resource available to you and appealingly it is free. I have discovered so much about my ancestors by checking out my local library and using their computers for my genealogy research.
And you can too. You can get help from the librarian who will be more than happy to help.
Your local library may also run a genealogy club where other family historians will come together. There will probably be classes held where you can attend tutorials and get the help that you are after.
Genealogy/Family History Societies
Depending on where you live in the world you may call them genealogy or family history societies. Despite what you call them they can give you the guidance that you need.
You can ask the society’s staff queries, check out their helpful publications, or even join the society. You can also connect with other members who can share with you what they have discovered about the local area and may even have information about your ancestors.
My How To Find A Genealogy Society post is worth checking out.
Guidebooks
There are a plethora of genealogy guidebooks that will be helpful to you. They will introduce you to the world of genealogy, show you how to research your ancestry, put your research in order, discuss everything DNA, and more.
So, if you are not sure about something then check out a genealogy guidebook before considering a professional. It may save you a lot of money.
What’s The Cost?
Hiring a professional genealogist can get costly. So, as I mentioned earlier it is best to outline what you hope to achieve from their services.
Depending on the complexity of research carried out it can cost anywhere between $30 to $100 per hour. Yes, you read that right.
And there may be a minimum amount of hours that they will work for you, usually at least 2 hours.
There may even be packages that are offered, so it’s worth asking about those if available. They can range from anywhere from $200 up to $1,000 and even more.
Even though it can get expensive it is worth considering this resource that is available to you.
As I like to think it is better biting the bullet and getting the help that you need, rather than staying in the dark and not knowing who your ancestors were.
Would you rather know who they were?
Additional costs!
There will be additional costs that you will need to be aware of. A professional genealogist can carry out the work for you, and get what you want.
And this will cost money as they purchase the required documents and records. There may also be travel expenses.
Thank You and Please Leave A Comment
I hope you enjoyed reading my guide to hiring a genealogy researcher. If you have any questions or comments then please leave a comment below.
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Very informative. I will be sharing this! Thanks again.
Glad you like it. Thanks for sharing.
Hey, Owain!
The article was truly insightful for me. Me and my wife – we’ve been considering to make some research happen on our ancestors. The pretty much only thing I know about my great grandpa is that he was a sailor and sailed around earth multiple times. And the father of his was a famous doctor
However, I’ve no idea what stretches beyond that and what about my great grandmas and her parents and siblings and all that. I’d really like to know.
I sincerely thank you for the website for freelancers and all the useful tips you’ve listed. We’ll probably decide to go with a freelancer as I expect it’s gonna need to be quite an extensive research.
Cheers, Thank You, Owain, and Have A Great One!
Matiss
Hi Matiss,
Thanks for the comment. A few of my ancestors were sailors too and traveled to many different countries around the world. It is really fascinating, and rewarding, to learn about their voyages and what they did.
The great thing about a freelancer is that they can carry on with the research that you have already started. And in time you may continue and investigate on your own, or ask for more help from an expert is time you are intrigued to learn more about your ancestors.
All the best on your genealogy journey Matiss.
Owain, I have only skirted the edges of researching my genealogy. My experience has been limited to stories from my family members and using the computer. My brother is more the family historian than I am.
You have provided a comprehensive view of how to hire a professional. It seems to me that it would still be more rewarding to research on your own.
Hi Ellen,
Thank you for your feedback. As I said in this post I became interested in my family history because of the stories that my father would recite to me.
You to can help your brother. You may have stories or information that he may not or has forgotten. You can also interview relatives, visit cemeteries, or check out libraries to see what information that they have on the area where your ancestors once worked and lived.
You are right though when you say it can be more rewarding to do the research on your own. I have had great excitement learning about my ancestors, and sharing that new knowledge with my father.
There will though be times when you need help on your genealogy journey. That is where hiring an expert can help pay dividends. In my opinion it is best to get the help that you need rather be left in the dark and not know where your ancestors came from.
Great post. Ive been thinking about doing my own genealogy research. There are some great advice here.
I can see that the more involved that you get into your research and learn more about your ancestors that the more help that you will need.
I do wonder where it will take me as I set forth onto my genealogy journey.
Thank you.
Hi Andrew,
Yes it is interesting to see where your ancestors will take you. You just don’t know who you will discover and what you will learn about them. That’s the joy of genealogy.
I wish you all the best on your very own genealogy journey.
I didn’t know there was a job for this. That’s pretty cool. Hiring a professional would definitely make the research easier.
I haven’t gone very far with my family tree but think I’ll do as much as I can before I hire someone.
The Genealogy Freelancers site looks like a great way to get some help. I will have to check it out when I’m ready.
Thank you so much for the helpful guide that you have put together.
Hi Nicole,
There is a lot of help out, both online and offline, you just need to know where to look. Lucky for you, and everyone else, I have put together this site where you can get the help that you need.
The Genealogy Freelancers site is a great option for anyone who has become stuck with their research, or just don’t have the time to do the research but want to know about their ancestors.
Kind regards,
Owain