Family Tree Research & Verification
Building and expanding documented family trees from the historical record: census returns, civil registrations, church registers, immigration files and archival collections. And verifying what others have already gathered.
This service suits people who are starting from very little and want a properly built foundation, and equally those who have inherited a family tree (from a relative, from an online site, or from years of their own collecting) and want it carefully verified before they go any further. A verification project often turns into an extension project, once the existing tree is on firmer ground.
What the research typically involves.
- We begin with what you already have. Family stories, names, dates, photographs, prior research. All of it is reviewed and catalogued.
- I draft a plan: which records to consult first, which archives hold them, and what each one can realistically tell us. The plan distinguishes between verifying existing lines and extending into new ground.
- The research itself is iterative. As each record is read, the plan is adjusted. Conflicts between sources are flagged, evaluated, and resolved, wherever possible, against the Genealogical Proof Standard.
- Conclusions are written up in narrative form, with every claim attributed to a cited source.
Documented findings, yours to keep.
A research report, pedigree charts, family group sheets, digital copies of every source consulted, and a GEDCOM file for your own software.
Transparent Pricing
$65/hour, billed in hourly increments, with nothing hidden.
Every project begins with a six-hour foundation retainer. At the six-hour mark you receive a preliminary report: what has been found, what it means, and what the logical next steps are. From there, you decide how to proceed: continue, pause, or close the file. If there are prepaid hours remaining when a project concludes, they are refunded. You stay in control of the project from start to finish.
What documentary genealogy actually involves
Building a documented family tree is not the same as entering names into a database. It means locating primary sources: census returns, civil registrations, church registers, immigration files, land records, probate documents. Using them to establish facts that can be cited and verified. Every name, date, and relationship in a well-constructed tree should be traceable to a source.
The challenge is that those sources are scattered across dozens of archives and record collections, often in multiple countries, and frequently in languages or handwriting styles that require specialist training to read accurately. A Canadian family born in Quebec in the 1880s may have records in French-language Catholic registers, English-language census returns, and American naturalization files, depending on where they moved. Tracing them requires knowing where each type of record was created and where it is held today.
Verification work, checking an existing tree against the primary sources, is equally important. Errors propagate rapidly through online genealogy platforms when unsourced trees are copied and merged. A professional review identifies where the documentation is solid and where the chain of evidence breaks down, so you know exactly what you actually know.
A note on research outcomes
Research does not always produce the connection a client is hoping for. Records were not always kept, and not everything that was recorded has survived. If a search comes up empty, you receive documentation of exactly where I looked: every archive consulted, every negative result recorded, so the work is transparent regardless of the outcome. I also draw on local researchers and historical societies when specialized knowledge of a specific community or region would help.
Further Reading
Questions about the research.
How is this different from just building a tree on Ancestry?
A tree on a subscription site is only as reliable as the sources behind it, and most online trees are copied from other unsourced trees. The work here is documentary: each name, date, and relationship is traced to a primary source, a census return, a civil registration, a church register, and cited so it can be checked later. You end up knowing not just who your ancestors were, but how each fact is known.
I already have a tree from a relative. Can you just check it rather than start over?
Yes, and that is often the better place to begin. Verification means checking your existing tree against the primary sources to find where the documentation is solid and where the chain of evidence breaks down. A verification project frequently turns into an extension project, because once the existing lines are on firmer ground, it becomes clear where the research can safely go next.
What happens if you cannot find a record I was hoping for?
You receive documentation of exactly where I looked: every archive consulted, every negative result recorded. Records were not always kept, and not everything that was recorded has survived. A clearly documented dead end is still a professional result, because it tells you what is actually knowable and saves you from searching the same empty ground again.
How much does it cost, and how does billing work?
Research is $65 per hour, billed in hourly increments. Every project begins with a six-hour foundation retainer. At the six-hour mark you receive a preliminary report covering what was found, what it means, and the logical next steps, and you decide whether to continue, pause, or close the file. If prepaid hours remain when a project ends, they are refunded.
My family moved between Canada, the US, and Europe. Can you research across countries?
Yes. A Canadian family born in Quebec in the 1880s may have records in French-language Catholic registers, English-language census returns, and American naturalization files, depending on where they moved. The research follows the family across borders, and where specialized local knowledge of a region or community would help, I draw on local researchers and historical societies.
