Research Consultation & Assessment
You have already put in the work. You have built a tree, tracked down records, followed the leads you could find. Now you want to know how solid it is, or where to go next. This service is built for exactly that: bringing a professional eye to research you have already invested in, so the work you have done becomes the foundation for what comes next.
Family historians who have put real time into their own research and have hit a wall, or quietly suspect that something earlier in the tree may not be right. You may have been stuck on the same ancestor for years, or you may have inherited a tree built by someone else and want to know how much of it you can actually trust. This service is also for anyone who wants an honest professional assessment before committing to a larger research project. You do not need to have made mistakes to benefit from a second set of eyes. You just need to care about getting it right.
What the research typically involves.
- You send me what you have: trees, notes, source files, anything you consider relevant. I read it carefully and set it aside.
- Before reviewing your work in detail, I build a skeleton tree of the relevant lines myself, independently, from primary sources, without referring back to yours. This is intentional. Working with blinders on means I cannot inherit your assumptions or repeat the same errors. If my independent build matches yours, that is confirmation. If it diverges, that is where the work begins.
- I then compare both trees, check the sources cited (and the sources not cited), and identify conclusions the evidence does not fully support alongside records that have not yet been consulted.
- The written assessment covers what your research has established well, what is shakier than it appears, and a specific research strategy: the next records, where they live, and what they would realistically tell us.
Documented findings, yours to keep.
A written assessment that tells you clearly which parts of your tree are well-supported, which conclusions rest on shakier ground, and which lines have open questions that further research could resolve. You will know exactly where you stand: what you can rely on and what still needs work. The assessment is paired with a prioritised research strategy: specific next records, where they are held, and what each one would realistically add to the picture. You leave with something concrete you can act on, whether you continue the research yourself or bring me back to carry it further.
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.
When a consultation is the right starting point
Reaching out for a professional review of your own research takes confidence, and it is the right move. It does not mean your work is wrong. In most cases, a family historian who has spent years on their own tree has established far more than they realise. What a consultation does is give that work a careful, independent read: confirming what is well-supported, identifying where the evidence could be stronger, and pointing clearly toward what comes next. The goal is to make what you have stronger.
A consultation is particularly valuable when you have done your own research and run into a specific obstacle: a missing ancestor, a conflicting record, a brick wall you cannot get past. Bringing in a professional second opinion at that point can save months of searching in the wrong direction. The output is a concrete research strategy: specific record sets, specific repositories, and a clear explanation of why those sources are the right next step for your particular question.
A consultation is also useful before undertaking a larger project, such as a citizenship application or heritage documentation, to establish whether the evidence is likely to exist, what it will take to find it, and what a realistic scope of work looks like. You know what you are getting before the work begins.
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.
Questions about a consultation.
I have done my own research for years. Will a consultation tell me anything I do not already know?
Usually, yes, and often the news is better than expected. Most family historians who have spent years on their own tree have established far more than they realise. A consultation gives that work an independent read: confirming what is well-supported, identifying where the evidence could be stronger, and pointing clearly toward the next records. The goal is to make what you already have stronger.
How do you review my tree without inheriting my mistakes?
Before reviewing your work in detail, I build a skeleton tree of the relevant lines myself, independently, from primary sources, without referring back to yours. This is intentional. Working with blinders on means I cannot absorb your assumptions or repeat the same errors. If my independent build matches yours, that is confirmation. Where it diverges, that is where the work begins.
What do I actually receive at the end?
A written assessment that tells you clearly which parts of your tree are well-supported, which conclusions rest on shakier ground, and which lines have open questions. It is paired with a prioritised research strategy: specific next records, where they are held, and what each one would realistically add. You leave with something concrete you can act on, whether you continue yourself or bring me back to carry it further.
Should I get a consultation before starting a bigger project, like a citizenship application?
Yes, that is one of its most useful applications. Before a larger project, a consultation establishes whether the evidence is likely to exist, what it will take to find, and what a realistic scope of work looks like. You know what you are getting into before the larger work begins, rather than discovering the gaps partway through.
How much does a consultation cost?
The same transparent structure as all my work: $65 per hour, billed in hourly increments, beginning with a six-hour foundation retainer and a preliminary report at the six-hour mark. Any prepaid hours not used are refunded. The free initial conversation is where we decide whether a consultation is the right fit before anything is booked.
