Honor those whose made it possible to be here
Discovering your ancestors can be exhilarating… and sometimes frustrating. Creating an accurate and comprehensive family history takes skills, knowledge, patience and commitment. Learning new resources, records, techniques, history and geography are part of the journey. Many love the thrill of the hunt. Others – not so much. Either way, I can help you unearth your family history, and acknowledge on whose shoulders you stand.
Choose what best fits your needs
Research
Services include (but are not limited to) tracing back any of your family branches, verifying information/family stories, or confirming relationships. While I specialize in Jewish genealogy, I also work with many non-Jewish clients on their ancestry.
Consulting
If you’re a beginner at family history, I can consult with you about how and where to research. If you already have some experience but are hitting brick walls, I can help you develop a strategy to find answers. This can be done in increments, with an hour minimum.
Courses
I will be teaching several 6-week, 12-hour virtual courses to start/improve your genealogical skills. Class sizes are limited, so you receive more attention. Classes start January 21.
Presentations
I can do one or several presentations to your group on a variety of genealogical topics. Please contact me for more information.
How Much Will It Cost?
People often ask, “how much will it cost to…
- find my great-grandmother;
- go back several generations;
- find what countries we come from;
- see if we have an Indian princess in our lineage;
- discover if we are related to royalty or came over on the Mayflower?”
The quick and easy answer: it depends. It’s impossible to say ahead of time, without more information, and even then, it will be a broad estimate.
Unlike what you see on TV (Who Do You Think You Are, Finding Your Roots), problems don’t get solved in an hour – often, hundreds of research hours have happened behind the camera.
There needs to be an efficient research plan created, existing information collected and evaluated, record availability checked, etc. before any kind of estimate can be given. If it’s a seemingly simple task (i.e. what was my paternal grandfather’s name, and where was he born) and every record that was needed to answer that question is easily available, it could take less than 5 hours – but it doesn’t happen often. This would include a written report (see The Research Process). Most questions though, are more complex, require more research, and therefore more time.
Research can be done in increments, or within a budget. A retainer (generally $200, depending on the scope of the project) will start the project, which will be applied to the process.
Research
1-15 hrs: $50/hr.
Over 15: $45/hr.
Consulting
$35/hr.
Document Look ups
$25/hr. (1 hr. minimum), plus expenses. I am based in the Boulder/Denver area for Colorado look-ups.
Expenses are additional, and might include record retrieval costs, parking, photocopies or subcontracting to other genealogists in the area of research. Major expenses will require approval in advance.