Further Information
The cost of the family history package covering one surname line in England and Wales, is £995.00.
As an experienced historical researcher I can find your ancestors names, when and where they were born, where they lived, and what work they did. I’ll work back in time, using a combination of documents, such as birth, marriage, and death certificates, census schedules, and baptisms, marriages, and burials.
I will be working full time on your personal family history, researching, writing up, compiling and assembling the results. Your family history is not just about how many names you have on a page, but about how much you know about them, the details of their lives. Where they were born, where they lived, what they did, and what their lives would have been like. This is what I aim to provide.
When I’ve discovered who they are I’ll write a detailed history of your family and, with other relevant information, provide you with an in depth history of your family. Your personal family history document can be read as a stand-alone history of your family, but the numbered pages are interspersed with certificates and other documents to illustrate their lives. You’ll start to feel as if you knew them!
Census pages and parish records are enhanced before printing to make them as clear and easy to read as possible. I also add a title of the year of the event, plus names of family members. I create a family record sheet showing each couple and their children, with year of births, marriages and deaths, where this information is available, and indicate which census in your file they appear on. I’ll include a list of sources used, and give suggestions for further research, where appropriate.
Certificates will be ordered from the General Register Office, which is where information about all births, marriages, and deaths in England and Wales have been sent since civil registration began in 1837.
I will also obtain the birth certificates of the wife of each couple, for example your great grandmother, which should give the name and occupation of her father, and maiden name of her mother, but will not follow her surname back further, only the direct surname line.
Certificates combined with census information will confirm who everyone is, giving you a wider and more comprehensive picture of your family history.
To keep costs low, births will be obtained from the General Register Office (GRO) in PDF format, and will be printed out for inclusion in your file. The GRO states that a PDF “will contain the same information that is present on a certificate apart from the official crest and signature of issuing authority. The image may contain some imperfections as the records date from 1837.”
Death certificates will be obtained from the GRO as digital images (jpeg). The GRO states “the digital image is an exact copy of the registration entry as provided in the register.” These will also be printed and included in your file.
Marriage certificates will be purchased as a certified copy, but a marriage certificate may not be necessary If a parish (church) record can be obtained, as the information will be identical, with the added bonus that the parish record will contain the actual signatures of your ancestors. (If they could write!)
If you wish to have all the certificates as standard certified copies then these can be obtained for you if you request them before the research has started, and the cost difference will be added to your bill.
It is assumed that you will not need birth or marriage certificates for yourself or your parents, and that you will have enough information to identify your grandparents so I can order certificates for them. If this is not the case, any additional certificates required, with your consent, will be obtained from the General Register Office (GRO), charged to you at cost price, currently £12.50 per certificate. All certificates will be included in your file.
Depending on your age, and the age when your ancestors married and had children, the 1841 census would typically find your 2 x great or 3 x great grandparents. (It’s likely, but not guaranteed, that your ancestor can be found on the 1841 census.) The 1841 census doesn’t give family relationships, and ages over 15 were rounded down to the nearest 5, but evidence such as marriages and baptisms can usually confirm who everyone is.
I aim to provide details and information about your ancestors and their lives, but sometimes people cannot be found as documents have not survived. There is no guarantee everyone can be found. Documents will include census pages, certificates, and also parish records of baptisms, marriages and burials where these are available, plus possibly military records, newspaper articles, or other documents relating to your ancestors.
The census in England and Wales started in 1841, and was carried out every ten years until 2021, with the exception of 1941, when it was not carried out due to the Second World War. The most recent census we can access is 1921. The 1939 National Register, carried out as an alternative to the 1941 census, can also be accessed, but contains limited information. Individuals born less than 100 years ago are redacted on the Register, unless they are known to have died. I will endeavour to find your ancestors on each of the censuses, but sometimes this is not possible. Perhaps the page has been lost, or your ancestor was “away” and did not appear on the census, but even with one or two gaps there is still plenty you can find out about the lives of your ancestors!
Postage costs are not included in the price.
How long will it take?
The information and documents available varies for each family. A single direct line would typically take 4-8 weeks, depending on the complexity of your family history and the documents available. Certificates can also take time to arrive after they have been ordered.
Your family history is supplied in a smart ring binder that can be opened and read like a book, but this format also means you can add photographs, or other family information you may have, or reorganise the pages as you wish.
A contents list and removable chart help you navigate the file, guiding you through the documents, back through time to the 1841 census, and to the earliest ancestor discovered on that census, born in the early 1800s or late 1700s.
Your file includes a family pedigree chart for the line you have requested, showing the direct line back to your earliest ancestor on the 1841 census. In addition you will receive a drop line chart starting with the earliest ancestor found on the chosen line, and where possible, including the names of the siblings of your ancestors.
If you request research on two lines of your family, for example, your mother and father, or two grandparents, they can be organised in the same binder, with a removable chart in the centre, showing how they relate to each other.
Research before the start of birth, marriage, and death certificates in 1837, and before the earliest census of 1841, is more difficult. Before then we have to rely on baptisms, marriage and burials. The earlier records contain much less information, and some have not survived at all. If you wish, I can try to research further back in your family history in an additional package at extra cost.
If you can provide as much information as you know, and already have some certificates these will help in starting the research, but it is possible to start with basic information such as name, date of birth, and place of birth of the “start” person.
I hope you will enjoy discovering your family history.