I became interested in genealogy several years back and spent a great deal of time (and no small amount of money) tracking down my ancestry.  It was fun, it was educational, it was fruitful and it was very, very informative.  I compiled a sizable amount of information about my family, its origins and its fortunes.  At times I was surprised by what I found - in both a pleasant and unpleasant manner.  Recently, my wife asked me to look into her first husband's line as a favor to her daughter.  I took a quick look at his line and provided my wife's daughter with what I was able to compile and write up (which consisted of a family tree going back several generations, some findings from various on-line sources (e.g., census data, WWI and WWII draft registrations, .  Again, surprises were in store; some pleasant and some unpleasant.  And again the effort was fun, educational and fruitful.  And so I've decided to offer that same service to others.  I won't pretend to be a professional or certified genealogical researcher; I'm not.  But I am a skilled investigator, I know how to use the web and its resources and I am a good, fast writer.  Consequently, I can quickly locate, check out and compile what is available on the web.

So, if you're interested in a quick, web-based look at your lineage and you can afford the $50 per hour that I charge for such work, I'll happily spend the time it takes to get you started on your family's history and lineage.

I offer three variations on this service:

1)   I'll spend a day on the web and capture what is readily available.  I'll take another half day or so to write it all up.  My fee for that service is $500.00.  You pay me $250 up front, another $50 for a one-hour call in which I review with you what I found, and the final $200 when I provide you with a final, written report.

2)  Basically the same deal as above, except that I'll spend two days on the web and my fee will be $900.  The payment breakdown will be $400 up front, $100 upon completion of the telephone update, and $400 for the final, written report.

3)  This is a simple time and materials approach.  My fee is $50 per hour and I'll work in four-hour search segments, each concluding in a telephone call to review what I've found so far, and a decision to pursue another segment or to stop search.  This is work done against a retainer and my minimum retainer is $200, payable in advance.

This service is web-based and it is also what some might call "quick and dirty."  Although I will very likely identify sources of documents, cemetery locations, census records, etc., my service does not include sending for or paying for any such documents or travel to locales for on-site investigation (e.g., to examine courthouse records, wills, headstones, etc).  I will, however, point you to them when and if I identify them.

If you're a skilled investigator and web-savvy, you could probably do this yourself but, depending on your financial circumstances and how you use your time, you might prefer to pay me to do it.  And, of course, if you have a special set of requirements, we can negotiate a custom arrangement.

1558 Coshocton Ave - Suite 303     •     Mount Vernon, OH  43050

This page last updated on July 15, 2011

©  Fred Nickols 2011