Help with genealogy..........

Question

How much does it cost to hire a genealogist in the UK to do your family tree?

Answer 1

UK answer.

Rennie, there are lots of excellent researchers who would be more than happy to get you started. Why don't you try posting some names of your *late* relatives and as much information as you can give and see what we can come up with.

Answer 2

In the USA it is $25 to $100 an hour, with an 8 - 24 hour minimum. You could get a sketch in 10 hours. When I do a tree I figure it will take me 100 - 300 hours. I don't sell my services and that isn't an offer, I'm just using that as an example. I usually dead-end in the 1850 census. Sometimes I don't. I'm a serious amateur. A professional could probably work quicker.

You can convert US$40/hour to pounds sterling and I'd bet the number would be reasonable for the UK.

Two things if you hire someone - you have to tell them when to stop, unless you are Bill Gates. Everyone has two parents. Most people have brothers and sisters, and most people get married, then have children.

So, if you WERE Bill gates, a team of crack genealogists could go back to the 1700's, and find most of your 5th great grandparents. There would be 120 - 128 of them, depending on how many people married cousins. The team could then, if Bill was still paying the hourly rate plus expenses, trace most of those 120-128 people's descendants, so you'd end up with most of your 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th cousins.

Second, if any genealogist gives you a guarantee, put one hand on your money and back away slowly, never taking your eyes off him. That's an iron-clad "We WILL find all of your 2nd great grandparents", not "95 percent of our customers say they ar every happy". The first is impossible to guarantee. The second is reasonable.

Answer 3

Very expensive. Try and do it yourself, start with yourself, parents, grandparents etc. Start here

http://rootsuk.com/

I use this site a lot.

Good Luck.

Answer 4

If you have to ask how much it costs then you cannot afford it, why not compile your own family tree, there are websites such as Find My Past,   Genes Reunited,  Ancestry   You can get a lot of information  from your immediate family mother father aunts uncles grand parents etc and it will be more interesting

Answer 5

post some details here and we will do some quick searches for you.

the way i started off, was to get as much information as i could from living relatives, then start sending off for those certificates from the gro.gov.uk (you can do it online)

then when they are returned, look at the names and dates and everytying to make sure things add up, then keep doing that until you have enough information to find people on the 1901 census. you will need parents names, occupation if possible, spouses etc.

from then, you go further back to each census, to follow the family backwards, sending off for certificates each time to match the information.

marriage certs are great because they contain the father's name, so sometimes you cant get a birth certificate yet, because you wouldnt know whether the parents on the certificate are the ones of your ancestor, but you do know that they married mr david jones for example. so you get the marriage cert for mr jones and your ancestor and then find the names of the fathers for both of them, leading you to the census returns and birth certs further back

each cert is 7 quid, and although when you send off for a big load (i sent off for 14 this weekend) its a LOT less than paying a genealogist to do the work for you.