Is there a way to get a family tree done for me?

Question

my mum would like her family tree done, a recent death in her family has made us realise she knows virtually nothing about her past. we live in england but she and as far back as we know come from scotland. her mum died in 1996 and my grandad doesn't talk about 'things like that' (he's very old, nearly deaf and the past is the past!) is there some way of getting someone to start us off for a few generations, or does it not really work like that? we just don't know enough about how to get started for example we know my nan was one of 13 children but we don't even know all of their names. many thanks

Answer 1

There are genealogy societies in almost every county that have information for that county and often surrounding counties. You can go there to do your own research or  ask there if there are any researchers for hire and how much they would charge. Most often they have books for sale of old church records etc. as well as other files of other people who have researched their family lines. I have to warn you, genealogy is VERY addictive! :)

If you live too far way from the county in which your parents/grandparents were born, most genealogy societies also have websites with volunteers that might be of assistance. The most convenient way and also FREE, is to check your local public library and see if they have a website. Many public libraries subscribe to Heritage Quest and with only a library card, you can access the databases online from home for free to look through every census there ever was. If they don't have a website and subscribe to this Heritage Quest, they might have it available to use if you go  there.

Through the census records, you can find names of all the 13 siblings of your nan, grandparents etc. back to 1820 or ealier depending on what state you are looking through.

Answer 2

See if there is a local historical society in your area.  You can visit the nearest library and they might know if one exists or a person who does family trees for others.  Since you are in England your sources will be different than for the US so finding someone who has already traced their family, in your area, is the route to go.

If you want a professional certified family tree, this will cost you, possibly up to $100 per hour plus expenses.

Answer 3

Research in Scotland is pretty easy, but it can also be pretty expensive.  I've been to New Register House in Edinburgh, and unlike most record repositaries, you do have to pay to get inside its hallowed halls.  The associated website (scotlandspeople.gov.uk) is no better, and searches come at quite a high price.  ÃƒÂ‚£6 for a set of 30 credits.  Yesterday I bought £36 worth, and they've all gone.  I kept bringing up images of the wrong McDonald's while trying to find a death, but get charged all the same.  But that's my problem, not yours - the family moved around a lot - they were hawkers - no one child was born in the same place and none of them are in the OPRs.  The point is, it's very easy to spend credits at this site - but online researchers don't have much choice - they pretty much have the monopoly on Scottish records.

Your problem is likely to be the fact that the recent records although they are searchable in the online indexes, cannot be viewed online - you have to pay £10 to order each one in the post.  It can get quite expensive, even if you do it yourself, and even if you hire a genealogist to do it for you, they will still by and large face the same charges unless they are based in Edinburgh and can do the research there as the recent "living memory" rule doesn't apply in NHR - all records not matter how recent can be viewed at a PC at the click of a mouse.  Even so, a decent genealogist would charge by the hour and to even get any kind of basic outline of a tree set up for you, I'd expect them to take something like four six hour days at the very least, which at £20 an hour, could very easily run into many hundreds of pounds - and if you wanted them to provide copies of any records they find in the process the fee will rise even more.  It's unlikely to be worth it.

Answer 4

I don't know

Answer 5

If you search the resolved answers in this category for "start", you'll find thousands of resolved questions like yours, sort of, with links and tips for you to do your own research.

If you pay someone, they will do it for you. I usually suggest approaching the president of your county genealogical society. Ask for a poor but honest widow who will work for cash. (She doesn't have to be honest to the tax ogres, just to you; if she gets stumped, she should say so, not make up a tale about your fourth great uncle being the rightful king of France.) Professionals charge US$ 25 - US$75 per hour here in the USA. PbH widows are less. Figure 40 hours at a minimum.

If you have a Family History Center near you, the volunteers there will be happy to help you get started. FHC's are small rooms in large LDS churches. They don't try to convert you. They will show you where to dig, and may lend you a shovel. They won't do all of the work for you.

If you join the County Genealogical society, you may meet someone willing to help you get started just for the fun of it, or for lunch, or a spot of minor fence repair. If it is big enough, they may offer beginner's classes on a regular basis, for free or for a fee.

Best of luck!

Answer 6

go to ancestry.com make a family tree there

Answer 7

To have someone do your family tree could cost you some money. If you are willing to take some time to look into it yourself, you might be more successful, and find it very interesting, with a lot of history.

You can start by getting your grandmother's maiden name, and if possible, the great-grandmother's maiden name. Does your mom or dad have brothers, sisters, or cousins who could add their input? Look up your mother's birth record - that should give you her parents' names, and then try to locate their parents' records. This information should be on file with a city's records department.

Hope this helps

Good luck in your efforts  

Answer 8

http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default....

http://www.ancestry.co.uk/

http://www.genuki.org.uk/

http://www.uk-genealogy.org.uk/

http://www.ancestorhunt.com/united_kingd...

http://www.oz.net/~markhow/acronym-uk.ht...

http://www.familyhistory.uk.com/

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/genesreun...

Answer 9

have a look on google

Answer 10

the way i did it to start off, is that you get as many certificates of ancestors as you can and as you know of so far, (ie, you have talked about your nan, her mother, your mum), get all those certificates and those for the people they married, then you will just about have enough name information, and occupations to find the family on the 1901 census, from then on, its a question of finding them each census back and ordering certificates to clarify what you have found and going back further. so, by getting the certificate for christina stewart in 1909 in aberdeen, you will obtain her parents names and location. then look on the census for those individuals. they may not have been married in 1901 so they might have been living with their families, in which case, you will need to get christina's parents marriage certficate, so that you know who their parents were and their occupations, so that you can accurately identify them in the census

Answer 11

idk.

look for old documents about your family. research them online.

even ancestry.com can help.

Answer 12

Could this be the right Violet?:

British Phone Books, 1880-1984 Releases 1-4

about Violet M Henderson

Name: Violet M Henderson

Address: Cowrie

Exchange: cott

Directory Title: Aberdeen / Dundee / Scotland (East Central) / Edinburgh Feb

Publication Year: 1964

Directory County: Aberdeen, Angus, Midlothian, Scotland

Page Number: 1067

British Phone Books, 1880-1984 Releases 1-4

about Violet M Henderson

Name: Violet M Henderson

Address: Gowrie

Exchange: cott

Directory Title: Aberdeen / Dundee / Edinburgh Feb

Publication Year: 1968

Directory County: Aberdeen, Angus, Midlothian

Page Number: 1078

That's all I seem to be finding at this site...  You might also try familysearch.org.

I hope that helps!

Answer 13

The best website for Scottish research by far is www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. You can access the births and deaths to 2006, and the marriages to 1932. You can buy 30 credits for 6 pounds. Each certificate costs 5 credits, and a page of index entries costs 1 credit each. You are lucky that the family come from Scotland, where the records are so much better than English ones, although they start later, in 1855. Death certificates are often the most useful, since they usually state the deceased's marriage partner(s), and have details of informants, who may also be relatives. The very best are certificates from 1855, which list the entire family, including ages, and also the marriage dates. Once you are back into the 19th century, the IGI (see URL below) is very useful, as in Scotland, married women kept their maiden name, so births are registered under both surnames, which helps to identify their offspring. Similarly, they are indexed under both maiden and surname in the death indexes.

Answer 14

It`s very expensive to get a genealogist to do this for you, you can do it yourself. Go to http://www.rootsuk.com/   it`s a good place to start.

Answer 15

If you would like to give us your grans name and age at death and where she died we could maybe start you off. It would be very expensive to get a professional genealogist to help you out.

There are many really good amateurs that  frequent this forum, who work for nothing and can really dig deep into your family history on your behalf.