Where can I find a genealogist like the one on African American lives? How much do they cost?

Question

Where can I find a genealogist like the one on African American lives? How much do they cost?

Answer 1

Most of the ones on the two shows so far have been volunteers from the family history centers of the Mormon church. They don't charge anything but you will have to pay a small fee for copying and faxing.

They have family history centers everywhere, you go there and fill out a form telling them who and where to look, they call you back in a few days to pick up your copies. Dr. Gates goes to the location of the original and films them. If you don't know where to look, the volunteers explain the use of the computer network and how to access the indexes. Mostly they are the same ones as at familysearch.org but they also have microfilm viewers there also, in case the document you need is only available on film of fiche.

You don't have to be a Mormon to use the resources and they only charge the same fees that a member would be charged. I always get much more than what I asked for along with a note from the researcher expressing the pride they get from helping me succeed in my search a lot like here on Y!A. Last time I was there they charged me $1.25 us. for faxing and .15 us. for copies.

The DNA people he uses are the heads of the companies that do testing that is available online at places like ftdna.com.

Answer 2

You could start by trying the Association of Professional Genealogists at http://www.apgen.org/index.html.  

You could also try http://genealogypro.com/, which claims to be "the most comprehensive site on the Internet for finding professional genealogists."

Concerning the price, I found the following at http://genealogypro.com/details/faq.html...

"The price you pay for the research of your family tree will vary in accordance with many factors. Some of these include:

the extent of research you want conducted;

how much background information you are able to supply the genealogist;

the format in which you want to receive the final research - it could be a simple email answer, a computer database file, or an entire book including pictures of your ancestral home; and

the professional genealogist's own pricing structure.

Ensure you express your exact requirements before you

hire a professional genealogist and that you fully understand the service being offered and the associated costs."

Hope this helps!