Questions, answered honestly.

Every package is a fixed price with no hidden extras. The Bronze package is £295, the Silver package is £425 and the Gold package is £995. Tailor-made research is priced individually, a fixed price agreed before work begins, so you always know the full cost in advance. You can see exactly what each package includes on the Services and Prices page.

For most British families I can trace a direct line back to the 1700s which is often around 8 or 9 generations, depending on how well the records for your family and area have survived. Some lines reach further, and a few stop sooner where records were lost or never kept. I will always be honest about what the surviving records can and cannot show for your particular family.

Tracing your roots back 6 generations means that I start with you as the first generation (or any family member you may choose), your parents are the second, grandparents the third, great grandparents the fourth, great great grandparents the fifth and your great great great grandparents are the sixth generation. This means we will uncover up to 60 ancestors – not counting yourself or your parents. Tracing 7 generations can uncover up to 124 ancestors, 8 generations up to 252 ancestors and 9 generations up to 508 ancestors!

It depends on the package and on how straightforward your family lines turn out to be. As a guide, Bronze research usually takes around 2 to 4 weeks, and Silver around 4 to 8 weeks. Gold takes longer, around 3 to 4 months, because the family history book is written and printed once the research is complete. Bespoke timescales are agreed with you before we begin. If anything is likely to take longer, for example a tricky brick wall or records held only in a distant archive, I will tell you at the outset.

Payment is by PayPal or bank transfer, and is made after the consultation stage and before research begins. For Gold service, half is paid before research begins and the remaining half prior to the book being printed. Bespoke terms are agreed up front, before any work begins.

Don’t worry, your service package can be upgraded during the initial stages of the search process, just email me to discuss your options. You also have the opportunity to purchase an optional extra to enhance your service package, such as timelines detailing your ancestors' lives, or adding occupations to your male ancestors' entries on your poster.

Yes. The United Kingdom is my main area of work and where the records I know best are held, but family lines rarely stay in one country. I regularly follow ancestors who emigrated or arrived from overseas, and I can carry research beyond the UK where the records allow. If your family story crosses borders, tell me at the consultation and I will advise honestly on what is realistic.

Often, yes. The 1922 fire at the Public Record Office in Dublin destroyed a great deal, including most of the nineteenth-century census returns, but it did not destroy everything. Church registers, civil registration from 1864, land and valuation records, and many surviving substitutes can still rebuild an Irish line. It is more painstaking work than in England, and I will be honest about what is realistic for your family, but Irish research is far from hopeless. There is more detail in my blog post on tracing Irish ancestors after the 1922 records fire.

I will always tell you honestly what I have and have not been able to prove. I never add a name to your tree unless I am certain, beyond reasonable doubt, that it belongs there, so I would rather report an honest gap than guess. Where a line runs into a genuine brick wall, I will explain why, show you the records I have checked, and suggest whether any further avenues are worth trying.

I hold no formal accreditation, and I would rather say so plainly than imply otherwise. What I offer instead is 17 years of genuine experience, results I have already delivered for families across the UK, and a fixed price with no surprises. Every search is carried out personally by me, from your first email to the finished tree.