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Family history research

Find out who your people were, from the real records.

We trace families back many generations by reading the original old records ourselves: death certificates, church books, court books and pension files. We only call a link proven when a record proves it.

Start with a questionSee prices
Scrolling the family-tree site on a phone: an 1889 Irish immigrant proven by his daughter's death certificate, a War of 1812 pension card, an 1805 German death act and a 1774 French baptism.

This is a real family tree website we made. Only people who died long ago are shown.

Why the original page matters

The typed copy online said one thing. The old record said another.

Genealogy websites mostly search typed copies of old records, and the typing is full of misread handwriting. Here are real examples from our research, found by reading the original old records.

1907 Pennsylvania death certificate, handwritten: full name Susan O'Hara, born April 8, 1840, widow, born Ireland, father Laughlin Mullholand, mother Roseanna Corlson.
Pennsylvania death certificate, Archbald, Pennsylvania, 1907

The typed copy online said Iman. The certificate said Susan.

The typed copy online said
Iman O'Heir, father "Janshlin"
The original record says
Susan O'Hara, father Laughlin Mullholand, mother Roseanna Corlson

We searched the state death index for Susan O'Hara every way we could think of and found nothing. So we searched by town and year instead and opened all 52 Archbald women who died in 1907. The typed index had turned Susan into "Iman" and her father Laughlin into "Janshlin", so no name search could ever find her. The original certificate names both of her parents.

Handwritten 1801 Wythe County court book entry: An Indenture of Bargain and Sale from James Devour and Margaret his wife, to Andrew Thompson, acknowledged in court, Margaret privily examined and consenting.
County court order book, deed entry, Wythe County, Virginia, 1801

One deed tied a clerk's spelling to the right man

The typed copy online said
Clerks wrote the name Devor, Dever, Devers, Deavour and Devour. The computer text of the book even reads one entry as "Margaret Never".
The original record says
"An Indenture of Bargain and Sale from James Devour & Margaret his wife, to Andrew Thompson"

In the 1790s the Wythe County clerks spelled one man's name at least five ways, so a name search scatters him across what look like different people. We read the court books page by page. This 1801 deed names James Devour together with his wife Margaret, which ties that spelling to the right James. With that settled, a whole decade of his life opened up: juror, overseer of the poor, and in 1800 recommended as a justice of the peace.

Two lines from a 1922 Pennsylvania death certificate: full name written Lawerance J Moran, and name of father written John Mullen.
Pennsylvania death certificate, Scranton, Pennsylvania, 1922

Filed under the wrong last name

The typed copy online said
Lawerance J Moran
The original record says
Name line: Lawerance J Moran. Father: John Mullen.

A search of every Mullen death in Pennsylvania from 1910 to 1929 came up empty, because the clerk wrote his last name as Moran. His 1922 newspaper obituary gave us the exact day he died. Searching that date by first name found the certificate, with his father written as John Mullen and his married daughter as the informant.

1871 War of 1812 pension declaration, printed form filled in by hand: Jesse Mayse, aged 87, of Surry County, North Carolina, wife's name Agnis Gentry, married at Shelton Gentry's on the 15th of November 1805. The marriage lines are boxed in red.
War of 1812 pension declaration, Surry County, North Carolina, 1871

A soldier's pension named his bride

The typed copy online said
Census takers wrote the family as Maize and Maze, and censuses before 1850 name only the head of the house.
The original record says
"His wife's name was Agnis Gentry, to whom he was married at Shelton Gentry's on the 15th day of November, 1805"

Jesse Mays served in the War of 1812 and applied for his pension at 87. To qualify, he had to swear to his marriage, so the form gives his wife's maiden name, the wedding date and the place. No census before 1850 names a wife at all. Pension files like this one are some of the richest records there are.

Prices

Clear prices, agreed before we start.

Half when we agree on the plan, half when your tree site is ready.

Family Tree Starter

$250

Four generations, back to your great-grandparents.

  • You, your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents
  • Every link proven with a real record
  • A private family-tree website with the record images
  • A plain-English note under each link saying how we know
Ask about Family Tree Starter

Deep Roots

$750

As far back as the records go, often to the family that crossed the ocean, or to colonial times.

  • Every line followed as far as the records allow
  • Census pages, church books, ship lists, court and land records, read at the original
  • The same private family tree website, with a note under each name saying how we know
  • A written report, with a clear note of where the records stop
Ask about Deep Roots

One Question

$150per question

One stubborn question, worked with records.

  • For example: "Who were Great-Grandma Mary's parents?"
  • The records we found, and what they prove or rule out
  • A plain-English write-up to keep
Ask about One Question

How that compares

Professional genealogists typically charge $50 to $100 or more an hour, and a full family project typically runs $1,000 to $3,000. Our packages have one price, agreed up front, and you get a private website with every record image, not just a printed chart.

Save when you do both

Both: home movies + ancestry research

Both services together
Movies (any number of tapes) + Startersave $50
Movies (any number of tapes) + Deep Rootssave $150

For example, 10 tapes: $250 + $250 - $50 = $450. Your movies and your family tree on one private website.

Book both

Questions

What people ask about family history.

What do I get at the end?

A private family-tree website, behind a password, with the record images and a plain-English note under each link that says how we know. Deep Roots also comes with a written report.

Why does reading the original page matter?

Most online searches only look at typed copies of old records, and the typing is full of misread handwriting. Names get mangled so badly that no search finds them. We open the original page and read it ourselves.

What if the records run out?

Sometimes they do: a courthouse fire, a village that kept no books. We tell you plainly where the trail stops and what we checked, and we never fill a gap with a guess.

Do I need to have done anything already?

No. Tell us what you know about your parents and grandparents, even if it is only names and rough dates. Old letters, Bible pages and photos help if you have them.

Will you put my family on a public website?

No. What you tell us about living relatives stays private, and your tree site is behind a password. We never add your family to public trees.

How do I pay?

Half when we agree on the plan, half when your family tree website is ready. Cash or check.

Start here

Tell us what you know, and what you wonder.

We read it, and get back to you within a day to agree on a plan.

Tell us about your family

What you write here stays private. We never publish it, share it or put it into anyone else's tree.

Names, dates and places of your parents and grandparents, as far as you know them. Guesses are fine.

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