My Services

Research, Workshops, Advising, and Photography

Research

Do you have ancestors in southeastern Indiana, southern Ohio, and northern Kentucky, but are unable to make the trip to do the research yourself? Would you like to access the indexes, transcriptions and other resources of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, but live too far away or are homebound? I may be able to help. No task is too small. I can search one source or multiple sources. I can visit a library, church, cemetery, or courthouse. I pride myself on using as many primary sources as possible to conduct research for customers unless otherwise requested. I charge a competitive fee for research and promise an appropriate turn-around time. The finished product will include sources and citations for all documentation, a report with the information found, and recommendations for further research. I will locate as much evidence as is available based on the information you have provided me.

The pieces of information I will ask for prior to commencing research are: Name of individual(s); exact or approximate birth date and location; the name of spouse (if any) and his/her BMD information; exact or approximate marriage date and location; the name of children (if any) and their BMD information; exact or approximate date of death and location; place of burial; religion; occupation; census information; a list of sources you have already checked (so I don’t duplicate your work); and, any other information you feel is pertinent to an understanding of the research question.

Here is an example family history chart to show you how I organize the data I find during the research process.

My research fees are $28/hour (includes research, analysis, and a report) plus out-of-pocket expenses, such as photocopies, postage, parking, BMD certificates, travel time ($10/hour), mileage (first 10 miles free, subsequent miles charged at the 2020 Federal Standard Mileage Rate of 57.5 cents/mile. New clients need to provide a deposit (25% of the total amount you authorize) before I commence the research.

*Please note that due to time constraints, I am unable to write and publish a full family history at this time. It can sometimes take a year or more of research and writing to create one.*

Workshop Programs

Beginning Genealogy

In this program, I teach aspiring genealogists the basic print and online resources to use, record-keeping practices, and basic research strategies to use. The topics discussed in this workshop include filling out forms, questions to ask relatives, organizing your information, visiting your local library, as well as online resources such as Cyndislist.com and Ancestry.com. This workshop is 2 hours long. Basic computer skills are necessary.

German-American Genealogy

This workshop is aimed at those family historians/genealogists that are familiar with family history research. The main goal is to inform researchers of the types of resources and research strategies to use in finding information on their German immigrant and German-American ancestors. Among the types of resources discussed are church records, immigration and naturalization records, and ethnic organizations. This workshop is 2 hours long.

Advanced Beginner’s Genealogy: Primary Sources

This workshop is for individuals with a basic understanding of genealogical resources that want to improve their skills and learn to use primary resources in their research. Resources such as birth, church, death, estate, and marriage records will be discussed. Several samples will be used to describe techniques for harvesting the maximum amount of information from records. This workshop is 2 hours long. Basic computer skills are necessary.

Please contact me to discuss rates.

Advising

Have you hit a brick wall in your research? Do you need advice on the next step to take? Are you trying to make the jump across the Atlantic? Do you need advice on preserving documents and heirlooms? These are the sorts of questions I may be able to help you with a nominal fee.

I am not only a family historian; I also have a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science with a concentration in Special Collections and Archives. My goal is not only to help you with your family history quest, but also to advise you on how to preserve your family treasures for generations to come.