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Have you or would you ever employ a "professional genealogists"?
| Never |
| Yes, but only if I was super stuck |
| Yes, but only won the lottery |
| Would think about it |
| Already have |
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Author
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Topic: Professional genealogists - Friends or foe? (Read 853 times)
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Amy K
Global Moderator
RootsChat Veteran
 Offline
Posts: 708
Genealogy: Chasing your own tale!
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Sorry for my terrible typing, the third option should read "Yes, but only if I won the lottery" 
I have a big brick wall in Hampshire and am starting to consider employing a researcher to help me get over the hurdle. I know the information is out there somewhere as a distant cousin has managed to research the line back to the 1500's. The problem is she will not share any of her info with me.
What are people's experiences with "professional genealogists"?
Should I leave well alone? Or, should I bite the bullet?
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Kazza
Welsh Lass
RootsChat Aristocrat
Offline
Posts: 1784
Looking into Holes
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Amy,
Part of the enjoyment of this as a hobby for me is the searching. Maybe I have not been at it long enough to get desparate enough, but it is the thrill of the hunt that keeps me hooked.
I am enjoying learning about the sources as I go, and I feel it is not a task that I will ever finish, there is always somewhere new to look, and as more and more records become available online the whole thing expands for me. I have a couple of brickwalls, but I feel as I learn more I will solve the problems myself.
So, I cannot envisage a situation where I would feel I had no other choice, but, if it came to it, and all other avenues were blocked, and money was no object, then I would employ a professional. Only to get me past the brick-wall. 
I wonder though, what could a professional do for me that I could not learn to do for myself?
Kazza.
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 Surname interests: Clementsten, Hobson, Hole, Marden, O'Clements, Pitten, Sharland, Vickery (Vicary), Williams. Area Interests: Cardiff, Bampton, Bideford, Crediton, Wollaston, Somerset, Tidenham, Norway, Australia to Bristol. |
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Frances
RootsChat Aristocrat
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Posts: 2857
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I have to agree with everything Kazza has just said. Nothing beats the wonderful feeling you get when trawling through records and finding someone you are searching for. I have more than a couple of brickwalls which I am sure could be solved by visiting the appropriate register offices....if only I could travel there! Hopefully I will be able to pursuade my husband to drive me and stay in a B&B for a couple of days before too long!! Yes, I would think about hiring a professional if super stuck but do not think I could ever afford it.
Frances
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« Last Edit: Wednesday 18 August 04 08:41 BST (UK) by Frances »
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Census Information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk -------------------------------------------------- Hope/Buckinghamshire Palmer Cambridge Hope/Camberwell Palmer Essex Bolton/Camberwell Emery Potton Bedfordshire DeBoo/ Poplar/Anywhere Oliver /Chatteris, Cambs. Redkison/ Anywhere Carter Bedfordshire Bernard/Stepney Lawrence/Colchester Essex Carter/ Leytonstone Bones/ Essex Tullett/ Surrey/Essex |
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ange
RootsChat Veteran
Offline
Posts: 624
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Hi Amy,
I agree with Kazza that part of the enjoyment of family history is searching for and finding your ancestors yourself.
But I have voted that if I won the lottery I would employ one, but just to find an ancestor that can't be found anywhere before 1872. This man seems to have lied about everything-his age, his place of birth and maybe even his fathers name.
I am horrified that your cousin (however distant) is unwilling to share her information, I have recently been in contact with a distant cousin who has just started her FH and have given her all I have. What is the point of doing this if you won't share your info? I for one am very proud of how far I have managed to get (with help from the wonderful people on here & Munchies my sister in law) and will bore anybody for hours about it if they ask
Have you tried posting your brick wall on here and seeing if any of us can help? You never know one of us might come up with something you haven't tried.
Ange
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researching: Evans, Smith, Soundie, Brookfield, Frost, Douglas, Heron, Weaver,Redmond, Furmedge & McKittrick Census Information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk |
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Clincher
RootsChat Aristocrat
Offline
Posts: 1191
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I have never sought professional help. Who would I choose? How would I know that they hadn't spun the time out at my expense? How would I know that the results they produced were genuine?
But like all the previous posters to this thread you can't beat finding your folks yourself.
P.S. If help were needed with something very specialised (like translating an old document) that might be different.
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Boongie Pam
Global Moderator
RootsChat Aristocrat
Offline
Posts: 2457
Lilian Palmer 1923 to 1987
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I was about to prattle on about how I would never ever pay for research but then I thought how fortunate I was.
I'm mobile, in the UK and have access to the films I need access to - I'd have the rest of the world growling at me and rightly thinking I had no need for their services.
I do this hobby because I love the hunt, trying to find new avenues to sneek up on my rellies. If Captain John Scott (4xg grandfather) was alive then I'd be up in the dock for stalking! When does a brickwall become unsurmountable?
Weeks, months, years... decades?
I don't need to know who a relative was in the 1700s so it doesn't have a great monetary value in paying somebody to tell me the answer though I'd spend a fortune finding it for myself. No real logic other than it wouldn't be a hobby if someone else did it for me.
Pam
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All census look up transcriptions are Crown Copyright~~~~~~~~~~~ Dumfrieshire: Fallen, Fallon, Carruthers, Scott, Farish, Aitchison, Green, Ryecroft, Thomson, Stewart Midlothian: Linn/d, Aitken, Martin North Wales: Robins(on), Hughes, Parry, Jones Cumberland: Lowther, Young, Steward, Miller Somerset: Palmer, Cork, Greedy, Clothier http://fallon.rootschat.net
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Clincher
RootsChat Aristocrat
Offline
Posts: 1191
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I think people discard forenames quite often. I know which I would prefer out of Elijah or Herbert.
Seriously though. You say that he was "born in 1851-2 in Sedgley". I assume you mean Sedgley in Staffordshire. If you go to the free LDS site and search the 1881 UK Census for Elijah Cook born in Staffordshire in 1852+or-2 and census county Staffordshire you will get just 1 result. Is that the same fellow your professional found?
According to the Genuki website Sedgley, in 1852, was in the Dudley Registration District. If you have access to the births index (either on fiche at an Oz library or at pay to view 1837.online) you could go through the Cook births for the relevant year(s) and make a list of all the males registered in Dudley. See whether any match up to what you know about your one.
I hope this helps. Ask again if you want
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« Last Edit: Thursday 19 August 04 08:10 BST (UK) by Clincher »
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Clincher
RootsChat Aristocrat
Offline
Posts: 1191
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The LDS has been bit tricky this morning but I've just been able to feed into the IGI part of that site the details I found from the 1881 Census with this result : Elijah Cook christened 16th May 1852 in Sedgley, mother's name Ellen Cook. Is that the one your professional found?
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« Last Edit: Thursday 19 August 04 08:11 BST (UK) by Clincher »
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Darcy
RootsChat Marquessate
Offline
Posts: 4090
Searching for little needles in big haystacks
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Hi Everyone
as Pam mentioned - unfortunates, such as myself, outside the UK envy your access to the records.
Although I have researched the 1891 census and the BMD index at the Morman Church, I find it difficult to go backwards and forwards to order and view the various censuses.
When I want a census lookup I pay a lovely lady in Lancaster to go to the record office for me. I tell her exactly where to look and who she should expect to find.
On one occasion in 1851 my ancestors had left the district so I went back to the drawing board and traced them through the marriage of their daughter 20 years later.
So, even though I pay for census lookups I don't miss out on the excitment of the chase. I have only ever paid for information that I knew would be there - if you catch my drift
Cheers
Aaron
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« Last Edit: Thursday 19 August 04 21:41 BST (UK) by Aaron »
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Fisher, Pitts, Lucas, Emmit, Keal, Bennett, Maddock, Jackson, Pidd, Lincolnshire Bullock, Read, White, Gloucestershire. Shepherd, Foyle, Crowter, Green, Wiltshire Strickland, Fisher, Butterworth, Brown, Northhamptonshire Shepherd, Bullock, Waterhouse, Lancashire Fisher, Goodwin, Rutland Census information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk |
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nutkin
RootsChat Aristocrat
Offline
Posts: 1062
My reason for digging! A baby nutkin!
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I have paid staff at a local historical society to perform research for me in a place I just could not get to and "NEEDED" to have more information. I feel that payment to these local historical societies helps keep them in business and allows us a researchers to have great faailcites. The donation assists to keep our acnestors records in good condition for our future descendents.
The assistance I have received allowed me to flush out more on my ancestors. I found out through a chattel mortgage that my g-g-g-grandfather paid $50 to buy 2 cows and a hirse in 1889. That was priceless to me. I was happy it was not his 2nd wife he purchased from Germany.
-Krisitin
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Shields & Milner- Patrington & Bilton, Yorkshire Nixon & Bowers - Appleby, Broughton & Messingham, Lincolnshire Hancock &Tyson- Tetford, Skendleby & Spilsby, Lincolnshire Cochrane- Darvel, Loudon, Ayrshire Yuill, Hardie- Paisley, Renfrewshire Kennedy, Gardener & Clelland- Glasgow, Lanarkshire & Paisley, Renfrewshire Census information is Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk |
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Kazza
Welsh Lass
RootsChat Aristocrat
Offline
Posts: 1784
Looking into Holes
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Hi,
I think I would regard paying a Family History Society or Record office to do a search as different. I would do that with no qualms, most of the hunt has taken place by then, and they do tend to charge more reasonable rates, in most cases, see this thread for a discussion on the subject:
http://www.rootschat.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=6625.0
It is the employment of a professional genealogist that I would avoid. Not that I have anything against them, I would love to be able to earn my living doing something so enjoyable. 
And I appreciate that I am lucky in that I live in the country most of my research is concentrated in. BUT as I do not drive, I have a young child, 2 jobs and I live in a county where I have no ancestors, yet, it is difficult for me to visit records offices too. So most of my research so far has been on-line.
Kazza.
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Surname interests: Clementsten, Hobson, Hole, Marden, O'Clements, Pitten, Sharland, Vickery (Vicary), Williams. Area Interests: Cardiff, Bampton, Bideford, Crediton, Wollaston, Somerset, Tidenham, Norway, Australia to Bristol.
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janham
RootsChat Extra
Offline
Posts: 58
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Hi all,
Amy, I would be gutted if another member of my family would not share info with me, I enjoy passing on all the information I have to other members of the family.
I have used a researcher, the cost was about £55, my son and daughter gave me the money for my Mother's Day pressie. I needed somebody to transcribe some articles from issues of the Waterford Newspaper.
I supplied the microfiche numbers which I had found on the internet, at the time I did think it was quite exspensive but I was desperate to know what was in these articles. I posted messages on a Waterford mailing list to see if maybe somebody who lived there would be willing to transcribe for me, but unfortunately I had no offers. I would not have dreamt of asking if I had been able to get there myself.
Anyhow when I received the transcriptions from the researcher he had also searched some parish records for me which I did not expect, and he enclosed a map of the parishes of Waterford and Lismore, and gave information regarding various parish registers. I think it was worth it, I would not be able to afford it myself but it was a wonderful pressie, however given the choice I would much rather do the searching myself.
Jan
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Otho Hamilton, John Hamilton, George Hamilton, William Hamilton, from Waterford.
Cullinane and Fitz-henry from Waterford
Oxland from Waterford
The Olivestob Hamiltons from Edinburgh.
Cook from Stroud, Painswick, Glos.
Hudson from Huddersfield, Liverpool
Spiers from Evesham and Liverpool
Jinks from Evesham and Liverpool
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