FAQ

Less than you think. Most clients come to me with a few names, some family stories, maybe a half-built tree on Ancestry, and a question they can’t answer. That’s plenty to start. The free consultation is partly a conversation about what you already know, and partly me helping you figure out what we don’t yet know — which is often the more useful step.

If all you have is a single name and a hunch, that’s still a starting point. We’ll work with what you bring.

The Single Question package is built for small, focused projects — one specific question, one missing ancestor, one family rumor to confirm or put to rest. If you’re not sure your question is “big enough,” it almost certainly is.

For larger projects — multi-generational research, complex brick walls, projects requiring travel to multiple archives — we scope during the consultation. I’ll tell you honestly if a project is beyond what I can take on right now, and if so, I’ll suggest someone better suited.

Most projects take four to eight weeks from the signed agreement to the final delivery. Single Question projects can be faster — sometimes two to three weeks. Full Family Story projects, with their broader scope, can take longer.

I take a small number of clients at a time, on purpose. That means I may quote a start date a few weeks out if I’m currently full, but it also means your project gets focused attention rather than being one of fifty in a queue.

You’ll receive a written PDF report containing the narrative findings, full source citations, and copies of every original document I located. For most projects, you’ll also receive a simple visual family tree chart of the line we researched. After delivery, we schedule a final phone or video call so I can walk you through what I found and answer questions.

The report is yours. You can print it, share it with family, or use it as the foundation for further research on your own.

It happens often. Research has a way of opening doors you didn’t know were there. If at any point you want to expand the scope — add a generation, pursue a new line, dig deeper into something we found — we’ll pause, discuss, and agree on the additional scope and cost in writing before continuing.

You’ll never be surprised by an invoice. Additional work happens only with your written approval.

Both. I send checkpoint updates at meaningful milestones — when I’ve completed initial record review, when I’ve solved a problem or hit a brick wall, when I’m shifting strategies. These aren’t constant updates; they’re the moments when something interesting happens.

If you’d like more frequent communication, just say so during the consultation, and we’ll set that expectation up front. Some clients want to follow along closely; others prefer to be surprised at delivery. Either is fine.

Sometimes records were lost — to courthouse fires, to time, to the deliberate silences of history. Sometimes the trail simply ends because the people we’re looking for weren’t well-documented in their lifetimes.

When that happens, you still receive a complete written report of every record I consulted, every avenue I pursued, and every reason I reached the conclusion I did. You’ll know exactly what work was done and what it found — even when the answer is “the records do not survive.” That’s not a failure; it’s a meaningful, documented research conclusion that saves you (and any future researcher) from repeating the same work.

I follow the Genealogical Proof Standard — the methodology established by the genealogy field for evaluating evidence and reaching sound conclusions. Every fact in your report is backed by a source, properly cited. No guesswork. No reliance on user-submitted family trees that other people built without documentation.

When evidence is strong, I say so. When evidence is suggestive but inconclusive, I say that too. You’ll always know how confident the conclusion is.

No ethical genealogist does, and you should be cautious of any who do. What I can guarantee is rigorous research, honest reporting, and a complete record of the work performed. What no one can guarantee is what records will reveal — that depends on what survives and what was documented at the time.

I’d rather you hire me knowing this than be disappointed later by a promise no one could keep.

Your family’s information is yours. I retain working files in case you want to revisit or expand the project later, but I don’t share, sell, publish, or otherwise distribute any client information without your explicit permission. Privacy and discretion are particularly important for adoption-related research, sensitive family discoveries, and forensic work, and I treat every client’s information with the same care regardless of project type.

Yes, with one important note: this kind of research is emotionally weighty in a way that ordinary genealogy isn’t. The discoveries can be wonderful, but they can also be complicated. I take adoption and unknown-parentage projects seriously, work with discretion throughout, and recommend that clients have support people in place — a trusted friend, family member, or counselor — for whatever the findings turn out to be.

I currently handle adoption research using traditional records and limited DNA-supported analysis. For projects that require advanced genetic genealogy as the primary tool, I’ll refer you to a colleague who specializes in that work.

Yes. Lineage society applications — for the Daughters of the American Revolution, Sons of the American Revolution, United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Mayflower Society, and others — have specific documentation standards that go beyond ordinary family research. I can either prepare the supporting documentation for an application you’ll file yourself or work alongside you and a society’s genealogist to assemble the proofs needed.

If you’re early in this process and aren’t yet sure which lineage society applies to your family, the consultation is a good place to figure that out.

My core specialty is Southern research, with deepest experience in:

• Georgia and the Deep South — Georgia in particular, including the unique challenges of Georgia genealogy: the 1832 Land Lottery, Confederate-era records, and the courthouse fires that destroyed records in many counties.
• North Georgia and the Cherokee homeland — research involving Cherokee ancestry, the period before and after Removal, and the records that document this complicated history
• Lineage society applications — DAR, SAR, and similar Revolutionary-era documentation
• Brick wall problems in 18th and 19th century Southern records

I also take projects in adjacent specialties — colonial American research, migration research from the Carolinas and Virginia into Georgia, and general U.S. research where the records aren’t unusually demanding. If your project is well outside what I do best, I’ll tell you up front and, when possible, refer you to a colleague who’s a better fit.