In Association with London and Essex Genealogy

Q. How long will my research take?

A. The turnaround times for the majority of Standard Services are approximately two weeks (14 working days) from receipt of payment. E.g.

Certificates of Births, Marriages and Deaths	2 weeks
Census Returns 1841-1901	2 weeks
Wills and Probate	2 weeks
Parish Register search	2 weeks plus. If a large search is required and/or records have to be ordered it may take longer.
Large problem solving projects*	these are not calculable as they may require improvised research methods and could take up to six months.

*These can be classified in the following manner:

• Finding the origins and parents of a difficult ancestor
• Military Projects: service papers of individuals
• Complex records relating to various bodies, i.e. Admiralty
• Family Trees - several generation research
• Tracing missing persons

A. Many genealogists throughout the UK employ a system to keep customer costs at a minimum but one that will also earn them a living. They keep a registry of about thirty - forty customers so when a new customer orders research, the order is then placed on a waiting list. Customers then have to wait until they reach the top of the list before research is started. See the next question.

Q. Is there anyway I can get my research completed quicker?

Yes you can pay to jump to the top of the list. Please see my Express Priority Service.

Q. How much does Standard research cost?

A. So many customers have trouble with this despite the fact that all prices are listed on this website under each service section. The difficulty comes from not knowing yourself what you require from the research (you have to have a goal!) or how the research works. This is understandable if UK ancestry is new to you or you are overseas or both! The key is to write down what you need to find out but more importantly what you already know; this will help you gauge what service you require and whether you need a five year search etc. If you are still unsure and wish to use my On-Line Request Form, please make sure your request is lucid and that you provide all the relevant details. Do not forget to provide an accurate e-mail address!

Q. When should I use your On Line Request Form?

The form should be used lightly and this web site browsed first for the required information as you will find many answers here. As time is a constraint on myself these days - after all I am out researching - I do not have time to answer protracted enquiries, so I would appreciate it if you would read some of the relevant pages first. If you are still stuck then please do write, but write your question clearly. There are times when I will not be quick in my response and you should expect to wait a couple of weeks for an answer.

Q. Do you provide free research advice?

Not any more I am afraid, but you can get free advice from my new UKgenealogy forum.

Q. Will you provide Shopping Carts in pounds for UK residents?

This is already happening now in most areas of the site.

Q. Will you provide prices for countries other than the UK/USA?

I definitely want to do this as I am aware there is a WWW bias towards those mentioned markets at the exclusion of many other countries, i.e. Australia, New Zealand and Canada to name a few. My new web site will provide different sites for different countries hopefully resulting in a sleeker look with fewer click-throughs. In some areas this is already happening, see Certificate Services.

Q.Do you draw up professional family tree wall charts?

Unfortunately at present I do not have the means to provide this service but you will find many advertisers who can help you in such magazines as, Practical Family History.