What does the final cost of services depend on?
The final cost of services depends on the number of hours we spend on research, the cost of archives services for access to documents and optional travel expenses. The exact cost will be calculated after an individual search map is drawn up, and it will be clear what documents need to be viewed, and, most importantly, where they are. In some cases, travel costs may be required. Sometimes there are a lot of documents or, conversely, very few. Sometimes it is enough for the client to compile a family tree in a straight line before the beginning of the nineteenth century, and sometimes he is interested in all the side branches of the family tree and earlier information if there is an opportunity to find it. The search is easier when there is a lot of original known data, and more complex when almost nothing is known. All these factors affect the cost. In any case, we will agree in advance on the number of hours we will spend and the corresponding cost for each research.
Could it be that I paid for the work and you didn’t find anything?
It so happens that in the region in which your ancestors lived, the documents are not preserved or preserved only partially. In your search map, even at the initial stage of work, you will be informed of what can be found and what is not preserved.
As for the work already in the archives, the absence of information in the files about the people you are interested in can mean only one thing – the primary data on their place of birth or residence is incorrect. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you talk to all relatives who may have some information before the consultation. This minimizes the risk that information about people of interest will not be found.
I want to know my roots, but I don’t know much. Is it possible to search in this case?
Search is always possible. Search, when the source information is very small, is more complicated, but there are different ways to search even with minimal known data. Sometimes, in particularly difficult cases, when even the names of the parents are unknown (for example, in the case of adopted children), we recommend using the possibilities of DNA genealogy as well. However, if you know at least the surname, name, and approximate years of your grandparent’s life, this data is already enough to search.
My ancestors were not famous people, how can information about them be stored in archives? What can I find about them?
The fact that the archives have detailed information only about famous people is a common misconception. The success of the search in documents, say, the nineteenth century, is determined not by the fame and social status of the people of interest, but by the safety of documents in a particular region. In the archives, you can find a variety of personal files of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: student, party, judicial, and from places of work. Many of them have photographs (in passports of the first half of the nineteenth century, instead of photographs, usually verbal descriptions), autobiographies, often written by the hand of an ancestor, information about family, education, origin, religion, etc. There are house books with the exact address of residence, address books indicating occupation, censuses, information about military service and participation in hostilities, lists of those entitled to participate in elections indicating financial status, and much more. Each specific case is individual, for each case there are ways of searching. In some cases, there is more information, in some cases less. Sometimes it is possible to completely reconstruct the life of an ancestor, very often unexpected things are revealed, sometimes, on the contrary, some family legends are destroyed.
There is a family legend in my family, and I want to confirm it…
Family legends are a fascinating thing, but unreliable. There is a rational grain in them, but in our experience, in 98% of cases, they turn out to be completely erroneous or strongly distorted. It is ok. It is not necessary to rely on them completely in a genealogical search, and reality is sometimes more amazing than any legend.
In any case, if you have a family legend, and during the search you want to check its veracity, our experts in your individual search map will comment on its historical probability, and if this probability is, we will look for confirmation.
Are you only engaged in Jewish genealogical searches”
Our main specialization is the genealogical search for Jewish roots in Eastern Europe (modern Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia). However, if you are interested in finding non-Jewish roots, we can also help you.
How payment is made
Payment for each service is made in stages in accordance with an agreed payment schedule. Before starting each stage of the search, we will agree with you on the cost of services, payment schedule and the time required to conduct the study. If you live in the EU, a VAT of 24% is added to the cost of services.
Why us?
We will qualitatively reconstruct the history of your family and provide you with a fascinating and exciting full report with copies of all documents found, photographs of your ancestors and explanations of our specialists-geneologists about the life of your ancestors with references to laws and historical events. We will compile a genealogical book with a story about the life of your ancestors, documents and photographs, which you can preserve for future generations.