Goldsmith Genealogy

Family History Research

Family Photo Many people are choosing to research their own family history, but may not have enough time to devote to this very interesting area of study. My services can help you, and I can undertake family history cases of various sizes. If you have already worked on your family tree, I can try to extend it, or alternatively your pedigree can be researched afresh.

You can specify which historical periods, branches of the family, or even individuals you wish to know more about, and I will be able to give advice on the most productive lines of enquiry.

Beginning with the information which can be provided from your own family – either documents, certificates, or recollections by relatives – I will then investigate records of birth, marriage, and death, to discover the outline of your ancestors’ lives, before investigating more about their lives as individuals: where they lived, what jobs they did, and what their role in society was.

Regular reports will be posted – or emailed at your request – to you to inform you of the progress of the research. It must be stressed that progress in uncovering your family’s history is conditional upon the survival of necessary documents, but in most cases improvement can be made on at least one branch of your family.

Once the research has been completed, I can then produce a family tree, including a variety of information about your ancestors. I am also able, for an additional fee, to write up your family history as a narrative with appropriate illustrations and binding. This is an excellent way of preserving your family’s story for posterity, and would make an ideal birthday or Christmas present.

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An example of a Goldsmith Genealogy family tree chart

Record Finding

Family Photo As well as full family histories, I am equally happy to find out particular items of information in order to help you fill any gaps in your family’s story. A wide variety of documents are available, including:

Birth, Marriage, and Death Certificates
Census entries
Records of Baptism, Marriage, and Burial in Parish Registers
Wills

Many other sources can be consulted, so please get in touch by email if there is a particular area you are interested in. In each case a copy of the relevant source will be provided, as well as a typed transcription (where appropriate).

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House and Property History

Family Photo Like every family, every house has a story to tell, which I can help you to reveal by looking at the architectural history of the house and a variety of historical documents in which your property is mentioned. Once this has been pieced together, I can then produce a history of your house, telling you about who lived there, and what the building was used for at particular periods of history. If you know someone who has bought a new house, commissioning a history of it would make a unique house-warming gift.

Equally, if your business has recently occupied a property of significant architectural or historical merit, you may wish to have a report made on its heritage, which can then be employed to attract new custom to your company.

To arrange a consultation, or to find out more about this service, please contact me by email.

£500 Comprensive House History dealing with the people who lived in your house, its construction and building history, as well the historical development of the local area.
£250 Standard House History looking at the history and architecture of your home and the people who lived there.
£80 Who lived in my house? A look at the people who inhabited your house in the past. Depending on the age of your house, this can cover the period 1850-1900 or 1900-1950.
£150 Who lived in my house? Combination A report as above covering both the 19th and 20th centuries.

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Surname Profile

Family Photo Most people have wondered at some time about the origins of their surname. Some come from an ancestor's occupation, others from a geographical area; some even derive from nicknames. While looking at the origins of a surname will not directly help with your family history research, it may give a useful indication of the part of the country your ancestors came from. The profile, which will be individually researched, will contain information about the earliest uses of the name, how commonly it occurs, and what regions it is associated with. This service is offered at a flat rate of £40.

To find out more about these services, please contact me by email.

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Transcription and Translation

Family Photo If you have any documents which you are unable to read, I am able to undertake transcriptions of English sources, and translations of Latin ones. This service is offered for manuscripts from the Middle Ages up to the present. All that is required is an image or photocopy of sufficient clarity. The cost for this will be dependent on the length and complication of the document.

For more information, please contact me by e-mail.

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Fees

Each client will receive a complimentary face-to-face consultation (where possible), to discuss your requirements, after which the cost of the project will be agreed. Fees will vary according to the extent and nature of the work eg. a full family history will take longer to produce and will correspondingly be more expensive than tracking down individual items of information.

To give an idea of the range of tariffs, my fees are based on an hourly rate of £20-£30 per hour of research. For limited projects, however, definite quotes can often be given in advance.

There are also fixed-price packages for both family history and house history work

For further details about the range of fees, please get in touch by email.

Fixed-price packages

Goldsmith Genealogy offers the following fixed-price packages:

£25 A framed birth or marriage certificate to commemorate a special anniversary.

£60 An historical investigation and report on your family 100 years ago, what they were doing and where they lived.

£200 Research and report into one branch of your family's history back 200 years (if possible).

£500 A complete house history, looking at the architecture of your home, its building history, who lived there, and context about how the area has changed over time. Appropriately illustrated, this will be presented as a bound volume for posterity.

Gift Vouchers

Gift vouchers are also available. As a present to yourself or a gift for someone else, vouchers are a great way of getting started with your family history or house history. Given as a birthday or Christmas present, they make an unusual and personal present, and are issued in denominations of £10, £20, £50 and £100. They do not have an expiry date, so there is no rush to use them. Please get in touch to find out more.