Research

Professional Research

Originally from Northern Ireland, but with both Scottish and Irish roots, I hold a Postgraduate Diploma in Genealogical Studies and work as a professional genealogist, running the Scotland’s Greatest Story research service (www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk).
 

 I can tailor research to your requirements. For example, I can pursue your family tree back one generation at a time to include all ancestors, or on particular lines as suggested by yourself, or investigate a property of interest.  A typical report will consist of:

A RESEARCH REPORT containing every record that has been transcribed, with its relevant source number noted should you require to order a copy of the original at any stage in the future. Observations will be made along the way where appropriate, and an explanation of how any problems were addressed and overcome will be provided so that you can follow the exact research process as it happened.

Where required, copies of an ANCESTRAL TREE from the primary individual and DESCENDANCY TREES from every one of the most distant ancestors found, as PDF files. The birth, marriage and death records will be displayed for each individual, where known.

Printed COPIES of any records asked for, and printed reports, can be provided at an additional cost.

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Research Fees, Terms and Conditions

I charge at a rate of £25 per hour, with a one hour minimum.

In addition, I charge for any expenses incurred, such as the cost of an access pass for the Glasgow Genealogy Centre or the ScotlandsPeople Centre (Edinburgh) at £15, and travel. All records are transcribed, though copies of records can be purchased, which will be charged at the rate demanded by the archive holding them. Time will also be added for the typing up of the research report, and any analysis required of records found to tease out the relevant story. Printed reports will also be produced at the relevant cost for materials, plus production time.

At each stage of the research I will consult you in advance to notify you of what the basic costs are likely to be.

In advance of the first day’s research a deposit is asked for via PayPal, to cover the first hour’s research, travel costs, and any potential access pass costs. Sterling based cheques are also accepted. The balance will be invoiced for upon completion.

The research I do will only successfully get underway if the initial information supplied by you as the client is as detailed as possible and accurate. If any information has been incorrectly supplied, I cannot be held liable for any failure that that may entail as a consequence and will still need to charge for time and effort.

Genealogical research is not an exact science. I will endeavour to give a best evaluation of the likelihood of success in advance – I will not carry out any work if I deem it likely to be unsuccessful. The only exception will be with documents that you may have identified yourself and have asked me specifically to look-up, on the clear understanding that the information you seek may or may not be contained within those documents.

Please visit the Scotland's Greatest Story website at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk to find out how I can help with your ancestral research requirements.

Chris Paton