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.

---

Research Fees, Terms and Conditions

Research Fees, Terms and Conditions

I offer two main ways to carry out research – 1) via two defined family tree research packages at set rates, or 2) for brick wall situations, look-ups, and other tree-based research tasks, at an hourly research rate.

Research packages

I now offer two set packages for research, which can make an ideal present for a festive occasion:

SGS 1: Four Generation Scottish Ancestral Tree     

£395  (£365 without a bound copy)

This package includes a full day of research at a ScotlandsPeople centre, plus additional research into newspapers and other resources, charts, and write up time. The starting point has to be an individual born in Scotland after 1950, with the report identifying the stories of parents going back three generations, including children’s details, and identifying the names of the ancestors in the fourth generation, and as much information on them as time will allow.

SGS 2: Five Generation Scottish Ancestral Tree

£695  (£665 without a bound copy)

This package includes two full days of research at a ScotlandsPeople centre, plus additional research into newspapers and other resources, charts, and write up time. The starting point has to be an individual born in Scotland after 1950, with the tree going back four fleshed out generations, including children’s details, and identifying the names of the ancestors in the fifth generation, and as much information on them as time will allow. (Please note that although this is one generation further back, it is double the amount of work of the first package, as the number of families in a tree going back doubles with each generation!)

The reports will include transcriptions of any records found. If original copies of records are requested, these can be sourced but will be charged at cost, in addition to the package fee.

Where brick walls emerge, e.g. with a line that departs from Scotland at a particular time, or where there is a lack of documentation available, the research time will be redirected into fleshing out the stories of those that have been found with additional context. 

For printed and bound reports requested beyond the UK, an additional postage fee will be added, charged at cost for the relevant destination.

A deposit will be required in advance for 30% of the relevant package, with the balance paid upon completion of the report, and prior to its despatch.

Payments accepted via Paypal, cheques, or direct bank transfer.

**If required for a specific date, please contact me at least two months in advance.**

Hourly rate

For specific tasks, I charge at a rate of £28 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