What
services do you offer and how can we order them?
Family Grows on Trees can either get
you started or help you go further into the past. We will assist
you in creating and growing a complete family tree, which will
include facts and figures on your ancestors and the times they
lived in. We will provide a complete picture of your family's
past.
From start to finish a dedicated
project manager will produce a personal family tree and at the
end of the research, history’s “flickering lamp”
will open up a whole new and exciting world. Our research is
offered at clear cost levels and we can be as detailed as you
want.
We have split our services into
unique options to make it easier for you to decide. Options
A-K offer varying levels of research, i.e. do you want us to
research two, three or four generations of your paternal/maternal
lines? Options L - Q are extra services which we can also do
(e.g. grave searches, war records search, etc). These can either
be in addition to one of the first nine options or kept separate.
To make things even easier, we
have created a simple interactive form, so you can highlight
the genealogical services you would like from us. The form does
two things - firstly, it will advise the cost of each service,
and then, secondly, it will total up the cost of all the research
you would like. If you're happy with the quote, simply Submit
Form, and we'll contact you in the week to discuss further details
with you.
How
much does the research cost?
Our prices are the best around. We offer clear cost levels for
our research, which include all of the expenses
involved in research - certificate ordering, etc. As of January
2010, our prices are:
Option A*: Get started with one
generation of your Paternal & Maternal lines - £150
Option B*: Two Generations (Paternal line) - £270
Option C*: Three Generations (Paternal line) - £370
Option D*: Four Generations (Paternal line) - £470
Option E*: Two Generations (Maternal line) - £300
Option F*: Three Generations (Maternal line) - £400
Option G*: Four Generations (Maternal line) - £500
Option H*: Two Generations (Paternal & Maternal lines) -
£595
Option J*: Three Generations (Paternal & Maternal lines)
-£795
Option K*: Four Generations (Paternal & Maternal lines)
- £995
Option L: Pre 1837 Parish Records Search - from £300
Option M: 1911 Census Search - £85
Option N: War Records Search - £65
Option P: Burial Records Search - £69
Option Q: Census Search (either 1841, 51, 61, 71, 81, 91 or
1901) - £15 per census
And, remember we have done lots
of research for our Australian and American friends with UK
family. Convert our prices above using XE.com
Occasionally we also offer special
offers, so please do keep an eye out for them by looking at
our blog.
* includes extras provided for
free. See What additional extras do
you provide with options A - K?
How
long does the research take?
It depends on each customer, but research will normally
take up to four - six weeks to complete. We will be able to
advise when we start our research.
I
would like to you to get me started on my family tree and then
carry on myself. Can you help?
Genealogy is fascinating to do as a hobby and that's
precisely how we got interested, so we can happily get you started.
We will research one generation up from your parents or grandparents,
and provide you with all the information, so you can carry on.
This is offered at a very inexpensive price and includes all
the usual extras. We look into both your maternal and paternal
lines.
What
do you mean by the Paternal Line?
The paternal line would be from a male to his father, to his
father, and his father etc.
What
do you mean by the Maternal Line?
The maternal line would be from a female to her mother, to her
mother, and her mother etc. See: What do you
research in Maternal Line? for more information on what
research Family Grows on Trees can do.
What
do you research in the Paternal Line?
We will start our research from your Grandfather or Great Grandfather
(depending on information received by you), and will explore
their father, to his father, etc.
What
do you research in the Maternal Line?
We will start our research from your Grandmother or Great Grandmother
(depending on information received by you), and can do one of
two things:
• We can explore their mother, to her mother etc, or
• We can explore their father, to his father and follow
the paternal line
Please note that the research
is a bit more complicated, so we offer this service at a slightly
higher price than when we research a paternal line.
You
also offer research into both the Paternal and Maternal lines,
but what does that entail?
We will do your Paternal line as normal, but will also explore
your Grandmother/Great Grandmother’s father and follow
their paternal line too.
What
additional extras do you provide with options A - K?
We offer free extras in options A - K, and
these are:
o Descendent family tree
o Census information (except 1911, see below)
o Customer webpage
o Certificates (some certificates will be ordered to enable
us to research your family tree and these will be provided to
you with everything else. Each one costs us over £9.)
o Surname meanings
We will also try to include as
much extra information on other members of the family, so that
future research can be done by us or you (i.e. their brothers,
sisters, cousins, etc). Plus, the more you provide us (i.e.
your grandparents siblings, etc), the more we can add to the
family tree.
Finally, we will include as many
dates as we can for their births, marriages and deaths (if applicable).
Can
you go beyond four generations?
Births, Marriages & Deaths were centrally registered from
1837, and normally with four generations we reach to a time
before UK central registers. However, if we find that there
is potential for more research before we hit 1837, we will let
you know and will offer a cost for that. Otherwise, we can research
Parish records too (see Parish Records research).
What
does the research into Parish Records entail?
Research into Parish Records will always depend on what sources
are available. Before we do any research we will first discuss
what you would like us to do. Costs can vary, depending on the
source, and we would also need to discuss that with you.
Why
is there an extra cost for UK 1911 Census research?
The 1911 Census was only released in 2009 and only one website
holds the information. We need to pay to research that information
and this is included in the price. We believe it is well worth
adding this to your research - it can be very useful in providing
a bigger and more up-to-date picture of your ancestors. Have
a look at our
blog for more information.
What
does the research into War Records entail?
We will research your ancestors in any British conflicts where
records exist, such as the two World War’s and others.
These records tend to include various details on what they did
in the conflicts. The price will cover any extra costs for this
research, but we expect to be able to look into two/three ancestors.
Finally, if your ancestors were killed in a British conflict,
we will do a free search on whether they have a war grave.
What
does the research into Grave Records entail?
We will search for the final resting place of your ancestors.
Normally we can do two or three people in the search. However,
please remember that a lot of the time, graves were unmarked,
so there might not be much to see once we've found it for you.
Nevertheless, if there is a stone on the grave or another marking,
it can provide some really useful facts and dates.
What
if you hit a brick wall in your research?
Unfortunately, some research is impossible – your ancestors
might not have been registered, or they were missing from censuses,
and we end up hitting a “brick wall” so no more
research can be done. If that does occur, we will inform you
straight away, and depending where we are in the research, will
try and offer alternative research (either on another line,
or using the other options) for the same price. However, if
that doesn’t interest you, we will refund you the amount
for the research we couldn’t do. Please don’t worry
– this is a very rare occurrence!
Can
I pay for the research in instalments?
Absolutely fine. Once you have filled in the form on our Services
page, we will be in touch to ask how you want to pay.
I
live outside the UK, but have UK ancestors – will you
still do the research?
Absolutely! Contact us and we can
set up an easy system of payment using PayPal.
Will
you do research on ancestors outside the UK?
We will definitely look into doing research into Irish ancestry,
but we would have to take each research request, case per case.
Please contact us to see if we can
help you.
I
want you to research something that's not on your list. Can
you help?
Of course we can. We just need
to know what you would like us to look into, so please contact
us asap.
I
am happy with these answers, what do I do next?
Please fill in our form on our Services
page. The form enables you to highlight the genealogical services
you would like from us. Once we've heard from you, we'll ask
for a deposit of 15% of the final cost so we can get started.
We'll also set up a personal Family Grows on Trees page for
you, which will show the research we're doing and provide you
with weekly updates. Finally, we'll let you know how long it
will take us!
Do
you have feedback on your services?
Yes we do. Please visit our Feedback
page.
Any
other questions?
Please contact us and we will be
glad to help!
Introduction
Researching a family tree is one of the most popular
pastimes around the world and the most searched topic on the
internet. In the past, genealogy was used to argue or demonstrate
the legitimacy of claims to wealth and power – some of
the time these were made up! In the last decade, genealogy has
become more widespread with the people researching and maintaining
their own family trees.
What
is a family tree?
A family tree is a chart representing family relationships
in a conventional tree structure. The more detailed family trees
used in medicine, genealogy, and social work are known as genograms.
The image of
the tree probably originated with one in medieval art of the
Tree of Jesse, used to illustrate the Genealogy of Christ in
terms of a prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah, 11, 1). Possibly the
first non-Biblical use, and the first to show full family relationships
rather than a purely patrilineal scheme, was that involving
family trees of the classical gods in Boccaccio's Genealogia
deorum gentilium (On the Genealogy of the Gods of the Gentiles),
whose first version dates to 1360.
The longest family
tree in the world today is that of the Chinese philosopher and
educator Confucius
(551-479 BC). The tree spans more than 80 generations, and includes
more than 2 million members.
Where
do you start?
The first thing to do is to speak to your Grandparents
and Parents. They will be able to provide you with details on
two or three more generations which will be a good start. If
this is not possible, try asking cousins or aunts and uncles
- every little helps! Once you have the basics on your family,
you can start the next step.
Births,
Marriages and Deaths - UK
Since 1837, the United Kingdom
has been registering all births, marriages and deaths. Certificates
can be ordered from the Home
Office: Identity and Passport Service. So, if your family
are British for a few generations this is a good place to start.
Our advice would
be to find your grandparents first, and work backwards. Also,
make sure you start with one line (paternal is best, i.e. your
father's father and onwards), because you could end up with
quite a nightmare job if you research lots of different ancestral
lines. You will have at the most eight great grandparents
and sixteen great, great grandparents - that's sixteen possible
ancestral lines to research! So, do take it one at a time, and
slowly. It can be a long process, but well worth it when you
discover your many ancestors in amongst the records. Family
Grows on Trees can help you with research.
Pre-1837 records
were handled by local parishes and most councils have access
to these. Here's some useful
information on Parishes, but Family
Grows on Trees can help you with research too.
Census
Records - UK
The UK census as we know it today
started in 1801 (championed by John Rickman who managed the
first four up to 1831), partly to ascertain the number of men
able to fight in the Napoleonic wars, partly over concerns stemming
from An Essay on the Principle of Population by Reverend Thomas
Robert Malthus (1798). Rickman's 12 reasons - set out in 1798
and repeated in Parliamentary debates - for conducting a UK
census included the following justifications:
