What
type of proof will you need? What might it cost to find that proof?
By Richard Ripley, Forensic Genealogy Profiler
At issue here, is the degree of proof, which a client
requires to substantiate the records and people shown in their family tree.
Other information shown at this NFFG website, shows that many standard methods can
lead to errors. The work of a cousin can turn out to be wrong. Information found
at a family tree page at Ancestry.com can be wrong, as it is known that
information on pages there, is swapped back and forth between member pages, and
perhaps no one has ever substantiated key records. Every type of record can be
a source of error. Do you know that DAR, the Mayflower Society, the UELAC, and
other key lineage societies, demand a VERY high standard of proof, before
someone can claim descent from a Patriot or a Mayflower passenger or other key
founding group. NONE of the easy methods are acceptable- the cousin method, the Ancestry.com method,
the snatch-and-grab method from internet family trees, even the DNA testing
method – none of these are acceptable. As a rule, the esteemed
membership groups require paper records, which prove every step of a bloodline
lineage. Proof of adoption into a family is usually acceptable. The hard
records MUST be found. Finding such records can be difficult and costly. In
some cases, where a hard paper record for a key event cannot be found, the
esteemed societies will accept a very coherent set of forensic proofs, which
have been derived from high-quality sources, as a proof of a lineage.
This type of proof will require the assistance of an
experienced, professional forensic genealogist. It will take time, and it will
have a price, and it will generate a value for your family ancestry.
“What is in YOUR wallet?” What type of proof will
you settle for? What kind of family tree will YOU pass on to YOUR descendants? The
type of proof will determine the cost, as well as the value.
The process below, describes an actual billing
process, under consideration as of early March, 2011. The client has not agreed
to any project or any budget, at the time this page was placed at our online
web site. We place this page here, so that you may see what the process
involves.
The
Family, The Project…
I am working on a family project now, which concerns a
family from Lithuania, who emigrated to Canada, then moved on to Delaware USA.
Background of this project…
In Canada, this family lived in a remote northern area,
and tried to survive by farming, and the father was listed as a 'farmer' in
1861. The land is (still today) poor quality, full of rock and scrub brush, and
the summers are short. By 1871, his
farm had failed, and he was shown as a 'labourer'. In Delaware, the father
resumed farming, on better lands, and a happier life ensued.
In 1861, the family listed itself as from Germany, of the
Lutheran faith. By 1871, they had converted to the Anglican faith. When one of
the sons enlisted for WW1, he said he had been born in Russia. In his death
record, it is recorded that the son's father was born in Lithuania. These are the
core source records which have been located.
The potential client wants…
At least one of the descendants of this family has been
working on the genealogy for some years, and has found several high-quality
records. She has attempted to find some critical record, using all available
free resources on the internet, including personal web pages at Ancestry.com.
She really wants to know the names of the parents of the father of this target
family (her family), with all possible source records, and to know whether any
others of the family from Lithuania emigrated to Canada or America. She
indicates a high degree of interest & concern for discovering her family
ancestry. What are her options? What might the issues and costs be? Could she
achieve the desired results herself?
Issues and Possibilities…
One of the main issues, as always, is the matter of
spelling a name rendered from a language like German or Lithuanian. The
researcher would have to know about this, to find a possible birth record for
the father. Surely, others of the family must have also emigrated, but how was
the spelling of the surname rendered in those cases? Also, the researcher would
have to know something about the borders in the area, at the time. Finally, one
has to be aware of the differences between the Lutherans in the area, versus
the Orthodox (RC) in the area.
Always remember, that
NOT ALL RECORDS which we seek, will always be found – for many reasons.
However, with a number of high-quality records from such sources ARE available,
it should be possible to solve this client’s ancestry to a very high degree of
certainty, using proven forensic analysis.
Necessary Preparatory Research …
Therefore, whatever is offered to the client, in the way
of a research plan and budget, would already require some background research,
as described in the previous paragraph. This would amount to, say, about four
hours of preparatory research.
Two Research Plans appear to be
Possible…
So, for me as a professional forensic genealogist, the
research I have to recommend, is as follows: (1) with a religious
conversion (Lutheran to C of E) in
Ontario, a visit to the Anglican and Lutheran churches in that area, might
produce good results, or also a visit to the local archives or library. Well,
the area is very northern and remote, and I would need fees to cover about
three eight-hour days, plus travel, hotel, and meals. So, that would be a
substantial fee. (2) I have determined that this family came from the area of
Vilnius, which is the capital of modern Lithuania. So, to locate the church
where the father was baptized, I would have to fly there, and stay for about a
week - and stay in a hotel, hire an interpreter, and locate the church and any
local archives. I would NOT recommend that the client carry our
either of these research projects themselves. It is VERY easy to miss small
details which may be critical, and such omissions would render the value of the
research, and the personal costs of travel etc., to be ZERO. A
skilled professional researcher should carry out the research for either plan.
Let’s assume a budget based upon an hourly rate of $75.00
per hour.
Here is a
proposed budget spreadsheet:
|
Costing a project, two options |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Local 3 days |
Lithuania, 7 days |
|
Background Research, 4 hours @ $75.00 |
$300.00 |
$300.00 |
|
On Site @ 8 hour days @ $75.00 hr. |
$1,800.00 |
$4,200.00 |
|
Motel @ $75 per night |
$150.00 |
$525.00 |
|
Travel estimate round trip |
$150.00 |
$600.00 |
|
Meals @ $50.00 per day |
$100.00 |
$350.00 |
|
Car rental @ $50.00 per day |
$150.00 |
$350.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
$2,650.00 |
$6,325.00 |
No doubt, the fee for a translator would have to be added
on, if the Lithuania option were chosen.
NONE of the results of this research could be guaranteed
in advance, to produce any specific results, in either of these scenarios.
However, there would be no other way to obtain the desired proof.
NOTE: While an estimate is prepared upon request, the
numbers can change, depending (for example) on air or other fares, car rental
fees, and accommodation costs. There would be a final budget prepared
before starting the project, and the final agreed amount would have to be
pre-paid using Pay Pal.
These fee numbers are not small. Yet, is the research worth it? When we have a property dispute with a neighbor, and we engage a lawyer, we pay an up-front retainer fee, without knowing what the results will be. When we purchase a home and need a certified title, we do not look for records on the internet, and expect the things we find to be binding in a court. We use a professional, and pay the fee.
A professional research plan offers the best prospects
of success.
There is NO OTHER WAY to solve this family. The client, a
fairly skilled research, has been trying to find the answers for years.
An alternative, more Modest
option…
Where budget is an issue - and when isn't it - the compromise would be, the local forensic approach. A professional scouring of ANY available sources, such as could be found online by using spelling variants, actually already on the internet somewhere, or found by placing phone calls to likely churches or archives - AFTER those possible locations and sources are identified - would generate a much smaller but still significant budget. Only the past experience, of a researcher like me - would provide any degree of confidence in the possible success of such research.
Such a well-profiled forensic analysis of the family
project described here, could be completed for about $350.00. However, AT LEAST
the local research option above (Option 1), should be carried out.
REVIEW: It is almost a bad idea, to recommend that a family researcher undertake such research. It is VERY easy to miss something of critical importance, and waste the entire budget and value of such a trip. It is highly recommended that an experienced professional genealogist undertake such research. It would be less expensive and more fruitful, in the long run.
For more information, membership and research information, references, and links, please visit the main web page of NFFG, The Network of Founding Family Genealogies, by clicking here.