Genealogy Research

We customize our research services to what you want to learn, so we don’t waste time discovering information you already have or aren’t interested in. We offer genealogy services at $75 per hour, with a 2-hour minimum for any projects. Before the start of a project, we gather information from you, including what you want to learn and what you already know, and together we establish a project plan. We have access to numerous online genealogy databases, newspaper repositories, vital record archives, church records, and other sources of information about people from the past, and we will engage all of these in our research.

Core genealogy research services include things like:

  • Tracing a specific family line and building out your ancestry as far back as records allow

  • Investigating family history stories, legends, or mysteries

  • Helping you break through a genealogical brick wall

  • Building a multi-generation family tree

  • Performing in-depth ancestor research into a specific individual's life, including military records research, immigration records, land records, and more

  • Visiting the National Archives in Washington, D.C. to obtain historical records held there, or conducting cemetery research within a reasonable drive (at additional cost)

Our services are provided as small, moderate, and large projects, each with its own pricing structure and customized research document provided as a final product:

  • 4-Hour Genealogy Research Project — Our minimum project, geared to help you with your primary goal for the research, whether that’s to discover how much information is available on your ancestor in preparation for a larger project, or to perform a focused search for specific information. This includes research into census documents, birth/marriage/death dates and records, and information on spouse(s) and children.

  • 10-Hour Comprehensive Genealogy Research Project— More in-depth research into your ancestor or family. This service includes the required 2-hour minimum, with everything from the 2-Hour project, plus any military service information, newspaper articles, school photographs, and other sources of information on the lives of your ancestors. This is best for research into one family or individual, with additional people or generations included if the research window permits, always in alignment with your research goals.

  • 20-Hour In-Depth Genealogy Study — A deep dive into the family with as many generations as can be found during the research window. This service includes the required 2-hour minimum, plus all of the items included in the 2- and 10-Hour projects, expanding into more generations and extended research where needed on hard-to-find subjects. We customize all research to what you want to learn, so we do not waste time finding information you already have or are not interested in.

What you’ll receive:

  • Digital Report — All genealogy research projects conclude with a polished, professionally written and formatted electronic report in PDF format, easy to save, print, or share with family.

Transcription Services

If you have old handwritten letters, diaries, or other records written in cursive or older handwriting scripts that are difficult to decipher, Family Roots Revealed can help. You can send us the original items, or clear photographs of the pages if you'd rather keep your documents at home. Either way, we'll type up the contents of the documents and provide you a professional, accurate document transcription. Transcription services are billed at $75 per hour, with a 2-hour minimum for any project.

Core transcription services include things like:

  • Typing up the contents of handwritten letters, diaries, wills, and other historical documents so you and future generations can understand the contents without needing to read cursive.

  • Working with cursive and traditional handwriting scripts from the 1700s through the present day.

  • Careful proofreading and accuracy review of every page to catch errors and confirm the transcription is faithful to the original.

  • Archival-quality handling: any original documents you send to us are handled with the utmost care and returned to you in archival-quality sleeves to help with long-term preservation and storage.

Note: We specialize in English-language documents, and translation from other languages is not a core service we offer; however, we are experienced in French, German, and Latin church and vital records and will transcribe those to the best of our ability if these records are part of your family’s journey.

What you'll receive:

  • Digital transcription — An electronic document (PDF) containing an exact, line-by-line transcription.

  • Original Documents Returned to You — If you choose to entrust your original documents to us, we will return them to you in archival-quality sleeves for long-term preservation and storage.

On-Site Photography

Family Roots Revealed is located in Northern Virginia, within convenient reach of Washington, D.C., allowing for in-person visits to research repositories and cemeteries on your behalf. These services are priced based on the travel distance and overall time required, so please inquire with us about this service so we can estimate your price.

Core on-site photography services include things like:

  • Visiting the National Archives in Washington, D.C. to obtain photographs or scans of records held in their repository.

  • Conducting on-site visits to cemeteries in nearby areas to photograph headstones, including clearing surface dirt, leaves, and other debris so headstone carvings are as visible as possible in each photo (Note: we do not do chemical cleaning of headstones, but we will clear as much dirt and debris as we can).

What you'll receive:

  • Digital Photographs — High-quality, clear, unobstructed photographs in JPG format, delivered via email.

To inquire about these services, please visit the Contact page and complete the form, providing as much information as you can to enable us to accurately estimate a price for these services. For a visit to the National Archives, we will need detailed information on your ancestor(s) such as birth and death dates, where they lived, military unit they served in, the records you are reasonably sure are housed at the National Archives, and any additional information to help ensure we pull the correct records for the right individual. For cemetery visits, we will need the name and location of the cemetery and any other information to help us find the headstones.

An old black and white photograph of a woman standing beside a seated man. The woman is dressed in a long, dark Victorian-style dress with button details and striped trim on the bodice, while the man is wearing a dark suit with a waistcoat and an open jacket. The woman has her hand resting on the man's shoulder, and the man has a full beard and mustache, with his hands resting on his lap. The background features ornate, decorative wallpaper and drapery.
Close-up of old, worn handwritten letters and books on a dark surface.
A graveyard with various headstones and monuments, some with flowers and inscriptions, surrounded by green grass and trees under a partly cloudy blue sky.

Nuts & Bolts

Confidentiality & Scope: Sometimes genealogical research uncovers information that is difficult to hear, embarrassing, or otherwise unpleasant. Family Roots Revealed holds all research findings in strict confidence and won't discuss or disclose anything about your family history with anyone without your express permission. Also, because this is a genealogy service, we do not locate or investigate living people. The one exception is DNA matches: if a strong match points to a shared ancestor, we will try to identify that common ancestor where possible, with full understanding that this kind of research can be very tricky.

Billing & Payment: Family Roots Revealed offers a number of different packages to accommodate small to large projects. While payment is provided up front, we work on a retainer model. We will provide you with a weekly update on your project and hours worked, and any unused funds are returned to you at the end of our work together, though every project carries a 2-hour minimum charge. If you elect a larger project on the same research subject after we have completed a smaller project for you, we consider the 2-hour minimum to have been met.

Staying in Touch: Transparency with regard to what we find is very important, so we keep you updated and share findings as the research progresses. Once you feel the work is complete, we'll review everything together, and we will produce your final report.

Ready to Get Started?

When you’re ready to get started, you can select one of our service packages or send an inquiry through the contact form. We will get back to you as soon as we can to confirm when your project will begin, gather any additional information, and make a project plan with you. At the end of the research window, you will receive a complete summary of project findings, and we can discuss plans for any additional research you might be interested in.