I am an avid family history researcher or, as Arnold Schwarzenegger might say, ‘I am the dead rel hunter’. 😀
I first became intrigued with my family history when one of Mum’s cousins back in England sent a copy of the tree he’d created. I was about 12 at the time and it fascinated me – I loved the visual representation of my heritage and being able to see the links to the people Mum talked about.
Fast forward several decades (and many iterations in technology!) and I joined Ancestry.com to begin my own hunt. A few years later I had my DNA tested and that really helped me begin discovering my roots – and to learn what Dad might have been trying to say when he kept telling me, ‘There’s no point in family trees. People tell lies. You don’t really know who you’re related to or not.’ I have been at a dead end with working out who his grandfather’s parents were for some years now, and I’m wondering if he knew something he didn’t want to tell me!
It’s frustrating as I have over 7,500 people on my family tree, an Ancestry tree rating of 9.2 out of 10, and DNA matches everywhere. But can I work out who my great-grandfather’s family were? Not on your life! But I haven’t given up yet – there is still some digging left for me to do. 😉
But enough about me. How about you? Are you interested in researching your family history? Don’t know where to start? Not enough time? The technology too much for you? Maybe I can help!
How do I help you get your family tree started?
If you have an Ancestry.com or Ancestry.com.au membership and have had your DNA tested via Ancestry (or are happy to do so), then I can help you begin building your family tree via my Starter package (see below).
Once we’ve got you started, you can take the tree and the research over, or you can pay me in blocks of hours (at a minimum of 3 hours at a time) to keep working on your tree.
How does it work?
Send me your basic details via the Contact form here and I’ll get back to you with some detailed instructions. But the simple steps will be:
- I will ask you to provide some basic details about yourself, parent(s) and grandparents so that I start with the most likely ‘real’ facts available.
- You share your DNA results with me (via our Ancestry accounts).
- I begin to build your tree starting with the facts you provide and then validating those where I can via your DNA matches and whatever documents I can find online.
- The aim will be to validate the links back to your great-grandparents at least.
- I will add other people along the way, such as your cousins, aunts, uncles and second cousins, etc. Some of these links will help validate the research, too.
- Once the initial work has been done, you can take over and rescind my access to your DNA results and your tree, or you can leave your tree as it stands, or you can pay me in blocks of time to keep researching as and when you like. The choice is all yours!
Starter package
My Dead Rel Hunting Starter package is $480. (I am not currently registered for GST, so this is ex-GST.)
The main aim will be to build your initial tree with a minimum of 15 people as follows:
- You as the core person (1 person)
- Your parents (2 people)
- Your grandparents (4 people)
- Your great-grandparents (8 people)
As I build I will be adding cousins, aunts and uncles across the various generations as well, validating these with whatever official documents I can find. These will enable me to link to more of your DNA matches and verify some of the branches.
The second aim is to maintain an Ancestry minimum tree rating of 9 out of 10, so that you can be confident that the documents and links are as reliable as possible.
How do you get started and how long does it take?
Once you reach out and we agree to proceed, I’ll send you an invoice. Once it’s paid in full and I have access to your DNA test, I’ll start as soon as possible – usually within a week.
The initial research, depending on whatever else I have on at the time, should be completed within a fortnight. I may have some questions as we go along – these will be emailed to you to ensure that we both keep track of the same information.
What if I can’t trace one of your lines back to your great-grandparents?
If I can’t confidently trace any of the minimum 15 people listed above, I will refund you $15 for each one I can’t trace. By ‘can’t confidently trace’, that means I can’t find supporting documents to validate their existance in your lineage, or I can’t find a DNA connection to that same ancestor.
Having said that, it is also feasible that I may be able to add some great-great-grandparents in one line or another, depending on your DNA matches and other information available. So a dead end in one line doesn’t mean a ‘stop’ in another line – I will be validating and adding as many connections as I can over the research period. The above 15 family members listed are the minimum I will be aiming for.
What can you do to help?
- Have an active Ancestry account. This can be a free account – you don’t have to have a paid subscription.
- Have your DNA tested via Ancestry. This is a simple ‘spit in a tube’ test which can be mailed back to them. You will have access to purchase the kit once you create your account.
- Be reasonably tech-savvy enough to follow the directions I send you to share your DNA test with me, or else have someone who can sit with you and help you click the relevant buttons!
- Be open-minded about the results, and accept that we don’t know what we will or won’t discover until I start digging.
Are you ready to start?
Get the ball rolling via my Contact page here .
I look forward to helping you with your dead rel hunting!