Research Charges

You set the budget you want

You stay fully in control of your research budget at all times - there are no hidden expenses.

After you contact me, I will then carry out a brief initial search for your family in order to see how easy or difficult they will be to trace.

On completion of my initial search, I will report back to you and we can then agree upon a research budget of how much you would like to spend. My rate is £15.00 per hour, plus any additional expenses incurred along the way such as ordering birth, marriage and death certificates, and I ask for 2 hours' work as a minimum.

You can choose to spend as much or as little as you wish on your family history research. You will receive regular updates during the course of your research project, so that you can evaluate and direct the work as you desire. If you wish me to continue with further research after your initial budget has been spent, we can then agree on an additional number of hours' work - this way you can pay for and control your research in stages, and can stop at any time.

Research guidelines

Every family is unique, and some are more difficult to trace than others, depending on the availability of records. However, below are some rough guidelines as to the typical costs involved in researching a family tree, which may help you decide upon an initial research budget.

Tracing one family line (eg. your father's surname) back to around 1800 will typically cost around £150.

Tracing all family lines back as far as possible (ie. four grandparents, eight great-grandparents and so on) will typically cost around £500 - £600.

What will you get?

Upon completion of your family history research project, you will receive a genealogy presentation pack which includes:

Once your research is complete, I offer the additional option of presenting your family's story in narrative format as an attractive, professionally-bound book. As an experienced historian and writer, I can bring your ancestors to life - from the places they lived to the jobs they did - all set against the fascinating historical backdrop of this country's past.

Your family book can include old photographs of the locations where your ancestors lived, and can also incorporate your own family photographs and memories if you wish. As many copies as you like may be printed; a professionally-bound, personalised family story makes a wonderful heirloom to share with children and grandchildren.

As a guideline, this extra option typically costs around £250-£300 on top of the cost of your normal genealogy research project - although the length of the book and its cost will, of course, to some extent depend upon the amount of research originally carried out. I will be able to provide you with a more accurate quote upon the completion of your original research project.

Stand-alone research commissions

If you would prefer to commision my research services on a one-off basis - perhaps to help with a particular 'brick wall' which is stopping your own research from proceeding, or to search the local Yorkshire archives for a particular ancestor - then I am happy to help. My rates are £15.00 per hour and I ask for a minimum of 2 hours' work. Your research report and results can then be sent to you either as attachments via email or as a hard copy via post.

New !!! Quick look- up service

I am now pleased to be able to offer a quick look up service. `I have been contacted by several people who have perhaps one particular query about a local family. Were they buried in a local cemetery, is there a gravestone, were they baptised locally etc ?

I have a wealth of sources and many local indexes to baptisms, burials, monumental inscriptions and newspaper reports. These cover local East Yorkshire villages and the town of Goole.

Contact me to check whether I can help you and then for a one off payment of £10 I will check my records and send you the results via e mail. No result - no fee.

How to pay

I accept sterling cheques made out to 'Susan Butler' - please inquire for my postal address if you wish to pay by this method. The easiest way to pay is via PayPal, which is a secure and fast method of transferring money online - please use the email address at the top of this page. Research will start once the cheque has cleared or payment has been received.