Hello Oneida: I live in the Midwest and cannnot make the trip to NY state at this time, I was wondering if anyone out there has ever hired or is knowledgable about the proper way to hire a professional Geneaologist? What exactly will they do? Will they walk a cemetery or two for you? What is the going rate? Do you hand them a check list of people, places, dates, etc, and tell them what your specific goal is? Anyone have any Successes? Failures? Observations? Suggestions? Slainte, Susan

Susan: Keeping in mind that there is no substitute for original research, I assume you have exhausted all of the usual avenues such as the Family History Library Catalog and searching microfilms on your research location ordered thru them, use of inter-library loan, local history societies & genalogical societies, Etc. Most professional genealogists will tell you what you can expect for their fee. They will tell you how much experience they have and if they feel qualified to do the job. There are genealogists who specialize in, eg., Irish Genealogy as well as other ethnic origins. This may play a key role in the quality of the result. Rates vary from $20 to $40 per hour plus expenses. You should receive a report detailing positive as well as negative search results. You should be kept informed about each result as it occurs. The professional should check with you for a decision to incurr more expense than you have pre-authorized. The more details you can provide as well as directions, the more you will be able to control your costs. It also helps to get recommendations. Good luck, Jim Hartigan ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2003 10:49 AM Subject: [NYONEIDA-L] Hiring a Professional Genealogist? > Hello Oneida: > > I live in the Midwest and cannnot make the trip to NY state at this time, I > was wondering if anyone out there has ever hired or is knowledgable about the > proper way to hire a professional Geneaologist? What exactly will they do? > Will they walk a cemetery or two for you? What is the going rate? Do you hand > them a check list of people, places, dates, etc, and tell them what your > specific goal is? > > Anyone have any Successes? Failures? Observations? Suggestions? > > Slainte, > Susan > > > > > ==== NYONEIDA Mailing List ==== > Contact the List Manager at [email protected] > Oneida Co Surname page http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~myplace/oneida.html > List Rules http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~myplace/mailing.html > Oneida Co Genealogical & Historical Site http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyoneida/ >

Susan, The Association of Professional Genealogists have some good information on how to hire a genealogist. The URL is http://www.apgen.org/articles/hire.html. Also, one of the organizations that certifies genealogists (the Board for Certification of Genealogists) has an on-line directory of individuals that are certified. The URL is http://www.bcgcertification.org/. Best regards, Amy At 10:49 AM 8/9/03 -0400, you wrote: >Hello Oneida: > >I live in the Midwest and cannnot make the trip to NY state at this time, I >was wondering if anyone out there has ever hired or is knowledgable about the >proper way to hire a professional Geneaologist? What exactly will they do? >Will they walk a cemetery or two for you? What is the going rate? Do you >hand >them a check list of people, places, dates, etc, and tell them what your >specific goal is? > >Anyone have any Successes? Failures? Observations? Suggestions? > >Slainte, >Susan > > > > >==== NYONEIDA Mailing List ==== >Contact the List Manager at [email protected] >Oneida Co Surname page http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~myplace/oneida.html >List Rules http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~myplace/mailing.html >Oneida Co Genealogical & Historical Site http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyoneida/

I once hired a genealogist for a search in the extensive Mohawk Valley records of the Montgomery County Archives in Fonda. We agreed that I could afford three hours of her time, and I made clear that I wanted to learn "the parents of . . ." a particular known ancestor. While she was never able to uncover that one piece of information (and indeed it has taken two more decades and the Internet for someone to find it), she did provide pages and pages of vital records (and her sources of the information) that remain useful to me to this day. Perhaps the most important things to do when hiring a genealogist are to make clear exactly how many hours of his/her time you can afford, and list pecisely what you are looking for--in priority order. This is what you might do if you were setting out to do the research yourself and had only a limited amount of time. By the end of the time limit, you would have covered at least the priority items on your list. Good luck! Joanne Garland ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2003 10:49 AM Subject: [NYONEIDA-L] Hiring a Professional Genealogist? > Hello Oneida: > > I live in the Midwest and cannnot make the trip to NY state at this time, I > was wondering if anyone out there has ever hired or is knowledgable about the > proper way to hire a professional Geneaologist? What exactly will they do? > Will they walk a cemetery or two for you? What is the going rate? Do you hand > them a check list of people, places, dates, etc, and tell them what your > specific goal is? > > Anyone have any Successes? Failures? Observations? Suggestions? > > Slainte, > Susan > > > > > ==== NYONEIDA Mailing List ==== > Contact the List Manager at [email protected] > Oneida Co Surname page http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~myplace/oneida.html > List Rules http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~myplace/mailing.html > Oneida Co Genealogical & Historical Site http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyoneida/ >