I was contacted today by a potential client. She wants me to research her house. She and her children (ages 19 and 22) think that there are ghosts in the house. The kids says that they have always heard noises in the house since they were very little and neither one of them will stay in the house alone even though they are now adults. They want to know about the previous owners and if any crimes were committed in the house. Okay, even though this is a bit weird it is timely. I have been wanting to do a little house history genealogy. I have only done the history of one house. We lived in an 1830 house in Maine and I just had to know the history of the house so I researched that one. I have been reading some of Marian Pierre-Louis' stuff as well as the books she recommends. I recently wrote a blog post on this subject and then this client shows up today so I am thinking this is a sign for me to do another house ☺ Maybe the ghosts are reaching out to me ☺ ☺ ☺ Michele

Michelle, "Ghosts" or not, this may turn into an interesting research project and will give you further experience working on a house history.  I'd go for it. Cheryl Proctor Southern Indiana ________________________________ From: Michele Lewis <ancestoring@gmail.com> To: TGF Mailing List <transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, January 21, 2013 5:26 PM Subject: [TGF] The weirdest request ever I was contacted today by a potential client.  She wants me to research her house.  She and her children (ages 19 and 22) think that there are ghosts in the house.  The kids says that they have always heard noises in the house since they were very little and neither one of them will stay in the house alone even though they are now adults.  They want to know about the previous owners and if any crimes were committed in the house.  Okay, even though this is a bit weird it is timely.  I have been wanting to do a little house history genealogy.  I have only done the history of one house.  We lived in an 1830 house in Maine and I just had to know the history of the house so I researched that one.  I have been reading some of Marian Pierre-Louis' stuff as well as the books she recommends.  I recently wrote a blog post on this subject and then this client shows up today so I am thinking this is a sign for me to do another house ☺  Maybe the ghosts are reaching out to me  ☺ ☺ ☺ Michele The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I was doing one of those requests today too! In this case, the family has some really bad things going on, so I am not comfortable getting too involved in it. Luckily, the County Clerk has all of the deeds I needed on-line. I gave them all of the previous owners (only a few - the house built in the 1960's) and  some basic genealogical info on the families. They are having a paranormal team do an investigation there this weekend.   Jodee Davis Inscho http://www.jodeeinschoresearch.wordpress.com/ ________________________________ From: Michele Lewis <ancestoring@gmail.com> To: TGF Mailing List <transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, January 21, 2013 5:26 PM Subject: [TGF] The weirdest request ever I was contacted today by a potential client.  She wants me to research her house.  She and her children (ages 19 and 22) think that there are ghosts in the house.  The kids says that they have always heard noises in the house since they were very little and neither one of them will stay in the house alone even though they are now adults.  They want to know about the previous owners and if any crimes were committed in the house.  Okay, even though this is a bit weird it is timely.  I have been wanting to do a little house history genealogy.  I have only done the history of one house.  We lived in an 1830 house in Maine and I just had to know the history of the house so I researched that one.  I have been reading some of Marian Pierre-Louis' stuff as well as the books she recommends.  I recently wrote a blog post on this subject and then this client shows up today so I am thinking this is a sign for me to do another house ☺  Maybe the ghosts are reaching out to me  ☺ ☺ ☺ Michele The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Dear Michele, This is not an unusual request. Numerous times in our career we have had clients requesting genealogical work involving a ghost or a spirit. We follow normal business practices, which always includes the following language that our clients must approve in the Authorization Letter prior to our commencing Phase 2-Project Research: The signed return of this letter by fax, e-mail, or through various postal service companies authorizes Heirlines to conduct research as time and resources permit on your project under the following terms: The Client agrees that all research goals for Job #...may require future professional genealogy research time and resources in addition to that available in Job #.... The ... stated research goals for Job #...are, the following: All goals are based on the professional genealogy precept “as far as available records and project time permit”. Sincerely yours, Mary E. Petty, B.A. (Genealogy) B.A. (History) Vice President HEIRLINES Member of APG and Salt Lake Chapter of APG ============================================================== Ancestors are the People of History. Do you know who yours are? Let the Professionals at HEIRLINES FAMILY HISTORY & GENEALOGY find your ancestry! 1-800-570-4049 ▪ www.heirlines.com ▪ PO Box 893 ▪ Salt Lake City, UT 84110 -----Original Message----- From: transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Michele Lewis Sent: Monday, January 21, 2013 3:26 PM To: TGF Mailing List Subject: [TGF] The weirdest request ever I was contacted today by a potential client. She wants me to research her house. She and her children (ages 19 and 22) think that there are ghosts in the house. The kids says that they have always heard noises in the house since they were very little and neither one of them will stay in the house alone even though they are now adults. They want to know about the previous owners and if any crimes were committed in the house. Okay, even though this is a bit weird it is timely. I have been wanting to do a little house history genealogy. I have only done the history of one house. We lived in an 1830 house in Maine and I just had to know the history of the house so I researched that one. I have been reading some of Marian Pierre-Louis' stuff as well as the books she recommends. I recently wrote a blog post on this subject and then this client shows up today so I am thinking this is a sign for me to do another house ☺ Maybe the ghosts are reaching out to me ☺ ☺ ☺ Michele The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Not a weird request at all for a house historian! I think a healthy skeptical approach is the way to go. Do the research and present what you find. Unless they know the name of the ghost or unless you find out about some tragedy that occurred in the house it will be an interesting exercise but little else (except that all house history research is intriguing). But it certainly does provide a whole lot of fun! I would accept the job on the condition that you can't guarantee anything except an accurate accounting of archival documentation. Marian Pierre-Louis Fieldstone Historic Research http://www.FieldstoneHistoricResearch.com http://www.ResearchNewEngland.com -----Original Message----- From: transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Michele Lewis Sent: Monday, January 21, 2013 5:26 PM To: TGF Mailing List Subject: [TGF] The weirdest request ever I was contacted today by a potential client. She wants me to research her house. She and her children (ages 19 and 22) think that there are ghosts in the house. The kids says that they have always heard noises in the house since they were very little and neither one of them will stay in the house alone even though they are now adults. They want to know about the previous owners and if any crimes were committed in the house. Okay, even though this is a bit weird it is timely. I have been wanting to do a little house history genealogy. I have only done the history of one house. We lived in an 1830 house in Maine and I just had to know the history of the house so I researched that one. I have been reading some of Marian Pierre-Louis' stuff as well as the books she recommends. I recently wrote a blog post on this subject and then this client shows up today so I am thinking this is a sign for me to do another house ☺ Maybe the ghosts are reaching out to me ☺ ☺ ☺ Michele The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

My first reaction coincides with others on the list: I think it's an intriguing thing to do house history, but keep in mind that noises could be due to any number of perfectly normal occurrences - settling, rodents or other vermin, or any number of explanations. I hear noises here in the house where I'm renting a room while in graduate school. Some noises are the dogs playing. Others I hear in the bathroom -- neighborhood noises that come in through the opening for the exhaust fan! Others are generated by appliances -- my landlady's refrigerator may be on its last legs, as it sounds like a DC-9 about to take off! And the air conditioner sighs. Our younger daughter is in the process of buying a house, provided all goes well. When she closes, I hope to have time to go home and go to the county records office and do the research to present her with a history of her house. Could be interesting, especially to go back to the land itself, just before the house was built. The area has all sorts of history surrounding it. Karen Packard Rhodes currently residing in Pinellas Park, Pinellas County, Florida On 1/21/2013 5:26 PM, Michele Lewis wrote: > I was contacted today by a potential client. She wants me to research her house. She and her children (ages 19 and 22) think that there are ghosts in the house. The kids says that they have always heard noises in the house since they were very little and neither one of them will stay in the house alone even though they are now adults. They want to know about the previous owners and if any crimes were committed in the house. > > Okay, even though this is a bit weird it is timely. I have been wanting to do a little house history genealogy. I have only done the history of one house. We lived in an 1830 house in Maine and I just had to know the history of the house so I researched that one. I have been reading some of Marian Pierre-Louis' stuff as well as the books she recommends. I recently wrote a blog post on this subject and then this client shows up today so I am thinking this is a sign for me to do another house ☺ Maybe the ghosts are reaching out to me ☺ ☺ ☺ > > Michele >

This is actually not so weird. Or at least not uncommon. Quite a few patrons who come into our library wanting to research the history of their homes are doing so because they think they have a ghost. Martha Grenzeback Omaha Public Library On Jan 21, 2013, at 4:26 PM, "Michele Lewis" <ancestoring@gmail.com> wrote: > I was contacted today by a potential client. She wants me to research her house. She and her children (ages 19 and 22) think that there are ghosts in the house. The kids says that they have always heard noises in the house since they were very little and neither one of them will stay in the house alone even though they are now adults. They want to know about the previous owners and if any crimes were committed in the house. > > Okay, even though this is a bit weird it is timely. I have been wanting to do a little house history genealogy. I have only done the history of one house. We lived in an 1830 house in Maine and I just had to know the history of the house so I researched that one. I have been reading some of Marian Pierre-Louis' stuff as well as the books she recommends. I recently wrote a blog post on this subject and then this client shows up today so I am thinking this is a sign for me to do another house ☺ Maybe the ghosts are reaching out to me ☺ ☺ ☺ > > Michele > > > The Transitional Genealogists List was created to provide a supportive environment for genealogists to learn best practices as they transition to professional level work. Please respect the kind intentions of this list. > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message