“I don't know who my grandfather was; I'm much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.” - Abraham Lincoln

Hiring a Professional Genealogist

To some family historians, hiring a professional genealogist may seem unnecessary and expensive. Thanks to sites like Ancestry.com and RootsWeb.com, many genealogies can be found online for free. To the inexperienced eye, these published genealogies may seem complete and legit; however, much of the information may, in fact, be false. It is quite common for misinformation to be posted by a genealogist who may have transcribed a record incorrectly, failed to verify information on a record, or used family legends as the utmost truth. This misinformation is then often copied by another genealogist, and another, and so on, without anyone taking the time to verify the information.

An experienced genealogist understands that genealogy requires more time and effort than simply copying information from a family tree. They understand the various types of documents and records that can assist in determining who a person’s ancestors were, when they lived, where they lived, what their occupations were, and more. They also realize that not all information can be found online, and at some point they will have to conduct information in repositories, such as town or state archives, libraries, and courthouses.

There are also a number of circumstances that can make locating a record or a specific piece of information difficult. These include variations in the spellings of surnames, misinformation on documents, unknown maiden names for women, discrepancies in various records, poor handwriting, and more. Experienced genealogists can utilize different tricks and techniques for overcoming these obstacles.

Professional genealogists are hired for a variety of reasons that may include the following: