| Welcome to
3S |
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FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH Specialising
in Paul Sandford, MSc e-mail : apvsandford@aol.com |
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| Where do we start ? | |
The information from a single full birth certificate can be enough - but, as any sleuth will testify, the more clues we have the better ! By setting out what facts are known already, we avoid duplication of effort and increase the chances of success. A draft family tree is helpful. Submit a photocopy of one you may already have, indicating the branches you wish to be researched.. Include all known forenames, as some may provide significant clues. Photocopies or transcripts of birth, death, or marriage certificates may be attached, if relevant to the enquiry. Copies of notes on previous research would be helpful in avoiding duplication of effort and unnecessary expense. If the study is to commence in a period before 1837, it is generally essential to know the Parish or at least the County where your ancestor lived, or a known address. Finally, indicate schools/universities attended, profession or trade, apprenticeship, religious affiliation, or military service, etc of your subjects as these clues may also be relevant to your research goals and save time. |
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| How can we succeed ? | |
You may already have spoken to relatives and obtained information from certificates, wills, and other family papers to arrive at a Family Tree of living relatives and their parents. I can help you discover lost generations, find where and when they lived, and clues about their occupations and activities. For this quest, one or more of the following resources may be used :- - Registers of Births, Marriages, & Deaths via GRO indexes, available from 1837 when Civil Registration commenced in England and Wales. Some coverage is now available online and full coverage is found on microfiche at the National Archives. Late in 2007 the large bound volumes of BMD indexes formerly available at the Family Record Centre were places in closesd storage. - Census Returns for 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, and 1891, and 1901 searched from a known address. In early 2011, the 1911 UK census will be available. - Wills registered at the Probate Registry since 1858 and Prerogative Court records and other Church records at the National Archives at Kew. - Parish Registers: some surviving since 1538; Bishop’s Transcripts & Banns; Non-Conformist and other Denominational records. -Specialist Reference at the British Library's Oriental & India Office Collection, the Society of Genealogists, London Metropolitan Records Office, Local Studies Libraries, County Record Offices, etc. - Internet resources for family history which may be especially useful if members of your family emigrated and appear on transcribed passenger lists. - Archives of Newspapers & Periodicals should you have a specific reference to an event. |
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| What does it cost ? | |
My basic fee
is £12 Sterling per hour,
with an initial minimum commitment of
5 hours research (£60). Fees are payable in advance
by the following options:
For the London and Surrey area no extra travel expenses are charged under the standard service, but travel time is accounted for, though is fairly apportioned amongst all research projects which are subject of a particular visit to Central London. If the research leads to other archives in the UK, I can quote for a special visit or 3rd party services. You can be assured that by using 3S, most clients will make considerable savings in travel costs over visiting London personally! GRO Certificates of Birth, Marriage, or Death obtained during the course of a research assignment are charged at cost of £7 each. If you have an Index reference to the entry (which will be checked ) this will save time to carry out other searches, etc. Photocopies of entries at other repositories are generally included in my standard fee. If all you need are certificates from known references, these can be obtained for a flat fee of £15 each. Following the initial search, a Progress Report is provided, with recommendations for further lines of enquiry if appropriate. |
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| How far back can we go? | |
| Many families can be traced back to the English Civil War of the mid 17th century, and, if landowners, further back still with Manorial Records. However, events such as political upheaval, unfair taxes on registration, and the loss of registers- in fire, flood or by negligence-may make the quest difficult. Latin was used in many documents up to about 1731, possibly requiring specialist research., which can be arranged. | |
| How long does it take ? | |
Though every case is different, a progress report can usually be provided within 4-6 weeks of receipt of your fee. You may want a particular completion date - a relative’s birthday or anniversary. I should be glad to estimate for such needs. The key to success in family history research is accuracy and thoroughness. You provide your known facts, indicating any areas of uncertainty, along with your research priorities. In return, you will receive professional well documented research. All input material will be treated strictly in confidence and not divulged to other researchers without your consent. Finally, you should be aware that spellings of many surnames have changed over the generations, especially before the growth of general education in the 19th Century. This variation may be due to the whim or sobriety of a Parish Priest, or the dialect of the ancestor, but is quite common ! Checking all variants of a surname may impact the time required to complete a piece of research. |
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| The next step...... | |
| Having gathered your known facts and decided on the individuals you want researching, you will then be in a position to send me your order. Each research request will be acknowledged on receipt of the fee. Please notify by email any change of address while the research is in progress, or any new information you have discovered relevant to the requested research. | |
| Why do we seek our ancestors ? | |
That question might be answered in part by the following lines of verse picked up in the course of my own researches: ‘These are the Voices of the Past, Links of a Broken Chain; Wings that can bear us back to the times Which cannot come again- Yet, God forbid that we should lose The Echoes that remain.’ Adapted from A. A. Proctor |
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I look forward to hearing from you. Should you have any questions not answered in the above FAQ's, please email me Return to Paul Sandford's Home Page
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