Research

Genealogical Research Services

Genealogical and family research has been an integral part of society for many decades, captivating people’s interests since the early 20th century. While the 1930s and 1940s saw motivations rooted in political needs, the post-war era shifted the focus back to the core purpose of family research: exploring one’s identity and connection within the family. Today, genealogy is one of the most popular hobbies worldwide, as many individuals ponder the questions, “Where do I come from, and who were my ancestors?”

With decades of experience in genealogical research, we provide a wide range of services beyond traditional archive research and lineage documentation. If you’re looking to create a family chronicle, we are here to support and assist you.

There are many reasons you might reach out to us, such as:

• Lack of time due to professional commitments to visit various archives,
• Difficulty traveling frequently as one ages,
• Seeking advice or support from knowledgeable researchers, or
• Wanting to gift a family tree to a relative for their birthday without prior experience in family research.

So, how does our research process work for you?

1. Initial Contact
2. Discussion of Research Goals
3. Our Research Phase

If you’ve been considering entrusting your genealogical research to professionals and have found us, we’re eager to discuss your wishes with you. It’s essential for you to discover any existing documents within your family, such as old family books, lineage certificates from the Third Reich, or handwritten historical records. Engaging in conversations with older relatives can also provide valuable insights into familial connections.

After gathering relevant data with you, we set the foundation for effective research.

Once everything is agreed upon, we dive into the research. As per your agreement, we visit the relevant archives and investigate your family’s history. By utilizing church records, we trace your ancestors from generation to generation, documenting their information in a clear ancestral list. You will receive copies or digital photos of every entry we find so that you can follow every step of the journey. If you’re unfamiliar with old handwriting, we can also prepare transcripts for you. We conduct our research “step by step” for our clients, ensuring you have a clear overview of costs and current findings. Once we reach your specified budget limit, we will send you the results along with an invoice, and from there, we can discuss the next steps, including identifying potential new (secondary) sources.

Many wonder about the limits of genealogical research; however, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. There are temporal boundaries that often can’t be surpassed, especially concerning events like the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), during which numerous archival records were irretrievably lost. Therefore, at the outset of any research, it’s hard to predict how far back we can trace a family. Nonetheless, in the central German region, the loss of church records due to war is minimal. Typically, church records extend back to the 17th century, and if gaps exist for a particular locality, state archives serve as valuable information sources.

This research is generally not completed all at once— you set the pace. Extensive research can continue consistently over several months or even years.