Hiring a Genealogist Archives

What Flooring Experts Taught Me about Hiring a Genealogist

19 July 2018 By cyndy Leave a Comment

As you read this story, think about how it relates to hiring a genealogist …

We’ve been helping my husband’s mom do some work on her house and new flooring was part of the plan. So, we stopped by a major home improvement store to ask for a quick quote. You know, to kind of sort of get a feel for whether we wanted tile and/or vinyl and/or carpet, and to figure out how much the project might cost.

Well, we soon learned that it doesn’t work that way. Before the associates could be of help, they needed to have someone come out to take measurements and count closets and doorways and the like. And they needed to know what type of flooring we wanted where–ideally with specific product codes. And then there were also questions like whether or not we wanted new baseboard installed.

To us, it was just a matter of saying, “We’d love for you to put new flooring in the house. How much will it cost and how long will it take?”

To the professional, a proposal and quote required detailed information. Tile? Wood? Vinyl? Carpet? How big are the rooms? How many doors and closets to work around? How many toilets to be lifted? Will existing flooring need to come up? If so, will asbestos be an issue?

It works the same with genealogy.

As a client, it’s so easy to say, “I would love for you to find out where my grandfather went after he disappeared. Do you think you could? Maybe before my mother’s birthday in October? And, how much do you think it would cost?”

But, a research provider would need a lot more information before trying to answer those questions.

Here are five things you can do to prepare to reach out to a professional genealogist. If you’re already researching your family history, you’ll probably be able to check things off the list quickly. If you’re not (or if the tasks seem overwhelming), then just do the best you can to pull the information together in whatever format is comfortable for you. Just know that a project will take more time (and thus cost more money) if a genealogist needs to build a foundation from which to work.

Update the family tree. If you have an online tree or an offline database, make sure all names, dates, and places are filled in to the best of your knowledge. Focus on the individual or couple of interest, but don’t overlook children, parents, and siblings.
Provide sources for information on the tree. If this hasn’t been done on your tree in a formal way, make an informal list. Make sure to note sources that have been checked that didn’t yield relevant information, too.
Gather background information. Jot down any information that’s not on the tree that might provide clues for the research. If there are family members who might know something of interest, consider contacting them.
Prepare to share scanned documents. If you have digital copies of any of the sources, especially family records that aren’t easily accessible online, upload them to the online tree (unless they should be kept private) or put them in a folder that you can easily share through a service like Dropbox or Google.
Write a one-paragraph summary that names the person (or persons), place (or places), and time period. Then, finish this sentence: “I would like to know … ” Here’s an example: My great-grandfather, Jonas Smith, who lived in New Miami, Butler County, Ohio, disappeared while my grandmother was in high school, probably 1932-1936. I would like to know what happened to him.

With those five steps done, you’re ready to reach out to find just the right genealogist for your project. I have some tips for that, too, of course, but I’ll save them for another post.

Oh, and by the way, we went with vinyl plank in a light color that reminds us of the local beach, and we’re really happy with the decision!

Warmly,

Cyndy
Genlighten Co-founder

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Stock image (#50165073) obtained through DepositPhotos.com.

Introducing Genlighten’s Project Tracking Pages

5 June 2017 By cyndy Leave a Comment

I offered genealogy document retrieval in Chicago for just over ten years and one of the challenges was managing requests, almost all of which came through email. The process went something like this:

Receive a request by email.
Message back to ask questions, if necessary, and wait for a reply.
Decide whether or not I can handle the project and email the client back.
Do the research.
Send an email to let the client know the total cost and collect payment by check or PayPal.
Wait for payment.
Send record image(s) to client either by email or with a Dropbox link; mail a paper copy, if requested.

That might not seem like much, but multiply those steps by a few requests in various stages of completion and keeping track of things can become a time-consuming burden. For complex projects that go beyond document retrieval, there may be even more of a need for a simple way to keep a record of client/researcher interaction as projects are arranged and carried out.

Enter Genlighten and, specifically, Genlighten’s project tracking pages.

From the provider side, they serve to streamline the research process. A project summary page tells you, at quick glance, which projects you have and what their status is: new, waiting for provider to accept or decline, waiting for payment, research in progress, research completed, feedback needed. A project tracking page for each of those projects, visible to you, your client, and Genlighten Support, puts requests, including any shared documents or images, conversations about the research, and payment history, in one easy-to-navigate place.

But project tracking pages benefit clients, too. When clients and providers use them to communicate–to send messages, share documents and images, and make payments–there’s never any question of who did what when. No misplaced email conversations. No checks lost in the mail. And never a question of whether or not the provider delivered a report, as promised.

If you want to experience Genlighten’s tracking pages first-hand, send us an email–support@genlighten.com. We’d be happy to walk you through a test project from the client and/or provider side.

But, in the meantime, the short video at the top of this page will give you a feel for what the project tracking pages are all about.

Genlighten Success Story: German Translation

16 April 2016 By cyndy Leave a Comment

When a Genlighten provider creates a new research offering, I get email notification before it goes live. It’s my job to review it to make sure it isn’t a spammy ad for fancy sunglasses or knock-off watches or the like. (Fortunately, our spam filter catches 99.99% of these.) I also give it a quick read to catch obvious misspellings and make sure it’s within the spirit of what we’re trying to accomplish with the Genlighten. Then I click the button to publish it on the site.

Last week, I got a message telling me that provider nickmgombash had created a new offering titled “German Church Registers – Per Hour.” Nick is a Chicago-area researcher who specializes in Hungarian and German genealogy and I’ve known him, through email, since the early days of my chicagogenealogy.com website.

One of my current personal research projects involves civil birth registration documents from Wadern in the 1830s and 1840s. I’m researching the family of John A. Hand who was a popular Chicago band leader from the mid-1800s to his death in 1916.

I can read the names on the records well enough to know when I have a match and sometimes I can pick out dates but, other than that, I’m clueless. Even Dean, who speaks German, has a rough time with the handwriting.

So, when I saw Nick’s offering, I sent him a quick message which basically said, “Can you read that stuff?” to which he replied, “Yes!”

I immediately went to Genlighten and created a project request asking for his help with three records. I wanted to keep it simple–I’m on a budget, same as a lot of you–so I asked if he could answer just two questions: Is the father’s occupation listed on any of these register entries? Is there any unique information listed that I should be careful not to overlook? (One of the German records I had translated years ago made mention of a family move and an illegitimate birth.)

Nick came back with a quote. I accepted. And, before the morning was over, he provided three above-and-beyond paragraphs with extracted information.

Here’s the one for John’s brother Peter:

Birth Act No. 194 was registered with the mayor of Wadern on the 5th of December 1834. Peter Hand was born on the 4th of December 1834 at 4pm in Wadern, son of Melchor Hand, musician and his wife Elisabetha München, being 28 years old, both residing in Wadern. The sponsors/godparents were Mathias Ludwig, 34 years old and a ‘gerber’ (tanner); and Peter Wahl, 24 years old, a ‘färber’ (dyer), both residing in Wadern. The informant was the father Melchor Hand, 28 years old, and the registrar was Franz Wahl.

I was ecstatic!

No, I was ECSTATIC!

The information he pulled out of those records is extremely helpful to my search. You can bet that when I’m done gathering records for the other children, I’ll be contacting him for additional help.

The fun part of all this? I learned that John Hand’s father was also a musician, as was his son and his grandson. Four generations of musicians. I love that!

What do I take away from this experience?

The skills you have to offer can really make someone’s research day. If you provide specialized research services, list them on Genlighten, even if you already have your own website. It gives people one more way to find you.
Reaching out to an expert can be a real boost. If you’re struggling with a particular research problem, check our Genlighten database. We don’t have a provider for everything, but we’ve got some really great people on the site.
If you need Hungarian or German research, there’s a good chance Nick can help. (He’s also really good at getting Chicago records fast.)

So, that’s my most recent Genlighten success story. If you have one to share, we’d love to feature it. Send me a quick email and let me know how one of our providers has helped you.

Cyndy
cynthia@genlighten.com

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Nick’s Genlighten Provider Profile
Nick Gombash’s Genealogy Blog
Hungary Exchange