Genealogical research into family history has become one of, if not the, major growth areas on the Internet. Not only are more and more resources becoming available on the Internet to both the amateur and the professional genealogist, but also major television series such as BBC Television's "Who do you think you are?", first aired in 2004, encouraged more and more people to take their first steps in tracing their family histories.
A specialised genealogist requires knowledge and skill: where to find the right records and depositories, a logical and tidy mind, an eye for detail, a certain degree of tenacity and, perhaps most important of all, some good old-fashioned luck!
Whilst genealogy can become a most rewarding (not to say addictive!) hobby, it is naturally very time consuming and there are many people who want to know more about their ancestors but who just do not have the time or resources to do the required research. Everyone has access to genealogical information available free or nearly free on the Internet, but modern technology still has not replaced paper records entirely. Research at the local record depositories across the country and at resource centres, such as the Borthwick Institute, the Society of Genealogists or the Family Records Centre, is still a necessity.
Cracroft's Peerage is pleased to offer a professional genealogical research service. We specialise in English research and have extensive experience in using the London record depositories. We can either trace a particular family line for you or can trace your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents. In most cases we are able to get back to 1837, the year when the general registration of births, marriages and deaths in England and Wales was introduced, without too many problems.
Our method of working is to start with yourself and then trace your family history back through the centuries as far as we can. We start by collecting from you any information you may already have on your family. We then add to this information by tracing births, marriages and deaths, moving back to the start of the twentieth century when we can link in to the publicly available census returns, which are available from 1841 to 1901. Using a combination of certificates and census returns, we trace your family back to the early part of the nineteenth century, when civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began. After that it is a question of using parish registers and filling out the details by using wills, property records, Court records, etc. At the end of the exercise we hope to present you with a fully researched and documented history of your family.
It is very difficult to forecast just how long a particular piece of genealogical research will take. Just giving a genealogist an open-ended instruction to "trace my family history" could land you with a surprisingly large bill! For this reason Cracroft's Peerage does not offer an open-ended service and we recommend an instruction for a specific timescale for research into your family history. This will be charged at our fixed fee of £20.00 an hour. At the end of the agreed period we will send you a summary of our research and findings as well as an indication of areas for possible future research. Any disbursements will be itemised and charged to you at cost.
Your fee gives you our experience, research into the many records (digital and paper) available to us, our extensive library built up over 40 years, but above all, a quality service.
If you are interested in using our genealogical research services, as an initial step please telephone Patrick Cracroft-Brennan on +44 (0)20 8776 7009 and he will be pleased to discuss matters with you, or, if you prefer, you can email him at research@cracroftspeerage.co.uk.