Has anyone ever Paid for reasearch

[Puffin81]

Out of interest has anyone ever paid for someone to do a little of the research? My huge brick wall at the is Ireland.  I keep coming back to a particular section that I know has to be out there

Just wondering how you went about it and kind of cost

[Claire64]

I haven't, but a very distant relation did.  It's a long time ago now but we'd both drawn a complete blank with her ancestor, who was in the army.  She paid a specialised military researcher and he unearthed some fantastic stuff.  This was at a time when there was no internet!!  But my point is, he knew his stuff, provided copies of all documents, knew where to look, and thought outside the box.  His biggest reveals were that the ancestor was born on board a ship but he was indexed as a GIRL, and the second, he tried to imagine how an Indian clerk would interpret an Irish woman pronouncing the unusual Surname of her new husband (Donkersley).  He found the birth registered as Dinhersley.  Worth every penny. 
There will be good researchers out there as well as not so good. 
Be interesting to hear of others' experience.

[KGarrad]

Yes! 3 times.

1. My great-grandfather was a railway station master, and all relevant records are at TNA Kew.
It was cheaper and quicker to pay an expert to look for me.

2. My maternal great-great-grandfather was born in Jersey.
Again, it was quicker and cheaper to pay someone (CI FHS) to find records for me.

3. After my twin granddaughters were born, I needed to supply Guinness World Records with an "Expert Witness Statement" from a "Qualified Professional".
I supplied all relevant certificate, and did all the hard work. Said Professional simply rubber-stamped my paperwork! Cost me £25!!


Nowadays, the situation has switched, and I undertake paid research on Isle of Man queries


Have you looked at all relevant sources of records in Ireland?
Check the Ireland Forum here on RootsChat for some hints.

[Puffin81]

Yes I’ve looked all over, it’s been something I’ve been looking at for prob at least 5 years now.

I’m just considering is it worth hiring someone who like you say knows where to look, it would give me enough to point me in the right location

[Claire64]

I've just remembered, further to my post above, I once paid someone to get copies of some deeds from West Yorkshire Deeds Registry as it was cheaper for him to go in person and copy the documents than for me to travel there or pay for the copies, which at the time were extortionately expensive.  He did a good job.

[familydar]

Yes I have, many years back now, chose someone who advertised in the appropriate FHS journal and was ffhs or whatever registered but it turns out this doesn't mean much more than they can afford the registration fee.  Unfortunately the records I wanted checking were at SOG rather than the county in question and he wasn't familiar with them.  Waste of money (thankfully not a great deal), later I had to repeat the exercise myself.

Choose with care and check your researcher's familiarity with the records/area you want them to cover, you don't want to be paying for their learning curve.

Jane :-)

[Ruskie]

Presumably you have already asked for help on rootschat?

[Puffin81]

Presumably you have already asked for help on rootschat?

Yes, the problem I have is I have a little conflicting info, and not much to go on except Ireland.

[coombs]

Years ago I paid a researcher. This was around 2004/2005 and she charged about £80 for 2 hour's research. I asked her to sift through some Westminster parishes 1780-1795 for a any baptism of someone with a certain name. She never found a baptism that fitted but she found a few baptisms of people with the same surname and gave me them. She asked if any of these people rung a bell and I said no. She said if she found a instance of the surname she did not like to just leave it in case it could tie in with my family. I paid her for what she had found, even if there was no baptisms of someone with a certain forename and the surname I was after.

I still used her service for a 1851 census search of Westminster, Holborn, Pancras etc, as the 1851 census had a name index at the FRC, and she said she thought she found my ancestor. I had already told her the name, and she had her last child in 1828 as I have his baptism which gives date of birth.

When she gave me the result, this particular person was born in about 1770, meaning she would have been 58 when she had her last child. The researcher said it is not unusual in those days to have a baby at almost 60. I then looked through the civil reg death indexes and found what seemed to be her death and the late husband's name was wrong and different occupation.

I then decided not to use this researcher any more. I do all my FH myself.