Costs

A honorarium for research is calculated on the basis of an hourly fee of EUR 70,-- (including taxes). In most cases the costs for research in collections and resources that are accessible online or can become available through correspondence and routine investigations are between EUR 400,-- and 600.-- (around USD 440,-- and 660,--).

Sometimes additional costs apply from archives. If that becomes necessary it is usually between Euro 50,-- and 100,-- (around USD 55,-- to 110,--).

Payment

No deposit or prepayment is required. We start a case as per agreement in our correspondence. Along with our report we send you an invoice and ask you to settle the costs then. You can pay via PAYPAL, money transfer or simply send a personal check in USD. All information will be provided in our invoice. For personal checks please add USD 80,-- to cover fees that our bank imposes on us to cash the check. For PAYPAL or money wire you need to cover fees so that we receive the complete invoiced amount.

To Start a Research Case

We check your request and the information that you can provide. In our answer we describe the amount and kind of work, a research target and make estimations about possible results that we think we can provide. Along with our proposal on how to pursue we quote the costs for our services. You can then decide if you want to start a case and hire our services.

Step by Step Progressive Plan

Usually we agree with our customers on a step by step progressive plan and on a budget not to exceed a specific sum. That can be either for initial research, for defined steps or a complete plan.

Time

Although there were cases finalized in less than 2 weeks please be prepared for waiting times. That often happens because we wait for answers from archives or other people. And sometimes we cannot pursue as expected because of travel or other commitments. Most cases have results in approx. 6 to 12 weeks. If visits to archives become necessary and travel costs look out of balance we bundle activities, wait to go there and that may cause waiting times of up to one year.

Documentation and Report

You will receive a research report and digital documents if available with the respective annotation of a source or collection. We also explain or summarize the content of documents that are in the German script – e.g. with comments in our report, sometimes in handwritten notes e.g. for terms in a document.

Transcripts / Translations

These notes help you to better understand a document but they are not a complete transcript and they are not a complete translation. Those are services that are not included in our honorarium. They require extra time and can be provided upon agreement.

The amount depends on the size and nature of a document and you will get an estimation if that becomes desired or advisable. Costs are usually between Euro 70,-- to 200,-- (USD 77,-- to 220,--).

An Open Word about Research and Costs

Everybody involved in genealogical research has difficulties to clarify services and costs. By its nature historical biographical research is almost endless, there is always the next detail, question, generation etc. etc. We therefore try to identify a clear research target and strategy.

We know that research services are based on trust in our expertise, diligence and careful consideration of efforts and budgets. You can be assured that we are well aware about the cost-side of our services. However there are cases in which we are not able to provide results, identify a person or place. That can be the case despite routine and expertise and you need to be prepared that a honorarium is still due. A report will list the resources that were checked and describe the research steps.

If we can anticipate that efforts/budgets/time and targeted result are out of balance we will always explain that to you before we start or do so during interims steps. And sometimes we may need to advise you not to start a case or to refrain from additional efforts through our services.  You can be assured that we never did charge by the minute. And frankly speaking we did not even charge by the hour - it just does not match with the dynamic nature of genealogical research. Some cases turned out to be more complicated than expected and we could not provide what we had estimated. And there were cases in which we could provide way more information then invoiced.

Resources and Challenges

More and more resources in archives and collections on both sides of the Atlantic have been digitized and have become available online. In Germany co-operations with German archives initiated by Dr. Grams for Ancestry.de have contributed a good share to this situation. But over hundreds of years what is now Germany had a complicated political history of territories and principalities. Consequently and despite a highly qualified network of archives from federal to local levels documentation is likewise complicated, fragmented and scattered. Sometimes records did not survive at all and what did survive has not always become part of an organized documentation.

The majority of documents are still not online but in the shelves at some place. Online finding aids and resources help a lot but at the end it remains a research task in itself to clarify the whereabout of promising records. Only a very small portion of those documents that are online have been indexed and some transcripts generate more questions than answers. And finally, originals may they be provided digitally or on your desk in a reading room, are in the German script.



After all and even in times of electronic databases genealogical research still requires expertise, time, patience, a good portion of experience and a good nose.

Main Resources are:

• Passenger manifests, both departure records that survived and registration in US ports
• Applications for passports and correspondence with local government agencies (please note that approx. 30 % of the German emigrants left without a passport application)
• Other registration of emigrants and travelers, e.g. by private agencies or local authorities, 
• Population and Census-substitute documents such as house lists, registers of inhabitants, taxation or income lists, fire insurance documents (some local census records are available, but documentation is very scattered and Germany did not have a national census).
• Church books of all denominations – with a growing number of records in custody of church archives online – but rarely indexed.
• Civil registration. Some regions starting 1874, some formerly French territories prior to that, starting 1876 for the entire German Empire
• A variety of local archive’s collections and documentation
• Literature and documentation, often in publications that are not distributed widely but rather come from local initiatives and individuals
• Consultation of local experts and genealogical associations
  

Check your US records

Sometimes US records that you can access yourself like Census, naturalization, birth, marriage, deaths registers, orbituaries or Social Security files contain valuable information. They may tell you about age, dates, year of immigration, province or place of birth, religious affiliation or other relevant information. We kindly ask that you share information that you may already have with us. That may point us to next steps of research. As a routine we always ask you what type of resource you have already checked in order to avoid double efforts.