Just starting your Chicago
family tree? I can help!
I very much enjoy gathering records to build a family tree. In fact, I always have a project of my own to work on when I want to relax. If you're looking for someone to help research a Chicago family, email me to see if I can help.
I can locate vital records, census records, Catholic church records, obituaries, probate records, and divorce records and more. And I can visit the Circuit Court Archives, the Harold Washington Library, IRAD at NEIU, The Chicago History Museum and the Newberry Library. (Just ask if you need me to travel to other repositories.) I can also make visits to some Chicago-area cemeteries.
My fee is $25 per generous hour. This includes cemetery photos and any records I might find online. For records obtained at local repositories I will ask you to reimburse me for the cost of copies, and if I travel downtown, I'll ask for the cost of travel (usually $4.50).
I won't begin research until we agree on a research plan and the turnaround time will vary, depending on travel needs. However, you'll find that I am pretty focused once I begin. My usual approach is to organize the information I find for you using a genealogical database program or an online tree and I will provide you with a list of the sources searched along with a summary of what was found.
Research Available through ChicagoGenealogy.com
Most people order quick lookups from me through Genlighten.com and you can find a list of the research that I offer there on my profile page. The site lets you authorize payment in advance through a secure checkout system and you can easily track any research that you order through the site.
I'm also happy to take requests by email. No project is too small--I'm happy to retrieve a single obituary or death certificate or directory page--but I'm also happy to work on more challenging research projects, too.
If you decide to use email, it's a multi-step process: 1) You tell me what you need; 2) I send you a quote for you to accept or decline; 3) I bill you for research you request once the work is done; 4) you pay me using PayPal or check; and 5) I send you copies of the records when payment is received.
So, what kind of research can I do for you?
Here are some examples of the kinds of research problems people send me:
I need a Chicago death certificate from 1931 but don't want to pay $15 for it. I can get copies of Chicago death certificates up through 1947 from microfilm at the local Family History Center on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and I charge $6.00 each.
I found an 1899 death in the Illinois Statewide Death Index but I can't find the certificate on FamilySearch. It's probably a coroner's death certificate and those don't seem to be online.
The cemetery told me my great-grandfather died in Chicago on 23 March 1887 but I can't find his name in any index. I've looked up thousands of death certificates over the last few years and I can often find records that others can't because of misspellings and the like. I usually charge a few extra dollars for the time spent digging if I'm successful in locating the matching record.
I think my grandparents divorced in the 1920s, but I don't know what year. I can search multiple years in the divorce indexes and provide scanned color images of the records in a divorce file if I can find the case number in an index.
I need to know if my aunt had a will. I can search the probate deceased index and/or a wills index at the Circuit Court Archives.
I found a naturalization Soundex card for my ancestor and now I need to get a copy of the record. I can get copies of naturalization records for the Circuit Court, Superior Court, County Court, and Criminal Courts when I visit the Circuit Court Archives.
Send me a message for a quick, no-obligation research quote.
Email me or use the form below to tell me what you need. If I can help, I'll email you back with a brief research plan and no-obligation quote. You'll find my rates are quite reasonable. If I can't help, I'll try to refer you to someone who can or make suggestions for how you can find an answer on your own. Either way, you'll hear back quickly. (If you don't, you probably typed your email address wrong.)