Research Service

INTRODUCTION
My family history research service for clients was started in 1997. I started researching my own family history in 1984. This research included investigations in South Africa, Portugal, Germany, France, and the UK. I now specialise in South African and Portuguese research.

SERVICES
If you are interested in researching your family history, you’ve come to the right place. My research service provides a one-stop service for South African research. The Internet is a great resource for genealogy, but on-line resources only contain a fraction of South African records. I work with primary and secondary South African resources. I also have an extensive personal library of South African resources and databases. I am fluent in English, Afrikaans and Portuguese. I have a good reading understanding of German, Dutch, French, Spanish and Italian.

Available services:

• research a single name or multiple names (ancestors and/or descendants)
• digitising your existing research
• living person searches
• compiling family history books, family trees and / or ancestral charts
• researching background information for authors, journalists and others

COMMISSIONING A RESEARCH PROJECT
Before I can do a quote, I need to know the details. This will help me decide whether I can be of help or not. If I can help, I will give an estimate of costs. I do not have a set fee. Fees are dependent on each case.

To start a research project, I need to know if you want to trace your ancestors starting from yourself backwards. Alternatively, are you looking for specific people only?

If you are looking for the ancestral line, please let me know your parents’ and grandparents’ names. Include dates of birth or death if known. If you know your great-grandparents’ names please include those too.

If you are looking for specific people only, please let me know:

1) Who are you looking for (their full names)?
2) Who were they married to (their full names)?
3) What dates do you know for them (birth, marriage, divorce, military, death, etc)?
4) Where did they live (town names)?
5) What documents or records do you already have for them?

I also need to know the purpose of the research. Is it for family history only? Or is it for foreign citizenship?

I need you to give as much detail as you know. Include any prior searches and results. This way, I will not duplicate earlier research work. Once I know what you have or want, I will respond promptly. I will offer details on what I can undertake for you.

A commissioned research project generally follows these steps:

• after initial contact and discussion, if you decide to use my services, I let you know what the fee will be
• once payment is received, I draw up my research plan
• the research plan is followed (this can take anything from 2 weeks to 1 year, depending on what your project involves)
• once all research has been done, I prepare my findings for you (research report, charts, etc… as required per the specific project)
• the final report is sent to you once all work is finalised

During this process, if there are any issues that need further discussion, I will contact you. The research will stretch over a period of weeks or months (depending on the individual case). I do not offer “instant” family trees. Proper research can and does take time.

FEES
My rate includes analysis, finding and gathering archival records, data entry and reporting. Certificates and other expenses are charged at cost. These expenses include telephone calls, travel to a specific site if required, photocopies, postage, etc. They are directly incurred in pursuit of a client’s research, if necessary. Where possible, I will inform you of these costs beforehand. I do not have a set price to trace a family tree as every project is different. Only after I have assessed your requirements, can I offer an estimation of costs.

Searching records is only a part of the process. Some of the steps include:

• analysis of information provided by the client
• compilation of pedigree and other charts, to figure out correct family relationships
• establishing goals
• determination of available records and their locations
• searching of records and copying
• evaluation of records obtained
• preparation of the final report

Other factors that influence the amount of time spent in research are:

• the number of names involved
• whether they were officially documented or not in various sources
• spelling variations of names
• family migrations

GUARANTEES
No researcher, though diligent, can absolutely guarantee positive results. Specific results won’t be known until research is conducted and completed. In some cases, information is not recorded. The records also can be inaccessible for various reasons. There is also a limit to the searches that a single research budget can fund.

You are assured that I will do my best to find information. I will treat the project as if I were doing my own family search.

You are engaging a researcher with 35+ years of experience in researching South African families. I offer my skill, knowledge, and time to your research project, and that is what you are paying for.

The client must be aware that any responsible researcher must pass along to potential clients the following important notes:

• not every family or family member left paper trails of their existence and movements.
• records that have not survived, indices that have not been made and vital statistics that were not registered can only be reported as negative search efforts
• research can be hampered in some areas because of privacy laws

SOME RESEARCH CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

• researched family history for two “Who Do You Think You Are” TV episodes for BBC TV (Natasha Kaplinsky and David Suchet)
• participated in Al Jazeera English documentary “People and Power: Colours” (part 2, screened 23 Sept 2008)
• researched family history for the film “Skin” about Sandra Laing’s life
• traced living next-of-kin for DNA identification of deceased South African Air Force pilot in Korean War

TESTIMONIALS FROM FORMER CLIENTS:

J. Fawcett, UK
The great news is that yesterday she received her Ancestral Visa! What helped the most were the reports that were supplied, and documents that showed that all dates followed through.

L. Brummer, Australia
You’ve done excellent work for my cousin to uncover all the information about my maternal grandfather that we have been searching for decades.

R. Saron, USA
The lawyer was very impressed by what you have been able to find.

J. du Toit, USA
Thank you so much for the work and the detailed information in the report. Such a great layout for us to be able to digest all the information.

D. Mitchell, South Africa
Thanks so much. I KNEW you would find them!

M. Botha, South Africa
What a day, out of nowhere. Thank you for all the information. It corrects some of my family stories.

S. King, South Africa
I have only started scanning through the documents and already I am blown away by what you were able to gather. Thank you very much for the effort.

A. Clulow, USA
Really pleased with your findings and I hope I can be in touch with further commissions.

M. de Nobrega, South Africa:
I was very impressed with what I received.

L. Pearson, Australia:
Many thanks for the excellent work you did on our behalf – at last the mystery of the lost great-uncle is solved. Again very many thanks from us all.

C. Scott, USA:
Again, thank you for your assistance. I would not have been able to find any of this without your help.

J. Wilson, Australia:
Thank you so much for your work. We are delighted to be able find out what happened to the family who went to South Africa, they have been a mystery to us.

J. Swart, South Africa:
Many, many thanks Anne. I can’t believe all the detail you managed to obtain. I would definitely want to make further use of your services again.

B. Cherry, South Africa:
Thank you for this valuable information. I love your work!

R. Carr, South Africa:
I do not know where you get so much detail in such a short time. You are unbelievable!

S. Goldstone, USA:
I have used the services of Anne for genealogy research in South Africa. She is very competent, very professional and inexpensive. She found the person I was searching for in addition to many papers (death, estate, spouse, etc).

B. Wilson, Canada:
I have been dealing with Anne on and off for the past 10 months. I was a little apprehensive, expecting her rates to be commensurate with her obvious status in the genealogy community. But my worries were for naught. She’s forever doing little & big favours without charge and passing along free, useful info from her extensive knowledge and experience. When it comes to invoicing, there have never been any “surprises”. I have always known pretty well how much I was committing for.

P. Mellet, South Africa:
In terms of the brief which I provided to Anne, she did a sterling job in a reasonable time at a reasonable cost. Anne understands the archival systems and has access to the archival systems in South Africa. She seems to be able to get hold of any document. There are no guarantees, but Anne probably does a better job than most, and certainly will deliver on what she sets out to do.

G. Howe, USA:
I have been using Anne’s research service for about 4 months. She has been most professional finding a great deal of info that I previously did not know existed. In addition her rates are most reasonable.

J. Lindesay, Australia:
I used Anne’s services to try to locate information about my family in South Africa. She is obviously knowledgeable and was able to find and provide copies of a number of wills and divorce papers. This took a while, but I was delighted with the material I received, it was great and has helped me a lot.

J. Morris, South Africa:
I am absolutely overwhelmed with your findings… thank you, thank you, thank you… I am just so grateful.

R. Enstrom, Australia:
The information received was rather an emotional time for us (happy emotions) as in the 68 and a half years of his life he never knew the name of his biological mother. You have been so tremendous in your find. Many, many thanks and much appreciation.

C. Schafer, England:
I would like to say well done, I’m so amazed, you are spot on. Those really are my father’s details you have found. MJ is indeed my grandmother. This is really interesting stuff!

D. Charles, England:
A million thanks for the information. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to at last place my paternal grandfather in South Africa.

A. Chandler, South Africa:
Thank you so much for this information – it has been very useful and you are spot on! Brilliant.

S. Botha, South Africa:
I want to thank you for the information you presented at Potchefstroom. I was able to solve a 100-year riddle in my family because of this info! I was able to find three generations of the stamvader in South Africa, in the Netherlands. Now I know his origins and his family. Thanks a million for sharing your insights with us.

L. R-Platts, Australia:
Thank you so very much for your professional and prompt response to my request. Contact has updated me. Once again, thanks a million! I am recommending you to a friend trying to contact an old friend. God Bless you for your help.

D. Jones, Australia
Thank you most sincerely for the excellent service you have provided. We have completed a task that was undertaken in the 1960s without success. We all look forward to embracing our extended family.

A. Paynton, USA
I am speechless! Grateful! Printing all of this most wonderful information. Mom will be very grateful to you as well, and since she is now 75 years old, she was hoping to go to South Africa one last time, knowing more. You have accomplished this for us, and we are eternally grateful!

Please contact me should you be interested in researching your family history.