Do you ever wonder about your "Family Tree"? Who were your ancestors, and how did they live? How far back does your grandfather’s line go in the "Old Country"? What events shaped their lives? And how do those events continue to shape yours to this day?

Is your law firm seeking a missing heir?

Or, maybe you’re considering giving the gift of genealogical research to a loved one as a special present to mark a special occasion.

Whatever your interest, we can meet your needs and take care of your research for you - including those "dead end brick walls" that so many family historians bring to our service to resolve.

Touchstone uses a wide variety of sources to fill in the blanks of your family’s history. These sources include, among others:

• Census Enumerations

  Census records (enumerations) are possibly one of the most valuable keys to genealogical research. In the United States, state and county vital records (birth, death and marriage) were not maintained until 1900 - 1920 (depending on the state). Therefore, short of other records (church, cemetery, newspaper notices, etc.) one must rely on census records.

  Federal census enumerations in the U.S. started in the colonies in the year 1790. There has been an enumeration every ten years since then. (Most of the 1890 census records were destroyed in a fire.) State census records are on the off years (1855, 1865, 1875, etc.) and were conducted on an as-needed basis.

• Military (including medical, land grants, service records, mustering, etc.)

  Military records can provide information that is often fascinating (and puts meat to the bones of names and dates) as well as vital to researching the life of a soldier and other participants in our military history (medics, chaplains, etc.). Records also provide information on death, land grants (often used in early military history as a form of payment), mustering in and out dates, etc. We research all US military records up to and including World War I.

• Social Security

  Records on death benefits paid can be obtained through our service. This information not only confirms a date and place of death - but also the recipient(s) of benefits and address of benefit mailing where applicable. (These records can also frequently verify birth information.)

• Probate

  Probate ("wills") records cannot be underestimated in their importance. Not only do they verify the place and date of an individual’s death, but they also serve to define his/her survivors (of course, it’s always possible that somebody was "cut out" of a will).

  Probate records also provide an interesting window into a person’s way of life, what they owned and in many cases their "net worth" was listed.

  Wherever necessary, written records (probate, land, etc.) will be transcribed and typed into your report – with modern English translation - should they be written in an older English script or other language that might be difficult to understand for modern readers.

• Land

  Land records help to establish the presence of an individual and/or family in a particular location at a particular time. (Often, no other event - such as birth, marriage, death - may occur in a family for several years making the purchase/sale of land one of the few remaining markers.) With early records one finds that often family (immediate and extended) would tend to buy/sell from other family members. While common surnames don’t prove a familial relationship they serve as a pointer and possible reference for additional research in other areas.

• Religious (Church/Synagogue)

  As stated earlier, in the United States, state and county vital records (birth, death and marriage) were not maintained until 1900 - 1920 (depending on the state). Census records provide important information to fill this gap. Even more important, however, would be church, synagogue (mosque, etc.) records as very specific information was maintained during milestones in ones life (birth, baptism, bar/bat mitzvah, marriage, death, etc.).

  Religious records are superior in areas wherein families would remain for one or more generations. Some Church/Synagogue records go back generations (in Europe, they often go back for three or more centuries for the same family line).

• Civil (Death, Marriage, Birth)

  Once the government started the maintenance of civil records (often duplicating other local and family records) they developed a more specific form of archiving/retrieval and maintenance. This has greatly facilitated genealogical research. Much of this information is now available through electronic databases (which we can access in minutes), and what isn’t available electronically is nearly always available on hundreds of millions of rolls of microfilm (which we also access).

Methodology

Our Full Genealogical Research Study will include:

• A Fully Annotated Report. A professional, documented and annotated report produced on CD/DVD and sent to you via Certified Mail.

  As we pursue your research goals, you will be regularly updated as to our research progress.

  At the end of the research period (this may range from as little as 10 to 20 hours, to 40 hours or more of research) you will receive a report detailing and defining which records were researched for your family and what was found therein.

  Your report (typically ten pages or more, single spaced) will be provided to you in digital format; a CD/DVD will be sent to you via Certified Mail to assure its safe and timely arrival, and will also be made available to you for download from the client section of our website.

• Digital Document Scan.

  You’ll receive photo-reproduction quality 300 DPI high resolution digital scans of records (applicable census, military, probate, land, church, etc.).

  There are a few services out there that have been proven to be fraudulent in nature. We feel that you deserve the best service available at a cost lower than most of our competitors. The best includes digital scans of all documents found on your ancestors. It’s also exciting for you to see, for yourself, digital images of the pages which have documented the lives, travels, joys and sorrows of your ancestors.

  Few things are as exciting as seeing your great-great-grandfather’s signature, or the ship’s passenger list showing your 5th great-grandmother’s voyage from the "Old Country.” Perhaps your interest lies more in joining the Mayflower Society, Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, or a Civil War descendants group. We can provide all the necessary document proof for these as well!

  Some documents are very old and faded (barring other misfortunes such as water damage or exposure to the elements). We provide the best, 300 DPI digital scan to enhance such imaging.

• Pedigree ("Family Tree") Charts

  Pedigree ("Family Tree") charts will be included in digital format, starting with you (or your children/grandchildren, if you so desire). Remember, you are the beginning of your own genealogical records!

• Family Group Sheets for all individuals with documented notes (Digital Format)

  Family Group Sheets will also be generated for every family located in your ancestry, starting with you (or your children/grandchildren, if you so desire). Where applicable, each Family Group Sheet contains notes which reference the source of the information listed for each parent/child. The Pedigree Charts and Family Group Sheets are made available to you in digital format so that you, your children and grandchildren may enjoy them for many, many years to come. You can post this information to your own family’s website, and make them available to your remote, newly identified cousins!

• Ancestral File Submission of data to genealogy database.

  True genealogical research is a lifelong pursuit. You will be excited when close and distant cousins who are also doing research start contacting you so that you can share information. You can easily be found once you are listed within a database which is utilized by others researching a common ancestral line. We list you automatically. (If you would prefer that your name, address and/or telephone number remain confidential, all you have to do is to advise us of that desire and we will submit this data for others to build on without listing you as a contact.)

• Computer GEDCOM File

  Each client receives a GEDCOM file of their genealogy research results. GEDCOM is a common format used by nearly every commercial, and most "shareware,” genealogical programs for the sharing and distribution of information and data without the need for "conversions"! We’ll even include information on where you can download a free, quality GEDCOM software that you can use to read, maintain and add to your family’s GEDCOM file.

• Superior Service at a low fee.

  As stated earlier, we feel that you deserve the best service available at a cost lower than most of our competitors.

Initial Retainer and Fees

Our genealogical service retainer includes three (3) hours of preliminary investigation into your family’s history. We will determine what records are available for your search, and if any of your ancestral line may be found therein. This initial fee is for the time and research identifying the name of your ancestors within these records, databases (IGI, Ancestral File, Social Security, Military) and indices (land, military, tax, census, etc.). Touchstone will also produce a Preliminary Genealogical Report in which we will inform you of records with a strong potential for information on your direct ancestors, as well as our recommendations for further genealogical research. Likewise, if we feel that full research would not be to your advantage, we will so advise in the report, and give you our recommendations and advice for other avenues you might wish to pursue.

At the completion of your order, be sure to download the Instruction Sheet from the link provided. Thank you!