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 Genlighten.com
You can 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. Genlighten lets you authorize payment in advance through a secure checkout system and makes it easy for you to track your requests.
So, what kind of research can I do for you?
Please note: I will begin taking requests for custom research again starting in January.
Time permitting, I can take on custom research projects in the Chicago area. 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.