HiringGen

	HIRING A GENEALOGIST

	If you are interested in exploring your family history you have several options. It is all a question of how much of your own time you want to invest. The cost of a genealogist may well average out with the costs of doing it yourself if you include on-line subscriptions, training and travel. The bigger question is whether you enjoy developing a new area of expertise and the research it entails. There are three basic models for how you can approach genealogy. The first is to do it yourself. If this is the route you would like to explore, begin by familiarizing yourself with key websites such as Jewishgen.org and Ancestry.com. Jewishgen teaches an introductory class in Jewish genealogy that is a good starting point. You can access a free version of Ancestry.com at your local library or make the investment in a membership for your first year of research. Many records can be located on-line, but others will require corresponding with or visiting a specific locality. You may want to consider attending the annual conference of the IAJGS to learn more about the many aspects of Jewish genealogy and then doing a trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. I have also found that some familiarity with Cyrillic Russian and Hebrew is useful so you may want to explore local classes. The second approach is one that relies upon a genealogist as a coach. Under this model you do the more time-intensive research, but draw on a genealogist to guide you in the right direction. Guidance can include how to search and where to search so that your efforts are more efficient. This is the value you also gain when you hire a genealogist to do your search for you. An experienced genealogist knows the information that can be found in each source, how to locate the information and how different sources connect. That knowledge can allow them to quickly leapfrog between documents to find the critical piece of information that unlocks the next level of information. This model acknowledges the fact that while expertise will allow you to search more efficiently, genealogy research is painstaking and often time-consuming with no guarantees. You may prefer to spend your time doing the routine searching and draw on a seasoned genealogist for guidance. The third approach is one of hiring an experienced genealogist to do your searching for you. This approach (as well as coaching) will require you to provide as much information as a starting point as possible. In all cases you will want to talk with family members to glean anything they know about your family history. The experienced genealogist can develop a research plan to address your search in as efficient a manner as possible. Knowledge and experience allows the trained genealogist to make linkages that an inexperienced person would likely miss. Anyone who you hire should provide you with scans of records and an organized document that identifies what they have searched and what they have located. While hiring someone increases your chances of locating records that exist, keep in mind that they will also expend time eliminating certain avenues of inquiry. You may find yourself employing a combination of these approaches, hiring a researcher who has access to certain locales, while doing your own research with some coaching as necessary. Whatever approach (es) you choose, you will find this to be an exciting and fascinating journey.