Consultation

Most often times, people will contact me after they have run into a snag in their own research, or there is a problem that involves an enrollment or dis-enrollment dispute with a tribe that may center on any number of genealogical factors. The first part of a consultation is a file review. I take a copy of the research conducted by the client and/or tribe, then review it to determine what the heart of the problem is before outlining what I believe is the least labor intensive and inexpensive solution to best resolve the issue. This will be provided to you in a written format, which specifies the records and repositories that these records may best be researched given my experience and knowledge. 

Obviously, the issue of confidential materials comes up quite a bit in this type of work. Most typically a confidential material is something like a record of birth, a marriage record, or a social security number. Any number of documents that genealogists work with every single day are full of confidential information that most people understandably do not want made public. For example, I can not walk into a records office and request a copy of a birth record for an individual, unless I am the person named on the birth record, or the parent of a child named on the birth record. In order to protect the security of identity and ensure record integrity, the State of Michigan Public Health Code (MCL 333.2895) prohibits public disclosure of the confidential information contained in Vital Records (birth, death, and marriage). 

The Avery Genealogical Database has thousands of native lineages that are traced up to the 1950's. Being that is the last Federal Census to be released. That means for me to trace your lineage using the database, we would need records that I cannot legally obtain and must be provided to me by the client. Typically speaking, this is two or three generations of your lineage. 

These records are entered into the Avery Genealogical Database by transcribing the information provided in each record into the genealogical database. When I first began doing this type of work, clients would typically make a paper copy of all the materials that they had and would provided them to me in person or via the mail. Today, most clients have all of their records digitized and provide them via a link they send in an email. I can do whatever is the easiest for you. Once the materials have been added to the genealogical database they are either returned to the clients, or are destroyed. I do not keep any physical or digital files of the materials provided to me by my clients. I can't afford to maintain the storage of that many materials, either physically or digitally.

A minimum retainer for this type of review is $400.00 for 8 hours of work, or $50.00 per hour. This rate is only for individuals who have authorized the release of their confidential materials, which are not otherwise available publicly, for use in the Avery Genealogical Database and does not reflect the hourly rate associated with projects that involve Indian Tribes as clients. Clients that authorize the release and use of their confidential materials strengthen the Avery Genealogical Database as well as share in the wealth of information from their various relations.  I have had people in the past who were concerned that their private information would somehow be used to steal their identity and they therefore chose not to authorize the release and use of their confidential information in the database, which is fine. But I can also honestly say that in thirty-two years of doing this type of work for thousands of people, that I have never had a single person contact me because their identity was stolen or compromised in some way by the genealogical reports I have produced. The simple fact of the matter is that anyone can go on-line and purchase literally every bit of information about your entire life for $15. That being said, no one is going to hire a genealogist for a minimum cost of $400.00 so that they can steal a sibling's, or an aunt's, or an uncle's identity. It's never happened yet. The reports produced for clients are Ahnentafel (genealogical numbering system for listing a person's direct ancestors in a fixed sequence of ascent), which only includes confidential information for the person the report is generated for, that person's siblings, aunt's, uncle's, grandparent's and so on in a lineal fashion. Genealogical clients that authorize the release of their confidential materials also benefit from the constant addition of new information to the database and the yearly updated reports that are offered to previous clients.

The rate for genealogical research for individuals who do not authorize the use of their confidential materials, which are not otherwise available publicly, is $1,600.00 for 8 hours of work, or $200.00 per hour. This rate is only for individuals who have not authorized the release of their confidential materials, which are not otherwise available publicly, for use in the Avery Genealogical Database and does not reflect the hourly rate associated with projects that involve Indian Tribes as clients. The higher rate of this work is due to the fact that we must first make a copy of the entire genealogical database prior to entering the information provided in your confidential materials, which is then privatized prior to providing it to you and then finally destroyed following the completion of the agreement. This is typically involves a third person to ensure the process is adhered to properly. Another downside to this non-release type of review is that you do not benefit from yearly updated reports that are offered to former genealogical clients who have authorized the release of their confidential materials; and if it were necessary to revisit the research, or conduct new research on the same lineage, we would have to charge you to complete the work already done the first time because we did not retain the materials from the previous research. All things to consider. 

This type of consultation is absolutely dependent on the scope of the work. If for instance you just need to know what an Ojibwa name means, that's a simpler task than say translating every single Ojibwa name on a historical tribal roll, or developing a language curriculum or curriculum support materials for a school or daycare environment. The scope and depth required for this type of consultation varies to greatly to just put an hourly rate on, but this is absolutely something that I am just as passionate about and would love assisting you with.