oldenburg-l - Nachricht 2008-04 00017

[mstulken <mstulken(a)wi.net>]

Perhaps this will give some perspective.  I once hired a professional
genealogy company in the US.  They had very convincing ads, published
articles in genealogy magazines and apparently had good credentials.  I
gave them a considerable amount of information up front and asked them to
pursue things in Germany—not to go there; just write letters in German to
the appropriate offices, etc., since my German is so limited.  They
reshuffled the information I gave them, added some census records that I
already had but which were beside the point, and told me they had written
the German letters, but there were no copies included in their report. 
The final report was the most elegant example of saying nothing I've ever
seen.  My bill?  over $600!

On the other hand, there's a woman who researches the records in a church
in Oldenburg who some years ago sent me several generations of one of my
ancestral lines.  She asked only that I send what I thought was right.  I
sent her $300 and considered it a great bargain.

Since then, I've hired other research in Germany and have always
considered it to be a good value.

When I spend money on genealogy, I always say, "Well, I don't have any
other vices."  :-)

Marilyn


> Richard,
>
> That's probably on par with what I paid for similar research a while
> back, but that included some travel expenses as well.  Consider the
> number of requests that they probably get.  It's not like a 150 or 200
> year old church here in the States.  There's a lot more records to go
> through, there older and therefore harder to read, and there's so much
> more history there that the requests from descendants who're spread all
> over the world by now are probably endless.
>
> Also consider the cost and difficulty for you to go to Germany and do
> the research yourself.  That's what finally convinced me to go ahead and
> pay for it after about 9 or 10 months of contemplating.
>
> Just my 2 cents.
>
> RICHARD L SCHINDALL wrote:
>> Annette,
>>             Thanks for your reply. When you furnish them the name, date
>> of birth, Marriage date, and parish and the person works for
>> the church in the parish
>> involved. 35 Euro or $55.00 US dollars is an exhorborante rate,sorry.
>> Either they're dyslectic or just wear a
>> mask............................R.L. Schindall
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