Family Tree Construction

Turn names, stories and scattered records into a carefully researched account of how your family connects

$695

Building a Documented Family Tree

Whether you begin with a few names or years of research, tracing your family’s connections starts with the records behind them.

Online family trees offer useful clues, but mistakes and unsupported claims can spread as users copy from one another. I apply academic rigour: seeking original records and primary sources wherever possible, assessing their reliability, comparing evidence and documenting conclusions. This takes longer than accepting an online match, but produces findings that can withstand scrutiny, often revealing people, circumstances and details richer than the family legend.

This service builds or extends an agreed branch of your family tree. I review your information and previous research, search historical records and compare names, dates, places and relationships. You receive a tree showing supported connections, a written report and source references, with gaps and uncertainties identified and recommendations for further research.

What your Family Tree includes:

Your family history deserves a presentation that reflects its significance. Your tree and report are beautifully presented and easy to explore, so your family can enjoy the discoveries and follow the story. Together, they create an attractive record to revisit, share with relatives and pass on.

Your Family Tree
An elegantly arranged chart showing the people and relationships established within the agreed branch. Names, key dates and places are presented clearly, with uncertain connections distinguished from those supported by the records.

Your Research Report
A carefully written and beautifully presented account of the findings, explaining who was identified, how the relationships were established and what the records reveal about their lives. The report brings the discoveries together in a story your relatives can follow, even if they have never researched the family themselves.

Sources and References
Clearly organised references connect the findings to their supporting records, allowing you to revisit the evidence. Gaps, conflicting information and relevant unsuccessful searches are documented so the research can be understood and continued.

Recommendations for Further Research
Practical suggestions identify the questions still open and the most useful avenues to explore next, whether you continue independently or commission further work.

Your tree and report are delivered digitally and in hard copy as a coordinated collection, bringing the research and its presentation together in a finished piece of family history you can be proud to share.

Your Family Tree Construction Package

Up to 12 hours of research
$695

Your package brings together a beautifully presented family tree and an engaging written family history, supplied as both a digital file and hard copy. The report connects your ancestors’ names and relationships with the places, occupations and circumstances documented in the research, giving your family a richer understanding of the people behind the tree.

Source references and copies of key supporting records let you explore the evidence yourself. The report clearly explains the findings, identifies uncertain connections and recommends directions for further research. An included GEDCOM file lets you continue building your tree in compatible genealogy software.

Your chosen branch or family group and research priorities are agreed before work begins. The package includes up to 12 hours of research, together with the preparation and presentation of your finished tree and report.

Research draws on libraries, genealogical societies, subscription services and an extensive collection of family and local history resources, with no subscriptions for you to purchase. If these resources cannot verify an important detail and a certificate or other paid record is needed, its purpose and cost will be explained for your approval before purchase. Additional records are charged at cost.

Follow your research as it happens

Your client portal gives you access to research notes and project updates as work progresses. Follow emerging discoveries, see the avenues being investigated and understand how the evidence is coming together.

If a research trail becomes exhausted or a different direction looks more promising, the options are discussed with you before a significant change is made. Any additional research or paid record purchases require your approval.

Your Questions, Answered

  • A known relative’s name, an approximate date or a place connected with your family can provide a starting point. Certificates, photographs, family stories and previous research are also useful.

    You do not need to organise everything or resolve conflicting details before enquiring. Your starting information is reviewed first to establish what can usefully be investigated.

  • Yes. The research can extend an existing branch or examine connections you are unsure about. Previous research and its supporting sources are reviewed so the project builds on useful work already completed and avoids unnecessary duplication.

    If a relationship needs correcting or further investigation, the report explains why.

  • There is no fixed generation target. Research follows your agreed branch, working from known relatives towards earlier generations and checking each connection against the evidence.

    The extent of the tree depends on the surviving records, the complexity of the relationships and what can be established within the research allowance.

  • Your collection includes a beautifully presented family tree and written family history, supplied digitally and as a bound report in a presentation folder.

    You also receive source references, copies of key supporting records, recommendations for further research and a GEDCOM file for continuing your tree in compatible genealogy software. Postage is additional and confirmed before dispatch.

  • The package includes research using the libraries, genealogical societies, subscription services and reference resources available to Breadcrumbs. You do not need subscriptions of your own.

    If an important detail cannot be verified through these resources, a certificate or other paid record may be recommended. Its purpose and cost are explained for your approval before purchase. Additional records are charged at cost.

  • Other sources and connections are investigated before a research direction is considered exhausted. If there is no promising route forward within the agreed scope, the options are discussed with you. These may include redirecting the remaining research time, waiting for further information or concluding the project.

    Your report explains what was established, what remains uncertain and which searches were unsuccessful, giving future research a clear starting point.

  • Your information, documents and research are used for the agreed project and are not published or used for marketing without separate permission. Information about living people is handled with particular care.

    Your completed family history is delivered privately, and you decide how to share it.

  • Work begins once your research scope is agreed, you have accepted the Terms and Conditions and paid a 50% deposit. The remaining balance is due before delivery of your completed family history.

  • Yes. Your report includes recommendations for further research, and your included GEDCOM file allows you to continue building the tree in compatible genealogy software.

    If you would like Breadcrumbs to undertake more research, the additional scope and price are agreed with you before further work begins.

  • If the available research avenues are exhausted and you choose to conclude rather than redirect the remaining time, your final charge is adjusted to reflect the research undertaken and the preparation and presentation supplied. Any excess payment is refunded.

    The calculation is explained in your research agreement before work starts. If the agreed scope is successfully completed in fewer than 12 hours, the fixed package price remains unchanged.

  • Most projects take approximately 4–6 weeks from the agreed research start date. Your expected timeframe is confirmed before work begins.

    Requested certificates, archive responses or other external delays can affect completion. You will be kept informed, with research notes and progress updates available through your client portal.