From Family Legend
to Documented History
Every family carries stories.
Some family legends prove remarkably accurate. Others change as they are retold, combine several people or preserve only part of what happened. Even when a story is not entirely correct, it may contain the clue that opens a new path.
Online family trees offer useful clues, but mistakes and unsupported claims can spread as user trees are often unsourced or sourced incorrectly. 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.
Professional research involves distinguishing between people with similar names, testing relationships, comparing sources and placing records in their historical context. This reduces the risk of carrying an incorrect person, date or relationship into the rest of your family history.
Turn family legend into a carefully researched family tree. We trace ancestral lines, verify relationships and build a carefully sourced family tree to preserve and share
$695
Stuck on an ancestor who disappears from the records? We track evidence, test assumptions and find missing links to solve long-held family mysteries
$595
Taken a DNA test but unsure what your matches mean? We turn confusing results into meaningful connections, showing you where the strongest clues lead next
$295
Want to know more about a person than their birth, marriage or death? We search newspapers and specialist records for the stories that add colour and context to a life
$295
Research You Can Understand, Share and Continue
Every research project begins with a clearly agreed question and scope. The resulting report presents the research, evidence and conclusions in clear, accessible language, supported by a record of the sources consulted. Important uncertainties, conflicting evidence and relevant unsuccessful searches are documented honestly, with practical recommendations for where the investigation might lead next.
Accuracy is matched by thoughtful presentation. Your findings are carefully organised and beautifully designed, with close attention to typography, structure, images and supporting records. The result is not simply a technical research document, but a polished piece of family history that is easy to understand, satisfying to revisit and presented in a format you will be proud to preserve and share.
Historical research cannot guarantee a particular discovery. Records may be missing, restricted or contradictory. If a question cannot be resolved, you will still receive a clear account of what was examined, what the available evidence supports and which possibilities remain open. A well-documented negative result prevents the same ground from being searched repeatedly and gives future research a reliable place to continue.
You don’t need an existing family tree
or a perfectly formed question
Begin with the person, photograph, document, DNA match or family story that has left you wondering.
Share the names, approximate dates, places and relationships you already know, along with any family records or previous research you hold. Breadcrumbs will help define a realistic question and guide you towards the most suitable service.
Your first enquiry is obligation-free. You do not need to choose a service before getting in touch.
How Your Research Takes Shape
1. Tell Us What You Want to Discover
Start with a person, family line, mystery or result you would like to understand. Even incomplete information can provide a useful beginning.
2. Agree on the Question and Scope
Breadcrumbs reviews what you already know and identifies assumptions that may need to be tested. The question, scope, price and expected outcome are agreed before work begins.
3. Follow and Test the Evidence
Relevant records and archives are searched, compared and assessed carefully. Names, dates, places and relationships are checked across the available evidence rather than accepted from a single record or online tree.
4. Receive a Clear Account
The findings are explained in plain language, together with the supporting sources, important uncertainties and recommended next steps.
Meet Your Researcher
Every Breadcrumbs family-history project is undertaken personally by founder Benjamin Nicholson.
With membership of the Australian Society of Genealogists and GenealogySA, Benjamin brings 15 years of family-history research experience to each enquiry and is currently undertaking the University of Tasmania’s Diploma of Family History. His continuing study develops his practice in historical research, evidence analysis, source interpretation and the communication of family stories.
You work directly with the person conducting your research, from the first conversation through to the final findings. If an enquiry requires specialist expertise beyond the current scope of Breadcrumbs, this will be explained openly before work proceeds.
What Would You Like to Discover?
Tell us about the person, family line or unanswered question you would like to explore.
You do not need to know which service is right for you. Breadcrumbs will review your starting information and help identify a sensible next step before you commit.
Your Questions, Answered
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No. You can begin with one person, photograph, document, DNA match or family story. Even approximate names, dates and places can provide a useful starting point. We will build your family tree from there.
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You do not need to decide before enquiring. Tell Breadcrumbs what you know and what you hope to discover, and we can talk through the best option for you.
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Share any relevant names, dates, places, relationships, family stories, photographs, documents and previous research you hold. An existing family tree can be helpful, but its relationships will still be checked against available evidence.
It is also useful to know where you have already searched and what you did not find. This helps avoid repeating work when it is not necessary.
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Breadcrumbs can explore the life of a particular person, build a family tree, examine conflicting records, revisit a long-standing brick wall, help find what happened to someone you’ve lost contact with, help you understand DNA test results and more. Simply reach out with your research goals and we can work out the best plan for you.
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No genealogist can guarantee a particular discovery. Records may be missing, restricted, inaccurate or may never have existed.
Breadcrumbs promises a careful investigation within the agreed scope and an honest explanation of what the evidence does and does not establish. Relevant unsuccessful searches are documented so the same ground does not need to be covered again.
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Genealogy research services include a clearly written, evidence-based report and a record of the sources consulted. The report explains the findings, uncertainties and recommended next steps in an accessible and thoughtfully presented format.
The exact deliverables for DNA analysis and other specialised services are explained on their individual service pages and confirmed before work begins.
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Timing depends on the service, the complexity of the question, record availability and whether information must be obtained from an archive or third party.
An expected timeframe will be provided when the scope is agreed. If an external delay affects the project, you will be kept informed.
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Breadcrumbs begins with the extensive resources already available through library memberships, database subscriptions, archives, indexes and published reference material. You receive the benefit of these research resources as part of the agreed service, without needing to maintain the same collection of subscriptions yourself.
A paid certificate, archive reproduction or other record is purchased only when you request it, or when information important to the research cannot be reliably obtained another way. In some cases, an original record may also be needed to confirm or challenge information found in an index or another secondary source.
Before anything is purchased, Breadcrumbs will explain what the record is, why it may be valuable and what it will cost. Every record purchase is checked with you first, and no third-party expense is incurred without your approval.
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Yes. Previous research can provide important clues and prevent unnecessary repetition. Breadcrumbs will review what you have, identify gaps or assumptions and build on reliable findings where the evidence supports them.
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Yes. DNA Results Analysis helps you understand existing consumer DNA results for genealogical and family-history purposes, including the possible meaning of matches and where the strongest research clues may lead.
It does not provide medical, health, diagnostic or paternity advice. Please do not send account passwords or login details with your enquiry.
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Yes. Genealogy research can be combined with the digitisation and preservation of photographs, letters, albums, certificates, diaries and other family records. It can also be combined with Memory Capture to preserve the voices, recollections and first-hand knowledge that give those materials greater meaning.
Bringing these services together can connect documentary evidence with family photographs, personal memories and the stories passed between generations. Each part of the project is clearly scoped and itemised before work begins, and nothing additional is undertaken without your approval.