For any of the options below, please email me at (note: this is an image to prevent spam, you will have to type it in to your email program) to arrange research services, tours or any other services. Please check out my Testimonials page for comments from past clients.

Payment for research services is via PayPal in US dollars (or Interac eTransfer for Canadians).

NOTE: A GEDCOM is a genealogy-standard computer file that can be opened using family tree software such as Family Tree Maker or Legacy, or can be uploaded to a family tree website such as Ancestry, Geni or MyHeritage.

Research and Tour Services

I can help you with your Latvian genealogy research, photographs, tours, etc. See the options below, or if you don’t see what you’re looking for, then send me an email and we can discuss it. If you have not received a response within a few days, please leave a comment on any of my posts to let me know, it is possible that an overzealous spam filter prevented me from seeing your email.

Research Starter Package – ideal for getting started in your research and makes a great gift! Family history research is not a precise science, due to many different factors – where a family lived, whether they moved around a lot or stayed in one spot, their ethnicity, their religion, and so on. So it is not possible to provide a very accurate estimate of how long research will take (and thus how much it will cost). Therefore, research can start with this starter pack, so you can get a taste of what is available, and if you want to continue with more research after that, you are more than welcome to!

The starter package provides you with a start to your research plus some nice visuals to go along with it, which can make this a great gift! First, I will conduct eight (8) hours of research for you, using on-site and online resources, and put together a GEDCOM for you with the information. You will also receive copies of documents either by mail or by email, depending on your preference.

Second, I will pay a visit to one of the locations in Latvia that your family was from (you can choose the location if there are several) and take pictures for you of the village, church, other important sights, etc. Then these pictures will also be provided to you via email. All for $299! If you decide you want to continue with more research after that, then we keep going, and you pay in $100 increments, each covering four additional hours of research.

 

Guided Research – Be a part of the process! For $25/hour, starting commitment of $200, we will collaborate on finding your family in the online records available. Your job will be to look through the records for the family names you’re searching for, then send the found information to me, and I will help you piece families together, translate the documents found for your family (and collateral lines, if requested), and provide guidance on the next time periods and places to look through for the next records. This is a good option for you if you want to participate in the research process, while still receiving guidance on what to do and where to look. It is also more economical, since you will be doing the bulk of the searching, and thus only paying for time spent directly on your family. This can be a stepping stone towards further/simultaneous research on-site. We can discuss the details.

 

Self-Guided Tour – Travel Latvia independently and see where your ancestors lived! This service is for $150 per locale. If you are planning a trip to Latvia, I can create an itinerary that will take you to the relevant farms/parishes/landmarks in your ancestors’ stories. Please note: If I make an on-site visit as a part of this process, I will not enter properties or approach current residents. If you decide to do so during your visit to try and find potential relatives or people who might know about them, that is under your own risk and responsibility.

 

Guided Family History Tour – Travel Latvia with me as your guide and see where your ancestors lived! I will act as your family history tour guide for 75€ a day plus expenses (expenses means that if our itinerary involves staying overnight at locations outside of RÄ«ga, you will be paying for my accommodation as well as meals). I will create the itinerary and reserve accommodation (if required). You will be responsible for arranging car rental. If you wish to make the trip using public transportation or bicycles, please let me know and then I will arrange those parts of it. Please note that this is family history specific – while I can certainly provide historical context about different areas, the focus is on your personal family history as it relates to these places. Tours of historical centres in RÄ«ga require a licensed guide, which I am not (though I am looking into such licensing for the future), and if this is part of the itinerary you desire, then I will arrange such a tour for you with a licensed English-speaking guide.