RESEARCH and...
ROAD TRIPS!
Talents & Testimonials
Let's Talk!
Cemetery Road Trips
Forms & Freebies
Midwest Repositories
Sites and Sightings

   ...an innate knack for that needle in a haystack!


Yep -- that's me to the "T" -- the CAPTION and the CARTOON!  If you're on the trail for a hard-working, reasonably-priced Researcher -- you've googled your way to the right site!

This insatiable need to dig and delve began in 1991 -- shortly after I purchased my very first home computer.  A few years ago, upon dedicating over 20 years to one company just to have the rug pulled out from under me -- I decided it was high-time for a career change.  I signed up for a six-week entrepreneurial class, kicked my creative juices into high gear and came up with the perfect job that matches both my talents as well as my tastes.  I formally registered my at-home freelance research business in October, 2007, and I've never looked back.  I'm well on my way to a full-time career by the time I reach retirement age.  Sounds a bit backwards...but, not when I'm spending my waking hours immersed in my two greatest passions -- namely, RESEARCH and ROAD TRIPS.  I'm now doing what I WANT to do -- and not what I HAVE to do!

Small towns and rural communities are my favorite places to tarry when it comes to research excursions.  My little four-cylinder "better-half" just turned nine years old -- and we're very close to celebrating 170,000 miles of pure bliss together!  If you really want to learn of the lives and times of your loved ones, there's no better place to explore than "ye old stompin' grounds."  Each new project I'm blessed with invariably takes me to a different county and another new community to explore, and I've learned many valuable history lessons along the way as well.   My 10x10 office is literally overflowing with memorabilia and artifacts I've gathered from my numerous Midwestern road trips. County museums and rural libraries have held the key to some of my most challenging "brick wall" assignments.  I've actually been able to solve two adoptions with a visit to a local museum!

Country school recordssmall-town news itemschurch records, town and business histories, yearbook photos, hospital records, sexton's cemetery records, probate documents, Old Settler's Minutes, early-day plat maps, farmstead photos, and old phone book listings are priceless works of art to a family historian -- and the family historian-at-heart.  These uniquely personal items may never find their way to the world-wide web and their colorful untold stories are just waiting to be told.  They'd simply love a curious visitor to come along and show them some attention -- someone to tickle their spines and peruse their pages -- and shake the dust from their weary covers. I'd love to satisfy their yearnings -- and yours as well -- LET'S TALK!

With well over 200 genealogical and historical databases at my disposal, I'm fit and fashioned for any research request that comes my way.  Following is a sampling of my products and services:   

  • On-Site and Online Research Assistance
  • Large/Small Family History Projects, including GEDCOM and Formal Genealogical Reports
  • Photocopying and Record Retrieval Services
  • Gravestone, Farmstead, and Homestead Photography
  • Photo Restoration, Digitization and Preservation
  • Photo Calendars, Community Cookbooks, and other Family Media Products
  • Personal History projects, including Hard and Soft-bound Books
  • Audio/Video Personal and Family Productions and Services
  • Community Oral History Projects
  • Family Reunion and Special Event Video Creations
  • Genealogical Consultation and Advisory Services
  • Indexing/OCR Services

For an up-close-and-personal take on some of my past work, please visit my Talents & Testimonials page.