Services & prices
Research in France only. Prices shown up front, in your currency. You pay the full price only for what is found.
Founding clients: of places left. Your research plan is offered, and full transcription and translation are included for every record in your tree. In exchange, you write a detailed testimonial (your honest opinion) and let me publish an anonymized report of your search. Same prices as below.
Every request is checked free of charge. Send me what you know: if the registers exist and I can take your search on, I tell you so within 48 hours, before you pay anything.
Every record is read, transcribed, translated — then read again, line by line, before it reaches you.
Found My French Ancestor — one record
I search for one record in the French registers: a birth, a marriage or a death. Most people start with a birth record, because it names both parents: the key to going back one more generation.
Transcription and English translation included — often sold separately elsewhere.
| Record | What it usually tells you | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Birth or baptism | Date and place, father and mother, sometimes godparents and grandparents | |
| Marriage | Both spouses, their ages and occupations, often the parents of both | |
| Death or burial | Date and place, age, sometimes the spouse and parents |
- Found: you pay the price above and receive the record, its full transcription and an English translation.
- Not found: nothing to pay.
- Search completed within 5 days from the start date.
Found My French Ancestors — several generations
I start from your ancestor, the one who left France, then go back generation after generation, as far as you choose. Two ways to do it:
- Paternal line: the father and his wife at each generation, following the family name. 2 ancestors per generation.
- Full generations: every ancestor of each generation: 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents…
Full transcription and English translation included for your starting ancestor and their parents. Every other record in your tree: add it for .
For every ancestor found, you receive the image of the record and an English summary sheet: name, dates, places, parents and archive reference.
| Generation | Ancestors paternal / full | Per ancestor found |
|---|---|---|
| Parents | 2 / 2 | |
| Grandparents | 2 / 4 | |
| Great-grandparents | 2 / 8 | |
| 2× great-grandparents | 2 / 16 | |
| 3× great-grandparents | 2 / 32 | |
| 4× great-grandparents | 2 / — | |
| 5× great-grandparents | 2 / — |
| Options and fees | Price |
|---|---|
| Full transcription and English translation of another record (beyond your ancestor and their parents) | |
| Add marriage records (per couple found) | |
| Add death records (per ancestor found) | |
| Ancestor searched but not found (research fee, instead of the full price) |
- If I have no French record to start from, the first step is your ancestor's birth record, at the one-record price.
- If an ancestor cannot be found, I do not search further back on that branch, so you never pay for searches that cannot succeed.
- The request form shows your exact maximum price as you choose.
- Larger orders (from ) can be paid in 3 payments with no fees.
Research plan — when information is missing
Every complete request (town and year known) is checked free of charge. But when the town or the date is missing, I first need to study your clues: American census, naturalization papers, passenger lists, family stories… That is the research plan.
You get a clear answer:
- Is a search possible? Which registers could hold your ancestor, and whether they survive and can be consulted.
- What you can hope to find: which kinds of records exist for that place and period (parish, civil, military, maritime…) and what they usually tell (parents, trades, witnesses, signatures…).
- How far back you could realistically go, and where I would start.
| Research plan (deducted from your next order, if placed within 30 calendar days of my reply) |
The research plan does not reveal any research result: it tells you what is possible and how I would go about it. Its price is deducted from your next order, if placed within 30 calendar days of my reply; if the search turns out to be impossible, it is kept.
For example: if I send you your research plan on 5 March, it is deducted from any order placed until 4 April. My reply includes a link to order straight away.
Extras and gifts
- The town and its region in those days: the history of the place where your ancestor lived, its trades, its church, the events of the time. Price on quote: a small village and Paris are not the same story.
- Give it as a gift: if the record is found, I email it directly to the person of your choice, with your message. If nothing is found, only you hear from me.
What I need to accept a search
- The town (or parish) in France.
- The year, within 5 years.
- The ancestor's surname, a given name and their sex; for a marriage, the name of the spouse.
- Registers that exist and can be consulted for that place and period. Some were destroyed by wars or fires; I check before you pay.
For several generations, I need a French record to start from, or serious clues. I may decline a request if I do not think it can succeed.
Research is carried out in France only.
Your country isn't listed? Request a quote.
Prices are shown for the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the euro area. If you live elsewhere, start with a research plan, paid in euros: I tell you whether the search is possible and send you a quote in euros.