Imagine working with a professional historian to produce a compelling essay, book, or website on your family history.

How would it work?

First, I establish my credentials with you.  Once you are satisfied with my bona-fides, we discuss everything you know, everything you don't know, and everything you want to know about your family history.  You describe the story as you understand it, the evidence you've unearthed so far, and how you envision the story being told. 

I pick your brain about the evidence — names and dates, sequences of events, family lore, countries of origin, national cultures, religion, migration paths, family relations, ethnic identities, broader historical contexts — everything.

Armed with this information, we map out a research strategy for finding out what you want to know about your ancestors, and how best to present the information.

Once we agree on the product and a price, I roll up my sleeves and get to work.  Researching, writing, revising, and researching some more, I will transform the documentary traces that your ancestors left behind into a readable story that fleshes them out as real human beings.

There's nothing magical about producing an engagingly written, well-documented family history.  Historians are trained to tell about people's lives as stories — about their accomplishments and adventures, social and family relationships, the social contexts that shaped them, and how they acted in response to the constraints and opportunities of their lives.

With appropriate legal safeguards protecting your privacy, I will work with you to craft a high quality and attractively packaged essay, book, or website that honors and celebrates your ancestors — a gift that you, your family, and your descendents will treasure for generations.

Credentials and Prices

The Ph.D. and writing credentials are real.  The product is real.  So the price is also real, averaging $40 an hour plus expenses (document acquisition, binding and printing, Web domain and setup, etc.).

I'm also flexible about pricing, and about conforming to the end product you have in mind.  Whether you want a short and elegant essay, a long and elaborate book, or a website, I'll tailor the final product to fit your aesthetic.  You determine the nature and scope of the end product, and we'll work together to make that product a reality. 

A Unique Collaboration for a One-of-a-Kind Product

What makes my service unique is that you and a professional historian will collaborate throughout the production process.  You'll know exactly what you're getting, because I'll work with you from beginning to end.   You'll always have a clear idea of what you're paying for, and be sure you're getting the product you want produced. 

The end result will be an enriched understanding of your family's past, and a family heirloom of which you and your loved ones can be justly proud.

An Invitation

Browse our site.  There's a fair amount of original material here, probably more than 1,000 pages altogether (measured in regular old fashioned sheets of paper).  Nose around.  Read the essay on Genealogy and History.  Click to the Documents Pages.  The Introduction to The Awesomely Gripping Saga is also a good place to start.  So is Mike's West Castleton Journal.

Then imagine giving your children or grandchildren a professionally written, handsomely bound, attractively packaged essay or book on your own family history.  Or a fun to read, easy to navigate, and impeccably documented website.

Not inexpensive, but to your descendents, priceless.

Getting in Touch

Please click here to get in touch.  You will be led to a page with an email address.

Thanks and we hope you enjoy the site!