FAMILY HISTORY
When it comes to family history, one size doesn’t fit all – especially with a Jewish family. The narratives of our Jewish ancestors’ lives defy easy answers or generalisation. Researching migrants with mutable identities is a distinct discipline. The normal rules of genealogy don’t necessarily apply.
Each of our projects is unique and personalised to your requirements. What is common to each is a dedication to providing you with a joined up experience, to help bring the past to life.
Working with a few clients at a time enables us to go on a journey with you, to tell you not just the basic facts of your ancestors lives but their stories too. We will bring in specialists and experts in their fields to illuminate the context of your forebears’ lives, their struggles, their triumphs and their tragedies.
All our packages are underpinned by a minimum of 5 hours’ genealogical research. We mainly research Ashkenazi families but research some Sephardi families with roots in London, too.
At the beginning of the project we will discuss your desired outcomes and tailor our research accordingly. While research is ongoing, you will be given access free of charge to a working copy of your family tree on Ancestry.com and copies of family records.
We can deliver our findings as a simple, narrative report or face-to-face, giving you the opportunity to ask questions, and help interpreting old records and handwriting.
As part of this service we can provide:
Translation services (Russian, Polish, Yiddish, Hebrew and many more)
Personal consultations either face-to-face or by Zoom/ Skype
Family tree charts and scrolls
Family tree books
Personalised tours of London’s Jewish East End showing you places where your ancestors lived, worked, played and worshipped in the context of the history and landmarks of the area
Holocaust research
Tracing living relatives
Suggested itineraries for heritage trips to your ancestral towns (family addresses, sites of local significance, regional archives and repositories). By arrangement, we may also be able to accompany you and coordinate your trip.
Contacts for guides, researchers, specialists and translators.
Countries Covered
We carry out research regularly in the following areas: United Kingdom & Ireland, USA & Canada, Poland & the former Russian Empire (Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Estonia), France, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Austria, Czech Republic & the former Austro-Hungarian Empire (Galicia), Israel, Egypt, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. If you don’t see a country listed, please ask as we may still be able to help.
Projects are priced on an individual basis according to the scope and scale of the work required. Please get in touch to discuss your project.
Please get in touch for pricing details.
“The Jews are not a historical people. And not even an archaeological people, the Jews are a geological people with rifts and collapses and strata and fiery lava. Their history must be measured on a different scale.”
— Yehuda Amichai