For the person who wants to research her family more thoroughly and can’t get to Western Sydney to find the records she needs. Records available include probate, deceased estate (or death duties), intestate estates, inquests, immigration, convicts, divorces, bankruptcies and insolvencies, Colonial Secretary's correspondence, land records related to primary applications and conditional purchases, and many others.

Two hours research including a maximum of 40 pages of photocopies from State Records NSW at Kingswood. If you can supply the references of the records you need I can spend more of the available time researching them.

For the person who has everything but knowledge about where he/she came from! Give the gift of personal family history research!

A voucher for a number of hours of professional research can make an unusual and much-appreciated gift. Whether a complete novice or an experienced researcher there is always more to learn about your family history.

The simple facts of birth, marriage and death can be complemented with the "meat" of family history - how our ancestors arrived, worked, lived, and died; what they owned, who their neighbours were, what they read in the local paper, and all the other details that turn names on a chart into real people.

You will receive a gift voucher that the recipient can redeem for the number of research hours selected. Research that leads to records outside of NSW will be negotiated before commencement.

If the recipient has already done some research then that must be examined first to avoid redoing it. Examination of previous research materials will be deducted from the total hours. Let a professional have a go at it!

Minimum 3 hours research, including analysis of previous materials. Postage and photocopies are extra and can't be determined until research is completed but may be deducted from the total if requested.

As a guide to what may be accomplished within a specific number of hours:

3 hours is usually enough to fully analyse a large amount of research and suggest next steps, or can start a new family tree with a couple of generations in a few branches within NSW (certificates may need to be purchased).

5 hours may allow analysis of previous research and some preliminary research, or start a new tree with a couple more generations in a few branches within NSW (certificates may need to be purchased).

10 hours can make a substantial start on a new family tree (certificates will almost certainly need to be purchased).

20 hours can build a small family tree, and perhaps create a CD or website containing the results. Certificates will almost certainly need to be purchased.

30 hours can build a small family tree and put some detail other than basic birth, death and marriage dates on some of the ancestors involved.

Find out what land your ancestor owned, how much it cost, and when it was bought, sold and mortgaged.

If your ancestors owned property in New South Wales in the 1800s you can get a more detailed picture of their geographic movements and financial position over time.

The ownership of land has long been an indicator of wealth and status, and even of eligibility to vote until the mid-1800s. Land records show where the land was, what it was used for, who owned it before and who it passed to.

Records of land in NSW are held in the NSW Department of Lands in Sydney (previously the NSW Land Titles Office), although some have been moved to State Records NSW. Land research at the NSW Lands Department and State Records NSW is complex and time-consuming but well worth the effort.

If farming land was bought through Conditional Purchase the records will be at State Records NSW. Research into the associated correspondence can reveal the original application form, signed by your ancestor, and show the improvements he made to meet the conditions of the purchase.

The minimum research period is three (3) hours. Initial research will include a search of all relevant indexes at the Lands Department and a report of what was found with recommendations for further research.