INDEPENDENT FAMILY-HISTORY RESEARCH
A focused, affordable place to move your research forward.
Sidney King is an independent family-history researcher with more than 20 years of experience researching his own family. He offers practical help with historical records, source review, research organization, and focused questions about deceased people. Communication is available by email, telephone, or optional video chat. He is not certified or accredited and does not promise that every question can be answered.
Introductory services and prices
Research consultation · $40
A one-hour telephone or video conversation to review your question, discuss what you already know, and identify practical next steps.
Focused research block · $140
Up to four hours devoted to one person or one specific research question, including research and analysis, a research log, record copies or links, and a short findings summary.
Additional research
Additional work is $35 per hour and begins only after written approval. Any document, archive, copying, admission, or other research expense also requires advance approval.
What you can request
- A focused record search for a deceased person
- Review and organization of research you already have
- Help identifying useful records, archives, and next steps
- Research involving Virginia courthouses, archives, libraries, cemeteries, and historical societies
Services not currently offered
DNA interpretation, adoption searches, locating living people, forensic or heirship research, legal proof, citizenship applications, and guaranteed family trees are outside the present service. Please do not send Social Security numbers, passwords, payment information, identity documents, or sensitive information about living people.
How it works
- Submit the private request form below.
- Sidney reviews the question and decides whether it fits his experience and availability.
- You receive a written scope, price, expected deliverables, and any proposed expenses.
- Paid work begins only after both sides agree. Research time includes planning, searching, analysis, documentation, and report preparation.
Research has limits: Paying for time does not guarantee that a requested person, record, relationship, or answer will be found. Negative searches and unresolved evidence will be documented honestly.
Request family research help
This is an inquiry, not a purchase or contract. Describe one focused historical question so Sidney can determine whether he can help.