Having spent almost 20 years researching personal histories and relationships of deceased family members and strangers, I have traveled half the country visiting courthouses, libraries, and graveyards, become proficient at searching online repositories of primary sources and historical documents, such as Ancestry, FamilySearch, Fold3, GenealogyBank, Newspapers, etc., collected a library of older print sources, and used that information to recreate accurate, verifiable family histories for many satisfied customers. I have become proficient in interpreting primary documents such as U.S. Census records, death certificates, federal military records, etc. Some of the highlights of my experience include:
- being hired as a freelancer writer to write multiple factual, primary source-backed articles for Ancestry.com.
- being accepted into the membership of multiple lineage societies based on my verifiable research, including: Sons of the American Revolution, General Society of the War of 1812, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, and the Pulaski County Historical Society
- being commissioned a Kentucky Colonel in 2013 in part to recognize my efforts in furthering the preservation of histories of Hart County, Kentucky, and surrounding counties through my family history research.
- satisfactorily completing 40+ paid research requests into the family histories of complete strangers through my six-year-old freelancing gig, with a 4.9 out of 5.0 rating.
Here are just a few of the many positive testimonials from clients of that gig:
“Very efficient and thorough research! Thanks!” -maddy163 (February 2018)
“Integrity, speed and thorough methodology. A real gem.” -susanhendrich (June 2016)
“Awesome work! He found things nobody else could and kicked down bricks walls others said were blocks in my ancestry research. I was told several times nothing could be found but he proved them all wrong! I’m amazed! Fast service, kind responses, and over all superb experience! Excellent!” -hunlbaybe (April 2016)
“Absolutely outstanding–was provided more specific information about my ancestors than I had found in 42 years of personal research. Simply, the best researcher I’ve ever been associated with!” -windjoe1 (June 2014)
“Wow, simply amazing stuff. Lucky to have stumbled upon your profile and offering.” -tmc1976dc1 (March 2014)
“This is a very knowledgeable seller. A genealogist has to be a trustworthy person — you give them your personal info! With just the basic gig, he found stuff that I had not, even with hours of search. I recommend him highly.” -colonel (March 2014)
- Here is a couple of additional recommendations I have received:
“Randal assisted numerous people in their personal genealogical research, thereby helping them discover their family history. He is diligent and professional, and leaves no stone unturned in his research. A definite asset to anyone wanting to learn more about themselves and their own family histories.” -Scott Brown
“Randal is meticulous in his work as a genealogist and as a historian. He understands the need for true documentation of results and strives to incorporate this documentation into the re-emerging historical facts, in essence the story, being revisited. He has the ability to use a wide variety of genealogical tools including traditional paper-trail genealogy and can use new and emerging techniques useful in genetic genealogy efforts as well. He has a solid knowledge of available genealogical resources and can blend family history into the context of the time and place being explored. I always enjoy working with Randal.” -John F. Smeltzer
While anyone can search the internet, not everyone has the proficiency in research skills, understanding of primary and other historical sources of information, access to offline resources and online subscription databases, and years of experience to efficiently uncover information about the past.
Discover more of your family tree! Visit my genealogy research gig here.
Writing Matters 