I have worked as a full time professional continuously since 1976, and have expanded on this vast experience with constant study, review, and continuing education. Because this is how I make my living, and this is the primary source of income for our family of six, it is essential that I produce excellent work. Nothing is sacrificed. I am thorough, accurate, and fully guarantee all of my work -- should my results be disproven by anyone, anytime, I shall cheerfully refund anything you paid for incorrect or inaccurate information.
I can and do provide virtually any type, degree, and extent of genealogical research. I can check a single record, trace an entire ancestry, or take on any sized effort in between.
I travel extensively and
frequently to access needed records. In fact, I doubt that you
will find any researcher with a greater geographical range. Of
course, I work for numerous clients on any given trip, thus
pro-rating -- and greatly reducing -- travel costs for any one
client. Consequently, most of the bill you receive is for my
time, as it should be. Most frequently, I travel throughout
the New England states, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland,West Virginia, Ontario
(including Ottawa), Quebec, and the Canadian Maritimes, as well
as 
the Family History Library in
Salt Lake City -- I am there at least every other month, and
spend one to two weeks at a time. In addition however, I do
travel to any locale in North America where it may be
advantageous, necessary, and cost-effective, as well as many
overseas locations, particularly throughout the British Isles.
(Of course, at Salt Lake, I have access to all manner of records
from virtually any foreign country. Also, if foreign or other
records are needed, and it is not cost-effective for me to access
them personally, I have agents in place on both continents who
can provide additional services as needed.)
In this way, I can personally research, in the appropriate repositories, the gamut of genealogical sources. Furthermore, my depth of experience allows me to be thoroughly familiar with all of these types of records, and how they vary from state to state, and to Canadian province and foreign country.
The records I can search therefore include: Vital (birth, marriage, or death) records, land and probate records, tax records, state and federal censuses, court and naturalization records, ship passenger lists, military and pension records, church records, manuscripts, actual graveyards and/or cemetery records, all variety of published materials, library and society holdings, and much more!
I am
therefore well able to assist you whether your ancestors lived in
one spot or moved about a great deal. Indeed, because I can stay
with a project as the ancestors' activity shifts from one
geographical area to another, I have developed something of a
specialty of dealing with the problems relating to the migration
of families -- a point at which many genealogists become stuck!
While I believe my work is first class, I also believe my fees are reasonable and competitive. $55 per hour is charged for my time and expertise -- below many researchers' current rates. There are also incidental costs which are billed to the client -- primarily copies, and the pro-rated travel costs already mentioned. Finally, there is a very small charge, called an office charge, which pertains to the overhead cost of operating my office. Overall however, most of any bill you receive will be for my time, whereas these other costs are relatively small.
Unfortunately, a genealogist
can seldom provide solid dollars and cents estimates concerning
the likely cost of a project due to the many highly variable
circumstances one may encounter. However, you control the
amount spent on a project by means of your authorizations of a
certain amount of money's worth of work -- $250, $400, $500, or
whatever. If your project is completed before your bill reaches
approximately that amount, a report and bill would be prepared at
that point. Otherwise, you would receive a report when your bill
approximately equals your authorization, and I would include an
advisement of whether, and to what extent, further research might
be worthwhile.
For the first work you authorize, I do
require a retainer equal to at least one-half the authorized
amount -- this is a great help for cash flow purposes. For
example, if you were to authorize approximately $500 worth of
research, I would require an 
advance of at least $250. You may
make any payments by check or money order, and these should be
made payable to "Mark K. Windover, Genealogist".
You may also use your American Express, Mastercard, or Visa
account. 
To order and pay by mail, you can download my suggested printable form to order research, and a second form for the use of these credit/charge cards. If you would rather, you can make a research request and/or payment by phone (toll free).
Do you still have specific questions, or specific genealogical problems you want to discuss? There are several easy ways to contact me.
Contacting Me Order by Mail or Fax / Charge Card Form Order by Phone
