When working on my autobiographical novel, I've occasionally been stumped by gaps in my family's diaries and journals.
- When was DF murdered?
- My grandmother was married shortly after the Great Depression hit. How did that affect her wedding?
- What sort of life did my great-aunt Lelia Sachs (1905-1989) lead as a single woman with a career?
- What would my five-year-old grandmother and her sisters have witnessed when the Camp Logan riot passed in front of their house?
- Of all the stories my great-grandmother Lizzie Heap told, which ones can be corroborated?
The news articles I've collected have not only fleshed out my writing, giving context to stories I heard growing up. They've also given me new insight into the world my family inhabited: Attitudes toward mental illness, what it cost my great-grandfather to take a stand for civil rights, why my aunt whose sister (and mother) were murdered was so "messed up."
I can do the same for you. Whether you're researching your family tree, or a historical-political event, or your hometown, I provide the elbow grease for your project.
If you're interested, I'll send you our questionnaire to develop an idea of scope of work (SOW).
Notes:
- English- and German-language only.
- Best results for US-based research. Because of privacy laws, there are fewer UK and European online newspapers.
- Invoiced in half-day increments. You must prepay four hours. If you are satisfied, I will invoice remainder of SOW with half to be paid upfront and the other half upon completion of project.
- If, after receiving the results of the first half-day of work, you wish to edit the SOW, I'll be happy to work with you to do so.
- PRICE IS HALF-DAY RATE (4 hours at $75/hour). Rate includes providing you with outline of found documents, and PDFs of the articles. You choose whether received by snail mail or digitally. No surcharge for either delivery method.
Photo (PDF) is of the obituary for my great-grandfather Johann Martin Kuno Sachs.