For brick walls
Discovery assessment
from $300
- A brick-wall check and a written research plan
- Credited in full toward any package
- Where every 1600s request begins
Priced by how far back you want to go and which lines you choose, not by the hour. Every package ends with proof you can check yourself, and the deep ones are billed as the depth is actually reached.
The way in is the checkout. Pick a package, pay 25% to start or pay in full, and you land on your private foundation page to upload your documents and tell me what you already know. Prices below are starting points in US dollars.
The Discovery assessment is for the hard ones: a known brick wall, or a line you want traced into the 1600s. Those records have to be checked before I can quote honestly, and the full cost of the assessment is credited toward your package.
For brick walls
from $300
Both sides
from $900
Both sides
from $2,500
One or two direct lines
from $5,500
One direct line
$6,500
The flagship · both sides
$9,500
1500s and earlier: quoted case by case.
How paying works. Pick a package, choose what goes in your file (DNA, binder, website, narrative), and check out securely through Stripe. Your card is authorized, not charged: Stripe holds the amount shown, and you land straight on your foundation page to upload your documents and tell me what you already know. Within two business days you get the exact scope and total in writing. The payment is captured only when we've both said yes, you to the scope and total and me to the case; if either of us says no, the hold is released and nothing is charged. Payment terms
| Deliverable | 1900 | 1800s | 1700s | 1600s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sourced research report | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Research trail: every search, including dead ends | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Digital copies of every record | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Physical documents: official paper copies, where archives release them | Per document | Per document | Included | Included |
| Printed family binder: your records and photos, to page through | Add-on | Add-on | Included | Included |
| Case vault: your family as a living, cross-referenced graph | Add-on | Included | Included | Included |
| Private family website, password optional | Add-on | Included | Included | Included |
| Your Ancestry tree, verified and corrected | Add-on | Add-on | Included | Included |
| AncestryDNA tied into your file (you buy the kit from Ancestry) | Add-on | Add-on | Included | Included |
| Written family narrative: the story, told from the records | Add-on | Add-on | Add-on | Flagship |
| Custom-designed family website | Add-on | Add-on | Add-on | Flagship |
| How you pay | 25% to start | 25% to start | 4 × 25% | 4 × 25% |
Physical documents. In the 1900 and 1800s packages, each paper copy costs the archive's own fee plus a $10 handling fee, and it's ordered only after you approve it. In the 1700s and 1600s packages they're included, wherever the archive will release them. Some take months to arrive, sometimes after the rest of your case is delivered.
The flagship. The $9,500 both-sides package includes everything above, plus the written family narrative and the custom-designed family website. In the one-line 1600s package those two remain add-ons.
See exactly what the vault and the website look like on the deliverables page, including a sample family site.
The assessment is a single payment, credited toward any package. The 1900 and 1800s packages start with a 25% deposit, from $225, and the balance is due on delivery.
The 1700s and 1600s packages are billed in four equal parts: at the start, when a line reaches 1800, when it reaches 1700, and on delivery. On the $9,500 flagship, that's $2,375 to start.
Depth is a target, not a promise. If a line hits a true wall, such as a burned courthouse, billing stops at the last milestone reached and you keep everything found.
Week-one feasibility check. In the first week I check whether your lines can realistically reach the target. If one can't, you choose: switch to another line, or take a refund minus the assessment fee.
Most firms sell research hours. I sell a defined target, billed as it's reached. Here are the closest published packages, at their real prices, so you can compare what the money actually buys.
| Package | Price | What you're buying |
|---|---|---|
| Deep research, into the 1600s | ||
| CompetitorLegacy Tree Genealogists, PREMIUM100 | $11,500 | 100 research hours across up to four research goals; printed report, documents and binder; on their split-payment plan, no updates or results until every payment is made |
| Skeleton Files1600s flagship | $9,500 | Two lines you choose with a 1600s target, every link proven; vault, website, printed binder, physical documents, verified Ancestry tree, DNA tie-in, written family narrative and custom-designed website all included, billed by milestone |
| Back into the 1700s | ||
| CompetitorLegacy Tree Genealogists, STANDARD50 | $6,000 | 50 research hours on up to two research goals; printed report, documents and binder |
| Skeleton Files1700s | from $5,500 | One or two lines you choose with a 1700s target; vault, website, printed binder, physical documents, verified Ancestry tree and DNA tie-in included, billed by milestone |
| Back into the 1800s | ||
| CompetitorLegacy Tree Genealogists, BASIC25 | $3,200 | 25 research hours on one research goal; printed report, documents and binder |
| Skeleton Files1800s | from $2,500 | Both sides back into the 1800s, vault and website included |
| Getting started | ||
| CompetitorPrice Genealogy, Beginning Research | $2,000 | 20 research hours; a research report and an updated family tree, emailed or mailed in a binder |
| Skeleton Files1900 | from $900 | Both sides back to about 1900, every person tied to a record |
Prices from each company's public website, checked October 7, 2026. Rechecked every quarter. Packages differ in scope; follow the links for each firm's full terms.
No honest genealogist can. Records burn, parishes lose books, and some lines end in a true wall. That's why depth is a target with milestone billing: you pay as the research actually reaches each point, and if a line stops, billing stops with it and you keep everything found.
One direct line per side: your father's surname line and your mother's maiden-name line, each traced about 12 generations. That's about 24 ancestors, with every parent-child link documented. Spouses are named along the way, but their own families aren't researched. Tracing every ancestor on both sides is a different job, quoted separately.
Every package includes a digital copy of every record I use. Official paper copies are included in the 1700s and 1600s packages, and I request them wherever the archive allows. Some offices release records only to family members, and some take months to arrive, sometimes after the rest of your case is delivered. In the 1900 and 1800s packages, each paper copy costs the archive's own fee plus a $10 handling fee, and it's ordered only after you approve it. In the 1700s and 1600s packages, your records and photos also come printed in a family binder; for the 1900 and 1800s packages the binder is an add-on.
Because you're paying for an answer, not my hours. Billing by the hour would make a fast result cost you less proof, or a slow one cost you more. A package fixes the target and the price before any work begins.
Yes, openly. It speeds up the searching and keeps every person, conflict and source cross-referenced. It never decides what's true: every claim is checked against the record itself, and every finding is labeled by how sure it is.
Often, yes. Catholic parish registers in Mexico frequently reach back into the 1600s, and I read them in the original Spanish. These lines are often the most reachable route to the 1600s.
That's common, and it's what the week-one check is for. Copied trees, merged namesakes and family legends get caught early, documented, and corrected before anything is built on them.
The way in is the checkout. Pick a package, pay 25% to start or pay in full, and upload what you have on your private foundation page.
Not sure where to start? The $300 Discovery assessment tells you what's possible before you commit, and is credited in full toward any package.
Questions first? hello@skeletonfiles.com