Village Report
The first question every family needs answered: where, exactly, is “the village”? We take the name as it was spelled on the ship manifest or in family letters and identify the real place.
Starts at
from $390
Takes
about 2 weeks
Pricing
Every price we have, on one page.
You will not find these figures on most sites in this trade, and that is the point. Here is what each service starts at, what moves the final number, and when money actually changes hands.
The ladder, from smallest to largest
Archival Research
The full genealogical dig: parish registers, civil records, emigration documents. This is where names, dates and faces come back to a family that thought them lost.
Starts at
from $900
Takes
6–10 weeks
Virtual Homecoming
We travel to your village for you, and film everything. For those who cannot make the journey — which is most people — this is the journey.
Starts at
from $1,200
Takes
4–8 weeks
Grave Care
An ocean away, a grave grows over in a decade. We keep it as if the family had never left.
Starts at
$240 per year
Takes
ongoing, yearly
Homecoming Journey
You land in Poland. From that moment until we return you to your gate, there is not a single arrangement left for you to make. This is the journey the rest of the ladder leads to.
Starts at
from $9,000 per couple
Takes
7–10 days
Why every price says “from”
Because an honest final figure depends on your case, and we would rather publish a floor we can defend than a headline number that quietly grows. What moves it: whether the village is already identified, how many family lines you want traced, how scattered or damaged the archives are, how many days a journey needs and how many of you travel.
So the sequence is always the same. You write to us. We answer in writing within two business days with what can realistically be found — and if it can, a fixed quote for your case. Nothing is owed if you then decide against it, and about one case in ten we advise against ourselves and charge nothing for saying so.
How payment is staged
- Research
- Half on commissioning, half when the work is delivered.
- Journeys
- 25% to hold your dates, 50% a month before you travel — and the last 25% only once you are home.
- If we find less than promised
- An agreed part of the fee comes back to you. That is written into the contract, not left to our goodwill.
It is worth asking that same question everywhere else you enquire.
If we find less than promised
Archives have gaps and honest research sometimes hits them. Your contract states the promised scope; where we deliver substantially less, a stated portion of the fee returns to you. That is a clause, not goodwill — and hopeless cases are declined at the free assessment rather than billed.
What families ask about money
How are you different from the others who do this?
Three things, and you can check every one of them. First: you never pay the whole amount up front — half on commissioning for research, and on a journey the last quarter falls due only after you are home. Ask that same question wherever else you enquire. Second: our safety protocol is published in full, including the regions we refuse to enter; this is a country at war and we would rather you read our judgement than take it on trust. Third: we turn down cases we believe are hopeless, at the free assessment, and charge nothing for saying so. We also work in six languages — Portuguese and Spanish included, which matters if your family went to Brazil or Argentina rather than Canada.
Why are the prices only “from”?
Because an honest final number depends on your case: whether the village is already identified, how many family lines you want traced, how scattered or damaged the archives are, how many days the journey needs, how many of you travel. The starting prices tell you the order of magnitude honestly; the free assessment turns that into a fixed written figure for your family — with nothing owed if you decide against it.
Roughly what should I expect a journey to cost?
A journey starts at $9,000 for a couple over 7–10 days and rises with travellers, days and distances. Divided per person per day, that is the ordinary price of a private guided journey in Europe — and for it a private team works only for you: a researcher before you arrive, a driver and car throughout, hotels, meals, insurance with war-risk cover, a translator at every conversation, a photographer on the key days, and one person responsible for every hour. The written quote gives you the exact figure, itemised, before you commit to anything.
Do I pay everything up front?
Never. Research: half to start, half on delivery. Journeys: 25% deposit, 50% a month before travel, 25% after you are home. If we under-deliver, the contract — not our goodwill — says what comes back to you.
Who am I actually paying? Is this even a real company?
You receive a written contract and an invoice before any money moves, with the legal entity, registration and terms in full. You can verify everything before paying — and we would worry about anyone who asked you not to.
Start with a request. It costs nothing.
You write us the family name and whatever you know. We write back honestly: what can be found, what cannot, and what it would cost in your case. No payment, no obligation.