ERIC ELSBERRY · GENEALOGIST
ERIC ELSBERRY · GENEALOGIST
Every engagement is built from primary sources — parish registers, civil records, and archival documents — not compiled online trees. Below are the kinds of work I take on most often. If your project is a mix of several of these, that's normal; most real research problems are.
Each project is scoped to what you actually need — from a single stuck question to a full, documented family history.
A line that's stalled — a name that doesn't match, a record that seems to be missing, a family that vanishes between two censuses. I go back to the original documents and re-read them closely, rather than accepting what a compiled tree has assumed.
A documented household, generation by generation — births, marriages, deaths, and residences tied to specific registers and images, assembled into a Family Group Sheet you can rely on and pass down.
The world your ancestors actually lived in — famine, war, changing borders, the end of serfdom. Understanding that context is often what explains a gap in the record, or a decision that otherwise looks strange.
Turning a documented family into a story worth reading — not just names and dates, but the people behind them: their decisions, their losses, and what their lives actually looked like. This is the part of the work I care about most.
Locating a specific certificate, register entry, or archival record, and translating what it says — Spanish civil and parish documents, and Bohemian records in Latin, German, or older Czech script.
For people doing their own research who want a second opinion — a review of what you've found, guidance on where to look next, or help reading a document you're stuck on.
Every family's research is different, but the process to get there tends to look like this.
Names, dates, locations, and any documents you already have — even a handwritten note in an old family Bible can be a real lead. The more you share, the faster the research moves.
Parish registers, civil records, and archival sources — read directly, not taken from a compiled tree. Every finding is traced back to a specific register, page, and image.
A clear, cited write-up of what was found — a Family Group Sheet, a narrative account, or both, depending on what you're looking for.
I take on new research projects for clients working through US, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Spanish-language family history. If that's you, get in touch — I'd like to hear what you're working on.