Sample work

Portfolio

Every report below is based on real research methods using fictional or anonymized examples to show what a completed project looks like.

Sample Report 1 — Family Tree Starter

Family Tree Starter · $75–$150

The Morrison Family of Pictou County, Nova Scotia

Three generations · Scottish immigration line · 1840s–1920s

Research Summary

Client knew her great-grandfather was Scottish but had no further details. Starting from a 1921 Canadian census entry, I traced the Morrison line back to a Pictou County farm, a church baptismal record in New Glasgow, and ultimately to a passenger manifest showing arrival from Inverness, Scotland in 1847.

Records Found

  • 📋 1921 Census of Canada — Morrison household, Pictou Co.
  • 📋 1911 Census — parents' entry, 4 children listed
  • ✝️ Presbyterian Church baptismal register, New Glasgow, 1873
  • 🚢 Passenger manifest, SS Hercules, Liverpool–Halifax, 1847
  • 📰 Obituary, New Glasgow Eastern Chronicle, 1931

Family Tree — 3 Generations

Alasdair Morrison b. ~1820 Inverness, Scotland arr. Canada 1847
Catriona MacLeod b. ~1825 Scotland m. 1846
↓
Donald Morrison b. 1850 Pictou Co., NS farmer
↓
James Morrison b. 1873 New Glasgow, NS Client's great-grandfather
Before: "I know he was Scottish, maybe from Nova Scotia."
After: A documented line from Inverness, Scotland to Pictou County — four generations, three census records, one passenger manifest, one church register.

Sample Report 2 — Military Records

Family History Research · Military Focus

Private Thomas H. Bellamy — CEF, First World War

Service record · attestation · pension file · repatriation record

The Challenge

The family knew "Great-Uncle Thomas" had fought in the Great War and survived, but nothing else. His name had been barely spoken in two generations. Library and Archives Canada's CEF records provided a complete picture.

What the Attestation Paper Revealed

  • 📋 Attested in Winnipeg, October 1915, age 22
  • 🎖️ 27th Infantry Battalion (City of Winnipeg)
  • ⚕️ Wounded at Vimy Ridge, April 1917 — shrapnel, left arm
  • 📋 Repatriated Halifax, March 1919
  • 💰 Pension file: disability pension approved, 1920

Historical Context Added

The report included a history of the 27th Battalion, maps of Vimy Ridge, and a newspaper clipping from the Winnipeg Tribune listing his name among the wounded — the first time the family had ever seen his name in print.

ATTESTATION PAPER
Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1915
Name: Thomas Henry Bellamy
Age: 22 years, 3 months
Trade: Labourer
Place of Birth: Brandon, Manitoba
Next of Kin: Mrs. E. Bellamy (mother)
Unit: 27th Battalion, C.E.F.
Date: October 14, 1915
Wounded in action, April 9–12, 1917. Vimy Ridge.
Source: Library and Archives Canada, RG 150
Before: "We knew he went to the war. That's all."
After: Full service history, Vimy Ridge wounded record, pension file, newspaper mention — a complete portrait of a man the family had almost forgotten.

Sample Report 3 — Immigration Research

Family History Research · Immigration Focus

The Kovalenko Family — From Galicia to Manitoba

Ukrainian immigration, 1903–1916 · Prairie homestead research

Research Timeline

1903
Departure from Galicia

Mykhailo and Hanna Kovalenko depart from Hamburg aboard the SS Pretoria. Hamburg emigration records show two children: Ivan (age 6) and Olha (age 3).

1903
Arrival at Quebec City

Passenger manifest, Quebec, September 18, 1903. Family listed as "Greek Catholic." Destination: Manitoba. One trunk. Eleven dollars.

1904
Homestead Filed in Dauphin District

Dominion Lands homestead entry #47821, Dauphin, Manitoba. 160 acres. Three-year residency requirement. Mykhailo signs with an X.

1911
1911 Census of Canada

Family now listed as "Michael Kovalenko." Six children. Farm valued at $800. Religion: Greek Catholic. Naturalized 1909.

1916
Manitoba Vital Statistics

Death record for Hanna Kovalenko, age 42, Dauphin district. Cause: pneumonia. She is buried at the local Greek Catholic cemetery — still standing today.

Before: "We know our great-great-grandparents came from 'somewhere in Ukraine' around 1900."
After: Named village in Galicia, ship name, arrival date, homestead file, census records through 1921, death and burial records — a complete immigration story across two countries.
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Your family has a story this detailed too

These examples show what's possible with professional research. The records exist — they just need to be found. Let's talk about what we might uncover in your family's history.

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