Is there someone I can pay to do a bit of tracing for me?

[winterescape]

I’ve tried, put stuff away, got it back out, tried again and repeat.

My great Uncle and his wife moved to South Africa. I have their birth and marriage certificates and I think I have found one of the daughter’s birth certificates but I need to pay for it, I can’t download it.

I know the other daughter’s nick-name, a grandsons name and a street in South Africa. I also possibly have death years for my great uncle and aunt but this is all I can find.

I’d really like to get to the bottom of this side. It’s an important bit of my family tree. Can anyone suggest where I go now?

Yes, there are family history consultants who can do this. Example: www.sra-uk.com/genealogy.html

I would find someone in South Africa to take on this work, rather than use a U.K. based researcher. For the simple reason they will be more familiar with the records system

[quote BlowDryRat]Yes, there are family history consultants who can do this. Example: www.sra-uk.com/genealogy.html[/quote]
They've just come back to me and want £2500 upfront. That blew my mind!

Are you a member of Ancestry? You could look at family trees there - they might be on them. Or have you tried Google or Facebook?

There are lots of Facebook pages where people will help you, I'm sure. Find one for South Africa and see if anyone can help you. Joining Ancestry is a good idea and building a tree is easy these days (certainly for the UK) as so much info is now online. Join the Ancestry FB page as members have discounts for membership. You can get Worldwide membership (the most expensive tier).

Your local library will probably have an ancestry subscription that means you can access for free, whether it is just U.K. or worldwide though I don’t know

My late dad used to do this, he was a retired historian and had a business card in a display board at the Public Records Office in Kew. He never charged more than a few £100 ( if that) and enjoyed helping people. If you live in London you can go there, there are multiple business cards in the locker room, with different specialisms advertised ( Irish, Caribbean etc). Or you could try checking their website.

www.salvationarmy.org.uk/family-tracing. You might want to have a look at this.

I agree with signing up to Ancestry (they do a free 2 week trial) and relevant FB groups. I reckon you could crack this yourself.

I found relatives years ago. I had their birth certs and knew they’d emigrated to Australia. I didn’t know if they had since moved, if they had changed their surname, or even if they were dead. It took a while, but I found them. I’ve found other relatives too. I’d say you’ve got enough info to give it a good go.