People rarely act before they think these days. As a result, our homes are overflowing with unopened impulse purchases ready to be returned. However, along with material possessions, a new kind of on-a-whim purchase has swamped the consumer market in recent years – at-home DNA test kits.
With only a shockingly small piece of our genetic material, companies will provide a detailed roadmap to our past. However, once we open the results, the question becomes – what now? In front of us is a paper claiming to know where we come from, but how do we begin the journey of rediscovering our (possibly) lost heritage? In an effort to help wandering souls, this article will take a closer look at the four signs that your search has hit a dead end and that it’s time to hire a professional!
Putting the pieces back together
Some people are born detectives. They intuitively know both when and where to look for information. However, even the best investigative minds hit a wall from time to time. You’ll have an abundance of information and won’t be able to piece it together – in heritage research, this is the perfect time to hire a genealogy expert.
Professional genealogists will have both the knowledge and experience to make heads and tails of all the information that you’ve collected. Moreover, they’ll know to turn over stones you never would have considered looking under. This commonly happens when gathering records overseas. While individuals are simply not well informed about acquiring international documents, a genealogy expert will know exactly how to obtain the necessary records.
Stuck in the mud
It’s easy to overestimate our abilities in a field we know absolutely nothing about. Thus, it’s not unusual for people to start their search feeling confident, only to trip up on the first step. The hard truth is that genealogy research is no easy feat, and some family histories are too interwoven for a rookie to find a good place to start.
In cases where the first step is the hardest, hiring experienced genealogy specialists is the sure way to go. An expert genealogist will be able to pinpoint a solid starting point for your journey. Not only that but having a genealogy specialist will also help you avoid other possible hiccups down the road. In case you’re unable to contact a relative or translate a document from a foreign language, the genealogy experts will know what to do. In short, they’ll be a helping hand that’s there whenever you may need it.
A missing piece
While some family histories are enviously easy to fill in, people often find their own to be excruciatingly difficult to reconstruct. More often than not, our ancestors tended to migrate across both countries and continents, making our mission of tracking them down that much more difficult. Namely, such migrations often entail lost documents and name amendments, meaning that information will be difficult or even impossible to find.
Fortunately, experienced genealogists work with little information just as well as they would with entire encyclopedias of clues. The important thing to know is what to focus on – once you give them clear instructions on which information you’d like to obtain, they’ll be able to start digging in the right place.
Big time rush
Even though their detective skills may be on point and all the important documents available, people simply won’t have the time to do a deep dive and thoroughly research their roots. Surprisingly, a lack of time is one of the most common reasons for hiring a genealogy service. Researching your ancestry is often time-consuming and will most likely require travel at some point – something not everyone has time for, sadly.
Fortunately, genealogists have devoted their careers to uncovering lost ties even at the stake of crossing oceans. In other words, they’ll have more than enough time to track down family heirlooms, ancestors, and cousins – whatever you wish to get out of your search!
While this article has discussed several signs that may signal that it’s time to call in a genealogy expert, it all boils down to one point – when you feel stuck, it’s time to call for help. Regardless of whether you’re unable to obtain information or dedicate time to your search, don’t be apprehensive about reaching out. After all, who knows what you might find when you do…
