About Us
Hi, my name is Elizabeth M. Parrish and welcome to my site. As you may know, I became interested in genealogy over a decade ago, soon after my father's death in 1990. I was determined to uncover some of my own families' "mysteries" and like most, began my search documenting information from birth, death, and marriage certificates; the family Bible; photographs, postcards and letters; interviews with living family members, and other "official" documents. When I had exhausted those resources, I moved onto Census data, social security records, ship manifests, and the like.
It was an exhaustive and tedious process and I'd hate to count the numbers of hours I spent journeying down paths that lead to dead ends. I slogged through books, visited public record offices, and visited hundreds of websites over a period of many years.
But I perservered and am glad I did so... My questions have been answered and the "mysteries" solved.(However, if I'd known the amount of work and effort it would take me before I began, I don't think I would have started!) As a result, over the years I've became the go-to person for advice on locating information on people in the past - and present - among my own circle of friends and family and then - as they referred me to others and word spread even further - to a much larger audience online and elsewhere.
And while folks pay me to dig out information for them, there are many who, like me when I began, wish to gather it themselves. And the really good news is that today it's far easier to do so because there are many excellent - and extremely affordable - online resources for obtaining accurate information quickly, easily, and stress-free.
Therefore, I created this website in 2008 for two reasons. First, I could continue to do what I love - research the past, help people reconnect with missing family and friends, and even locate "bad guys" - and it provides a way for interested folks to find me. Second - and most importantly - it allows me to share my recommendations and advice with other enthusiasts who are eager to discover more about someone(s) but may be confused about where to go or whom to trust.
In other words, I've done your homework for you... I learned the hard way, but you don't have to!
By the way, you'll notice that the sites we (it's not just "I" anymore... I have a very knowledgable team of experts who work with me) recommend are "paid-for" versus free websites (although you can get some information for free on just about all of them).
Here's why: Although you can find some very good information on free websites, we have yet to find one that has as much information in one place and/or is organized in an intuitive way (for most) as the paid-for sites. It's just that simple. Remember, you're only able to obtain information about someone if his or her records are stored in a database.
Online services, such as Ancestry.com, have to purchase these records from federal, state, and local government offices, other organizations, etc. (Contrary to popular belief they are not usually free). The records must be uploaded and continually updated and maintained. These efforts require dedicated resources - money, people, time, and systems.
Therefore, smaller web owners who offer free look-ups simply cannot afford to provide the same level of services as the larger ones do. Having said that, you can find wonderful - and more specialized - information on many of the smaller, more niched sites and we encourage you all to check into those (there are just way too many to begin listing them here, but they're relatively easy to find by "googling" what you're seeking).
This site is dedicated then to those of you who value your time and would rather spend $20-$50 to avoid wasting hours going from one place to another and sifting through mounds of useless information.
We hope you find this site helpful and that you're so pleased with the quality of the information you receive that you'll tell others to visit us as well.
To Your Successful Searches!
Elizabeth
P.S. - If you want to unconver some great secrets for creating your family tree, discovering more about your family's history, or simple finding family and friends you've lost contact with, check out my book, "Genealogy - Discovering Your Ancestral Past." In it, you'll learn the other research techniques I use as well as some great - and not well known - tips for knowing what to look for and how best to find it. Just click on the book's cover (lower right hand corner of this page) to learn more!
