Sankofa Ancestry

Sankofa: Sankofa is an Andinkra symbol from Ghana. Although there is no literal translation, "Sankofa" means to go back and retrieve your history, to know thyself, or basically to know where you come from. When I first learned about Sankofa, I decided that if I ever started my own genealogy business that I would use the word "Sankofa" in it because to me, Sankofa is genealogy.

NOTICE:  I am currently in school and will finish hopefully in Spring of 2008. I am not accepting clients until I finish so that I can concentrate on school. I already work full time and now school full time, I just don't have enough time left over to devote to research for others on a regular basis. Once school is over, I will start back up and put an announcement on this page. Thanks for your understanding!

Services: I am available to conduct in-depth research of available records for information needed on an individual or family, to create a comprehensive chart of descendents that is thoroughly documented using primary sources when available. I am also adept at online research. My work is concentrated on North Carolina and African American in North Carolina. A report describing sources searched and conclusions based on available information is presented to the client. Also available to give advice on storing and preserving your genealogy. With my history background, I am able to help put your ancestors into perspective of society as a whole.

Qualifications: I have been doing genealogy for 18 years. Thanks to beginning my genealogy pursuits incorrectly, I am adept at moving both backwards and forwards in a family. I have a BA in history and a minor in Africana Studies from North Carolina State University. I have an MA in Public History with a concentration in archival management. I have 2 years experience working in the archival field storing material according to archival standards. I am currently a librarian at the State Library of North Carolina and very familiar with their holdings and also the holding of the State Archives of North Carolina. I have been doing extensive research into free people of color in antebellum North Carolina for the past 6 years and through my research have become adept at using lesser known records such as apprenticeship records.

Costs: My fees are negotiable, I know what it's like to not be able to afford to hire a professional genealogist so I'm willing to negotiate on a case by case basis. Here are my base fees.

• Free initial consultation
• $20 an hour for offline research at the State Archives of North Carolina (or wherever else needed within Raleigh), price includes research time, time to create report, the completed report, and when requested, put information into historical context.
• Cost of copies and postage (generally 10 cents per page for copies, postage varies). Unless otherwise stated by the client, the client will always receive copies of any relevant document(s) found and they will be sent along with the report in the method requested by the client (i.e., overnight, express, priority, 3rd classs, etc.)
• If needed to travel outside of Raleigh, cost of travel expenses. Other locations are county court houses, MESDA (Museum of Southern Decorative Arts archives) in Winston-Salem, cemeteries, etc. Any travel outside of Raleigh will be discussed with the client and met with client approval first.
• $5 an hour for archival advice on how to store and preserve your genealogy.
• Other services may be available. Talk to me and we'll see what we can work out

Feel free to contact me. In the future, I will be adding a form to this page so that you can send me queries into doing research in the format that works best for me.

Thank you for considering me to help you out!