**This blog post was updated on 6 April 2022**
So, you’ve been watching the amazing stories about celebrities’ family histories on the TV show Finding Your Roots on PBS, and after a few episodes, you’ve started to wonder, “Can Henry Louis Gates research my family tree?”
If you’re a celebrity or public figure, then probably yes!
But just in case you’re not, there are other ways to get the Finding Your Roots experience off-screen.
How the Show Works
Henry Louis Gates Jr. hosts the program, but—as I understand it—he does not do the research into the guests’ family histories himself. To be clear, I don’t work for Finding Your Roots; I’m just a professional genealogist who knows people who have worked on the show and I was present for the filming of an episode.
The research for the stories on Finding Your Roots is completed by a team of people, including several professional genealogists who specialize in different subject areas, such as genetic genealogy. You can read more about genealogists’ specialties in my blog post on the subject.
The good news is that several of the genealogists who have worked on Finding Your Roots, as well as other shows like Who Do You Think You Are?, are available for hire. Many other genealogists have not worked on Finding Your Roots, but are massively talented and can help you learn more about your family history, similar to the way guests do on the show.
So, to summarize, you probably can’t hire Henry Louis Gates Jr. himself, but you can get a similar work product from a qualified professional genealogist.
So What Would That Look Like, Exactly?
The way to get a Finding Your Roots-style experience yourself is to hire a professional genealogist. A professional genealogist is the person who will build your family tree using records you’re familiar with from the show, like censuses and vital records. (We’ll cover how to hire a genealogist later in this blog post.)
For the most part, genealogists compile their findings on your family history into a research report. A research report walks you through the documents found, what those documents say and mean, and the conclusions that the genealogist has drawn about your family. Research reports are great!
But maybe you’re thinking, “But I’m not here for a research report. I’m looking for a Book of Life.”
If so, you’re in luck! Some genealogists also offer hardbound or digital family history books, which are probably what you’re after, if you’re reading this blog post. Family history books can vary widely from one genealogist to the next, but they may resemble chapter- or coffee-table books with sections devoted to your ancestors.
One way of comparing research reports and family history books is to imagine a car:
A research report is like the car’s engine. Without the research, citations, and analysis in the report, conclusions are not possible. A report is a little more nitty gritty than a book, sort of like how understanding the mechanics of an engine will help you understand what makes a car run. Some people get really excited about what goes on under the hood, but some people’s eyes glaze over a bit. If you enjoy genealogical research or history yourself and you want to take a peek at how the pros do it, you might actually enjoy a research report as much as (or more than!) a book.
A family history book is like the entire car. A family history book typically displays the conclusions about your family history, without overly emphasizing what went into reaching those conclusions. The conclusions wouldn’t exist without research, citations, and analysis, but those structural underpinnings aren’t emphasized the way that they are in a research report.
Family history books are most similar to the Books of Life featured on the show, so I’ll be talking about them here. (If you’re interested in a research report, you can hop over to my guide about how to hire a professional genealogist.)
What is a family history book?
Like I said earlier, family history books can vary widely from one genealogist to the next. In general, however, a family history book is a bound or digital book with sections devoted to your ancestors. It may include images of records, text, a family tree chart, maps, and any number of other elements related to your family history (though some family history books contain very few images).
There are a couple of ways that your real-life book might differ from those the show, which I’ve outlined below, but on the whole, books are pretty fabulous.
What isn’t a family history book?
One important distinction between the Books of Life on Finding Your Roots and a book that you might get from a genealogist is that the books from the show are scrapbooks with relatively little context written down. It makes sense—the format allows Mr. Gates to interpret the findings for the guest and audience by pointing to images and text and then talking about them. In a real book from a genealogist, context like that provided by Mr. Gates on the show would be written down, so that you could read the book yourself without needing an interpreter to explain things. So, your real-life family history book might resemble a novel or coffee-table book, rather than a scrapbook like those on the program. Some genealogists even offer digital or e-book options!
One thing that your real-life book probably will not contain is photographs of your ancestors that you’ve never seen before. I know, those are some of my favorite reveals on the show, too.
Here’s why this is the case:
Surprise photographs don’t happen very often with genealogical research because, back in the day, photography wasn’t used to identify people in government documents. On the show, they usually find photographs by contacting the guest’s relatives or distant cousins. Old photographs are usually kept in families and passed down through the generations, so family albums and attics are the most logical place to look for them. In my experience, cousins are usually more receptive to requests for pictures from known family members (as opposed to friendly but unfamiliar genealogists). If you are planning to get a family history book in the near future, now is the time to start emailing those distant cousins and rummaging around in your basem*nt looking for pictures. And while you’re at it, think about moving those pictures to dry, acid-free storage above-ground—your descendants will thank you!
HOw much does a family history book cost?
One thing they don’t cover on Finding Your Roots is how much it would cost to get a similar experience in real life. If you hadn’t already guessed, family history books tend to be expensive. So let’s look at some numbers!
In my experience, family history books may cost anywhere from $5,000 to over $50,000. (These numbers have been updated since this post was written to reflect current market rates.) As you can imagine, there's a bit of “you get what you pay for” here, with the most expensive books being the most customized (although there are some grifters out there, which I explain how to spot below). The skill of the genealogist factors into the cost, with less experienced researchers charging less than seasoned professionals. Even the quality of the book design, paper, binding, etc., will vary substantially between a $5k and a $50k book. There is also the question of “What is exhaustive?” when it comes to family tree research. Genealogy is one of those things that you can keep doing forever, so it’ll be up to you, your genealogist, and your budget to determine a good stopping point for your project.
Why are they so expensive? The short answer is that genealogical research is charged by the hour, and research like that on Finding Your Roots takes a lot of hours.
On Finding Your Roots, researchers may spend upwards of 100 hours or more on a single guest’s tree and DNA analysis combined (or so I’ve heard). Some projects take literally years to complete. The show tends to highlight only a couple of ancestors for television—a smart strategy, because it allows the show’s researchers to allocate larger chunks of time towards researching the most interesting people. More research time equals more discoveries, enabling the researchers to uncover those mind-blowing records fit for television.
If you have an ancestor that you are particularly interested in, it’s a good idea to let your genealogist know. This will enable them to allocate more time towards researching that individual.
Where Can I Get a Family History Book?
Finding the right genealogist for your project—making sure they are qualified, signing a contract, etc—can be a confusing task, even if you have been researching your tree for awhile. A family history book can also be expensive, as we’ve covered, so it’s worth doing your research to find the best genealogist for your project. There are no review sites like Yelp for genealogists, so it can be tough to know where to start. For tips, you can check out my three-part series of blog posts about How to Find a Professional Genealogist. The blog walks you through how to evaluate a genealogist’s resume, potential red flags, and tips for where to find qualified professionals online.
If you’re looking for a family history book in particular, here are some extra things you’ll want to look for during your search:
Think about what you’re hoping to get from a book:
Some books mainly emphasize the genealogist’s findings, while others juxtapose findings alongside extensive oral history and/or interviews with living family members.
Some books have a lot of pictures, while others have zero or very few images.
Some books function more like reference books on your ancestors, while others are formatted like short biographies.
As I mentioned before, be sure to inquire about digital options, if that is a priority for you.
This sounds really obvious, but when you’re comparing genealogists, make sure the genealogist offers family history books. Not all genealogists do, so you’ll want to look for someone who has books listed in their services. That indicates that they do them regularly, which is a positive sign.
When you’re comparing professional genealogists, it is helpful to read their other writing. If you dislike a person’s writing style, or if you have difficulty understanding what they’re saying, it’s probably not a good idea to hire them to write a 100-page book for you. Writing samples might range from blog posts to published research in peer-reviewed journals.
For privacy reasons, it is not usually possible to get a sample of an entire book. However, it is perfectly acceptable to ask to view some sample pages or images to give you an idea of what you’re getting.
Again, for privacy reasons, genealogists are precluded from disclosing their clients’ names and contact information. If you’d like to get an idea about what it’s like working with a particular genealogist, read their testimonials or reviews. References are not super common in this business due to privacy.
The genealogist should walk you through the research process. Books can take a long time to produce, so make sure you’re clear on the timeline and payment schedule. You should also have an opportunity to view a proof of the book before printing.
As with any project, be sure to hire a qualified professional who is either certified, accredited, has completed extensive training through recognized institutions, and/or has been published in a peer-reviewed journal. They should also be a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG). You can learn more about how to spot these and other criteria in Part 2 of my free guide to finding a professional genealogist, linked below. I also cover the pros and cons of hiring an individual genealogist vs. a large company for your project, in case that interests you.
If you’ve enjoyed this blog post, you can hire me to create your family history book or research report.
If my areas of expertise do not align with your needs, check out my guide for finding a professional genealogist. You may yet have your own Bernie Sanders-style moment of genealogy-fueled surprise in the near future (though I can’t say whether it’ll be because you’re related to Larry David).
Be sure to watch Finding Your Roots on PBS on Tuesday nights! Not sure which channel that is? You can find your local PBS station here.
If you’ve found this blog post helpful, please consider buying me a coffee to say thanks. Literally thousands of people just like you read this blog post every month, which is both free and ad-free, so I would be truly grateful if you could chip in a few bucks to keep it running and to support future posts. Many thanks!
