US & European Archival Inquiry
US Federal Censuses, Ellis Island & port manifests, naturalization packets, WWI/WWII military files, and European civil and parish registers.
Bespoke Family History Book
US & European Archives · 2026Your family’s history already exists. All that’s missing is the book.
You bring what remains: a few names, a town or state, family photographs, a medal in a drawer. Our house retrieves the original records across US and European archives, traces the generations, and composes a hardcover book to give, read aloud, and pass down.
Free written feasibility study within 48 hours with a firm USD price and delivery date · Strictly confidential
For a hardcover book delivered before Christmas 2026: request your free study by November 20 (Lineage Edition) or November 30 (Ancestor Portrait).
01 Sourced Archival Research02 Literary Narrative03 Hardcover Book04 21 to 30-Day Target*
A Gift That Exists Only Once
Give far more than a family tree chart.
You bring fragments: a handful of names, photographs, a family memory. We turn them into a finished hardcover book—researched in the archives, written for your family, with zero weekly email homework for your parents.
Literary Narrative & Proofs
Your family’s story written in clear prose—with every key date, home, and crossing facing its reproduced and translated archival record.
Hardcover Book & Digital Edition
A cloth-bound hardcover book shipped to your door in the US, accompanied by a private interactive family website for relatives across the country.
Inside Every Edition
From Archival Proof to the Printed Page
Illustrated NarrativeCustom Family TreeHistorical TimelineMaps & HometownsAnnotated RecordsComplete Source IndexPrivate Digital Edition
Proven facts, working hypotheses, and archival silences are always distinguished. A missing record is never fictionalized.
Inaugural Book of the House · 44 Pages
The Grandfather’s Book
Created for a grandfather’s birthday, this inaugural 44-page volume spans more than two centuries. Inside, we meet Édouard, a 24-year-old sergeant killed in September 1914 whose death took six years to enter the civil registers; his daughter Gabrielle, adopted as a Ward of the Nation at age twelve; and Héloïse, a linen spinner whose thread crosses the Belgian-French frontier from Ypres to Comines. On every spread, the narrative faces its archival proof.
- 44
- typeset pages
- 8
- sample pages (PDF)
- 225
- archival proofs evaluated
Plus the Private Digital Edition
Every hardcover book is accompanied by a private website reserved for your family: an interactive family tree, high-resolution archival document viewer, map of ancestral towns, and timeline. The hardcover book passes from hand to hand; the digital edition connects cousins from coast to coast.
Explore the Interactive DemoExcerpted from The Grandfather’s Book (Le Livre de Papy) with the family’s permission. Your family’s edition remains strictly private.
The first book of our house was not a client commission. I wrote it for my own grandfather, starting from a few names and a shoebox of photographs. That is the book you are browsing on this page. When you entrust your family’s history to us, you correspond directly with me from the first message to the bound volume.
Antoine, Founder of Family History Press · About the House
Our Method
Fast turnaround. Uncompromising historical proof.
Archival research, paleographic transcription, translation, narrative writing, and book design happen under one roof. That integration allows us to deliver in weeks rather than a year—without ever cutting corners on source verification.
Archival research cannot promise a royal ancestor. It can promise rigorous method and an honest, deeply human book.
Every claim tied to an identifiable record
When we state a date, a street address, a ship, or a regiment, the corresponding primary source is reproduced or cited in the archival register.
Hypotheses are never disguised as facts
When two documents disagree or an archive burned, we explain the evidence transparently rather than inventing a bridge.
Nothing printed without your written sign-off
Every commission includes three full rounds of family proofreading on the illustrated digital proof before binding.
Strictly private by default
Your family’s photographs, lineage tree, and book are never uploaded to public genealogy databases or indexed online.
How It Works
From a few family clues to a finished hardcover book.
A firm delivery date, a scope agreed in advance, and a single historian guiding your project from the complimentary feasibility study to the bound book.
01
Within 48 hours
Complimentary Feasibility Study
Share a few names, approximate dates, and towns. We check US and European archives and send a written chapter plan, delivery date, and firm USD quote.
02
Weeks 1 – 2
Archival Investigation & Transcription
Our historians retrieve censuses, passenger manifests, naturalization papers, military files, and European civil or parish acts.
03
Week 3
Writing, Cartography & Layout
We write the narrative, draw your custom lineage tree and maps, integrate your family photographs, and send the complete proof for three review rounds.
04
Day 21 or Day 30*
Hardcover Binding & US Delivery
Once you approve the final proof in writing, the book is bound to order and shipped via tracked international air delivery to your US address.
* The 21-day and 30-day targets apply to eligible projects once archival availability and scope are confirmed. Your physical US delivery date is guaranteed in writing before you order.
StoryWorth, hourly genealogists, or Family History Press: see how the options compare
Two Custom Hardcover Editions
Choose the scope of your family’s book
A focused first volume dedicated to one remarkable ancestor, or a multi-generational edition tracing a couple and their entire lineage across centuries.
FIRST EDITION · UPGRADEABLETarget 21 days
Ancestor Portrait · from$590All-inclusive USD · tracked US shipping included
One life told through its archival proofs: an immigrant crossing at Ellis Island, a WWI/WWII soldier, a beloved grandparent, or a family homestead.
- One ancestor, military journey, or immigrant crossing
- 28 to 40 custom-typeset pages
- 5 to 8 verified & annotated archival records
- Kinship chart, timeline & historical map
- Three rounds of family review before printing
- 1 hardcover book + private digital edition
Upgradeable: if you decide within 12 months to expand this first volume into a Lineage Edition, your $590 is credited in full.
FULL EDITION · LINEAGE EDITION3 opening US commissions
Lineage Edition · from$1,690All-inclusive USD · tracked US shipping included
A full month of US and European archival research, writing, and book design dedicated to a couple or an entire lineage across two centuries.
- A couple or multi-generational lineage
- 45 to 70 custom-typeset pages
- 12 to 20 verified & annotated archival records
- Complete narrative, bespoke lineage tree, timeline & maps
- Three rounds of family review before printing
- 1 hardcover book + private digital edition
No payment today: our complimentary feasibility study quotes both formats within 48 hours, and you decide afterward.
For our next three Lineage Edition commissions A second cloth-bound hardcover copy is included complimentary: one for the relative you are celebrating, and one for your own bookshelf.
For the Milestones That Matter
A family story to give for…
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you should know before entrusting us with your family story.
01What if we have very little information—or an ancestor who immigrated from Europe?
Two or three names, an approximate birth year, and a US state or town are enough to launch the complimentary feasibility study. Because our historians work directly in both US records (Federal Censuses, Ellis Island & port manifests, USCIS naturalization files, WWI/WWII draft cards) and European civil and parish archives (France, Belgium, Italy, Ireland, Germany, Great Britain), we routinely cross the Atlantic to recover the exact hometown where your family story began.
02How is this different from StoryWorth or an Ancestry.com printout?
StoryWorth sends 52 weekly email homework prompts to your parents—which most busy or elderly parents never finish writing. Ancestry.com and FamilySearch printouts export raw charts and OCR tables without narrative prose. At Family History Press, our historians conduct the archival investigation, verify every date and relationship against original records, write a literary narrative, typeset the reproductions alongside the prose, and deliver a finished cloth-bound hardcover book.
03How do I choose between the Ancestor Portrait ($590) and the Lineage Edition ($1,690)?
The Ancestor Portrait (28 to 40 pages, 21-day target) tells the complete story of one person or a defining chapter: an immigrant ancestor's crossing, a grandfather's WWI or WWII service, or a grandmother's life. The Lineage Edition (45 to 70 pages, 30-day target) traces a couple or an entire multi-generational lineage across centuries, like The Grandfather’s Book. If you begin with an Ancestor Portrait and decide within 12 months to expand it into a Lineage Edition, your $590 is credited in full.
04What if the archives do not contain enough material for a book?
We tell you upfront in the complimentary feasibility study—before you spend a single dollar. If a courthouse fire or destroyed parish register blocks a branch, we show you what can and cannot be proven so you never pay for a disappointing search.
05How does gifting work for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or an 80th birthday?
You have two options. If we begin at least 3 to 4 weeks before the celebration, you present the finished hardcover book in person. If the celebration is days away—or if you want your parent or grandparent to help choose the family photographs—we prepare a personalized, numbered Commissioning Certificate within 48 hours to present on the day, and then build the book together.
06Are shipping and customs to the United States included in the price?
Yes. All prices are quoted in US Dollars and include tracked international air shipping to any address in the United States, with no surprise customs fees or hourly billing overruns.
Complimentary Feasibility Study · Free & No Obligation
Three American families will open our inaugural US editions.
Our first book is written, and its public sample shows the standard we hold. Describe your project in a few lines: within 48 hours you receive a written assessment showing what the US and European archives hold, what chapters the book would include, the delivery date, and the firm price in USD. Nothing is paid before your written approval.
- Personal reply from Antoine within 48 hours
- Scope, delivery date, and firm USD price confirmed in writing before ordering
- 3 opening US commissions: a second hardcover copy included complimentary
- For Christmas 2026 delivery: request your study by November 20 (Lineage Edition) or November 30 (Ancestor Portrait)