In February, 2006, my husband and I were making plans for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Eastern Europe. This was my one and only chance to see the villages where my grandmother and her ancestors were born in Bohemia. I knew I had to get it right!

       I explored several avenues in an attempt to find a guide/interpreter, preferably one who had genealogical research skills. Nothing seemed to pan out, and I was worried. Would we spend all that money and go all those miles, just to wander around the countryside without a guide? Time was growing short!

       Finally, in looking through my genealogical files, I found a 1998 letter from a distant cousin who wrote about how pleased he was with his researcher in Czech Republic, whose name was Pavel Tyrpak. Though I had little hope, I went to the computer and Googled the name: Pavel Tyrpak. Amazingly, I found a recently updated website for T&P Research! I immediately e-mailed Mr. Tyrpak and received a speedy reply.

       Yes, he wrote, Mrs. Zuzana Čapkova would be able to guide us and to serve as an interpreter. I was elated! During the next several days, I e-mailed scans of the documents I had in my files. I also sent lists of villages I hoped to see and the names of people I hoped to meet while we were in Czech Republic. Mr. Tyrpak also answered many of my travel questions to the best of his ability.

       We arrived in Europe during the coldest spring of the last many years; while we were in Budapest and Prague, the temperature hovered around 32 degrees and the sun refused to shine.

       Mrs. Čapkova met us at a restaurant in Prague for preliminary talks, and we were immediately at ease. I was very happy to find that she had a pleasant personality and that her English was excellent.

       We rented a car and drove to Pilzn on Saturday the 18th, where we spent the night in a nice pension which Mrs. Čapkova arranged for us.

       The next morning, she came to Pilzn on the train and guided us from the back seat of our rental car. Amazingly, the sun came out and shone brightly the whole day! The countryside was beautiful.



       Zuzana was extremely well prepared and told us the history of the towns we visited. She had planned the route based on what I desired to see.



       We spent the entire day driving through the villages and taking photos, and we stopped three times to visit relatives and contacts in the local towns, who all served us delicious Czech food.



       I saw the house my grandmother was born in and many of the houses and churches of her ancestors, and I walked through some of the ancestral cemeteries. Amazing!



       I couldn't be more pleased with the whole experience, and I cannot say enough good things about the T&P Research team!

Karen Hett
        Georgetown, Texas
        June 2006

        I have been very pleased with the professionalism and personal attention that Pavel and Zuzana provided as they researched my family in Bohemia. I felt as though they honored my family as they would their own. The research was done in a timely fashion and the results exceeded my expectations.

       I wish you could have seen the expression on the faces of my California family when I showed them the photo of the house in Bohemia where our grandfather was born, which Zuzana took during her research. Suddenly, our ancestors in Bohemia became real to them. Zuzana also found a long-lost cousin and we are now in communication with this branch of our family after almost 100 years (our grandfather emigrated in 1908).

       I hope to travel to Bohemia at some point, and when I do, I will ask Zuzana to be my guide.

       Now if only I could find some folks of this caliber to do research on the Luxembourg side of my family…

Robin Jonáš AKA Yonash
        California
        February 2006

        For over a decade and after exchanging several research requests with the Plzen SR Archives, and the hiring of independent Czech researchers, the villages of my earliest ancestors eluded researchers. Then, I contacted the T&P Research ^®.

       After a thorough review of known information on my Czech ancestors, Mr. Pavel Tyrpak along with his colleague Ms. Zuzana Čapková prepared a comprehensive Ancestral Research Proposal discussing their research rationale and recommended approaches to locating information on my ancestors. A cost-effective approach was undertaken.

       After only a handful of visits to the Plzen SR Archives, Ms. Čapková was able to locate the villages of several of my earliest ancestors. T&P Research ^® uncovered in a matter of days what had escaped other researchers for over a decade. By the end of the research period, not only were several generations added to my family tree, but also valuable insight into the political, economic and social conditions that existed during this period contributed to my understanding of my ancestor’s reasons for immigrating to America.

       T&P Research ^® has proven to be a most reputable and professional genealogical research service and receive my highest recommendation. Their hard work and dedication in pursuit of my Czech ancestry was greatly appreciated.

Michael E. Kohel
        Long Beach, California
        December 2005

        T&P Research has been providing me for several years with most valuable and successful research services in the pursuit of my roots in the Czech Republic. Pavel and his team always worked diligently and smartly, and did not give up easily in digging for results. They were successful even when they encountered in their search a forest of fathers, sons, uncles, nephews, and cousins all seemingly named Frantisek and Jozeph. I also appreciate the ease and speed with which I am always able to communicate with T&P Research.

Gerold Pokorny
        Tempe, Arizona, September 2005

        I first heard about T&P Research from a friend and began working with them in 2000 and continue to do so today.  They are always very professional and do all they can to meet my research requests, sometimes going to great effort to do so.  When I present them with new project ideas they always prepare a detailed proposal including pricing so that I know for certain what I'm getting for my money.  With their help I have successfully added three, and in some cases four, generations to my Dad's family tree.  I count over 40 direct ancestors that I have added to my tree thanks to research by T&P.  Don't hesitate to work with these professional genealogists!

        About my trip. I had a fabulous adventure with Zuzana as my guide.  We spent several days together visiting my ancestral villages in June of 2005.  She was very personable and very prepared.  She had compiled information on my villages in advance so when we visited them she shared what she had.  I had an unforgettable adventure and made a new friend in Zuzana.  Her services as a guide are highly recommended!

Molly Schweinfurter
        Outreach and Research Committee
        German-Bohemian Heritage Society, September 2005

        I have always been delighted with the results of the genealogical research conducted for me by T&P Research. Their reports have been very clear and accurate. T&P has conducted research for numerous members of our society and all have been well pleased.

Bob Paulson
        Founder
        German-Bohemian Heritage Society, September 2005

        Mr. Tyrpak:

        The efforts of you and your colleague, Ms. Zuzana Capkova in Prague, were simply superb. I simply cannot imagine having a better experience -- from your initial care in accurately defining my research goals to your attention to detail and presentation in the final research report.  Throughout the process, your status reporting and timely communications were a source of great comfort and instilled a sense of confidence that T&P Research really cared about my research project.  Your knowledge of Czech archival resources, your ability to translate those data into usable information, your responsiveness, your willingness to answer questions throughout the research period, and your refreshing professional demeanor speak well of your organization and are indeed noteworthy.  Thank you once again for your attentive and successful pursuit of my research goals.  I am looking forward to continuing this research effort in the near future.

        Sincerely,

Jack White
        San Diego, September 2005

        When I wanted research on my distant Czech ancestors, I checked out several genealogical services and finally hired T&P Research. I am glad I did. Our family had been telling a whole series of anecdotes about an ancestor, but T&P searched out the FACTS which were totally different. Their work was of high quality and they were very accommodating to provide me exactly (and only) what I wanted. Your get what you pay for.

Joe Vosoba
        Lincoln, Nebraska, September 2005