Currently accepting clients for...

• Family History Research
• Speaking / Presenting
• Writing /Publishing

Bonnie Wade Mucia, AG^®, AGL^TM an Accredited Genealogist in the New England region and is the owner of Keeper of the Past Genealogy, LLC. She serves as Director of the Mayflower Families Silver Books Project for the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, concentrating on Mayflower passengers' descendants. An experienced speaker and lecturer, Bonnie is a member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild. She has published articles in respected genealogical journals, including the New England Historic Genealogical Society's Mayflower Descendant, the Rhode Island Roots Journal of the Rhode Island Genealogical Society, The Maine Genealogist, Vermont Genealogy, The Nova Scotia Genealogist, the Utah Genealogy Association journal Crossroads, and others. Besides attending several genealogy institutes such as SLIG, IGHR, GRIP, she is an alumna of ICAPGen Study Groups, GenProof 91, ProGen 34, and a graduate of the Boston University Genealogical Certificate OL23 program. She will be attending Gen-Fed in Fall 2026. Originally from Rhode Island, Bonnie lives with her husband, Joseph, in South Carolina.
 

Geographic Specialities
New England

Publications/Media

• The Maine Genealogists - May 2024 "Samuel Beal Shea of the 19th Maine at the Battle of Gettysburg"
• Rhode Island Roots Journal (RIGS), Dec 2024, "Birth and Death of a Textile Mill;" June 2023, "Untangling the Darling Web" March 2022, "The Girl Missing"
• Crossroads - “Keepers of the Past: A Genealogist’s Role at a National Cemetery,” - Spring 2026, p. 20; “Using the Mayflower Silver Books in your Genealogy Research” - May 2024
• Vermont Genealogy - “A Forgotten Photograph Resurrects the Life of Julia Adelaide (Pierce) Fuller” - 29 [2024], pp. 137-143
• Mayflower Descendant, Vol. 69, No. 1 Winter 2021, p. 65-70 "John Wade of Massachusetts and John Wade of Nova Scotia; Are They the Same Man?"
• The Nova Scotia Genealogist: Descendants of George Wade & Freelove Condon of Granville, Nova Scotia, Article published in the Summer 2019, Vol. XXVII/2 issued based on a Wade Family Bible in 1847 and covers four generations.

Lectures

• Warning Out! Following the Unwanted in Colonial Towns
• Using Store Ledgers to Reconstruct a Maine Community in 1890: A Methodological Case Study
• Grave Data: Using the Rhode Island Historical Cemetery database 
• Locating New England Church Records Prior to 1900
• Using Historical Context in Your Genealogy Writing: A Gettysburg Soldier Case Study
• Finding Female Ancestors
• Navigating the Mayflower Families Silver Books: A Guide for Genealogists
• Birth and Death of a Textile Mill
• Overturning a Rejected Lineage Application with a Proof Argument: A Case Study
• "Moi Aussi" Finding and Providing Your French-Canadian DAR Patriot
• 75 Years Later: Creating Wartime Family Reunions with DNA - Military Repatriation
• Shall Not Be Denied: The Victory of Women's Suffrage (with a focus on the 19th Amendment in South Carolina)
• Stephen Bull of the Beaufort District during the Revolutionary War
• Various Mayflower Lineage and Mayflower Meeting House talks
• Identifying a Plantagenet King with DNA
• Lineage & Hereditary Societies, What are they and how to join them.

Repositories
In Person: Rhode Island, Massachusetts (limited times of the year). Beaufort County, Jasper County, SC; Chatham County, GA for record pulling of deeds, probate, etc.

Research Time Periods

• 20th Century
• 19th Century
• 18th Century
• 17th Century
• 16th Century and Earlier

Certificates

GenProof Study Group 91 - 2024
​ProGen Study Group 34: JUN 2017 – NOV 2018
Certificate in Genealogical Research OL23/ Boston University, Boston, MA: JAN 2017 – MAY 2017

Applied Genealogy Institute - APRIL 2024: Self-Editing for Genealogists

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) Salt Lake City, UT

• SEP 2025: Advanced Practicum
• FEB 2025: Tracing French Canadian Ancestors
• JAN 2025: Advanced New England Research
• FEB 2024: BCG Certification: Understanding and Meeting Standards
• JAN 2022: Becoming an Accredited Genealogist 
• JAN 2021: Advanced Genealogical Methods
• JAN 2018: A Practical Approach: Establishing Genealogy Proof with DN

Genealogy Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP), Pittsburgh, PA 

• JULY 2022: Mastering the Art of Genealogical Documentation
• JULY 2021: Beyond Fundamentals: Hands-on Forensic Genealogy

Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) Athens, GA

• JULY 2020: Advanced Military Records III
• JULY 2019: DNA as Genealogical Evidence (Advanced) 

ICAPGen Study Groups

• JAN 2021 – MAR 2021: Four Generational Project study group
• OCT - NOV 2024: Test Prep study group

New England Historical Genealogy Society, Boston, MA 

• DEC 2025: Research in New England Town Records
• JULY 2022: Researching Your French-Canadian Ancestors
• MAY 2021: Massachusetts Research 17th, 18th, 19th & 20th century
• AUG 2020: New England Research – All Six States

Certification Discussion Group: JAN 2020 – MAR 2020

NSDAR, Genealogical Education Program I, II, III, DNA

• GEP 1 and 11: 2015
• GEP III: JAN 2018
• DNA: 2019

 

Scholarship Recipient

• American Society of Genealogy Scholar (2025 Recipient) - Recipients demonstrate talent and potential in advanced genealogical research.
• Laura G. Prescott Scholarship (2024 Recipient) - Scholarship focuses on a passion for genealogy, education, and standards, as well as volunteerism.

 

Affiliations
Bonnie sat on the Executive Committee of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants as a Member At Large from 2020-2023. She is a former Governor of the South Carolina Mayflower Society as well as Deputy Governor General for SC. Bonnie is a member of the Beacon Pole Hill Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She served as the South Carolina state chair for the NSDAR Commemorative Events Committee, the state chair for the DAR DNA Committee, and co-chair of the Volunteer Genealogists Committee. She was a member of the U.S. Daughters of the War of 1812 and served as the Chapter Secretary for the General Thomas Pinckney chapter in South Carolina. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, NEAPG, APG FIG, and the Genealogical Speakers Guild.