Janice M. Sellers
Professional Researcher and Genealogist at Ancestral Discoveries
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- Business Name
- Ancestral Discoveries
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- Non-Research Specialties
- Compiler/Indexer
- Conference Planner
- Editor
- Lecturer/Presenter - On-site
- Lecturer/Presenter - Virtual
- Transcriber
- Translator
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- Research Specialties
- African American
- Court Records
- Emigration & Immigration
- Forensic
- Heir Searcher
- Jewish
- Migration
- Naturalization
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- Research Counties
- Alameda County, California, United States
- Clackamas County, Oregon, United States
- Clark County, Washington, United States
- Contra Costa County, California, United States
- Multnomah County, Oregon, United States
- Washington County, Oregon, United States
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- Research Provinces / States
- California, United States
- Oregon, United States
- Texas, United States
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- Research Countries
- England
- Italy
- Russia
- United States
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- Research Time Periods
- 19th Century
- 20th Century
- 21st Century
Gresham, Oregon, United States
I have researched my own family since 1975 and conducted research for others since 2005. I am the editor of one genealogy periodical. I am the acting president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon and a board member, programming director, and publicity director of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society. I have been on the staff of LDS FamilySearch Centers since 2000.
B.A. in French with minors in Spanish and Russian. Graduate studies in library and information science, computer programming, and music. I have worked as an editor, indexer, and translator since 1983.
Services
Family history research for 19th-21st centuries. Specializing in Jewish, black American, newspapers, dual citizenship, and forensic genealogy. I will help you learn more about your family and place your ancestors in their historical context. I offer editing, desktop publishing, indexing, transcription, and translation services (primarily Spanish, French, and Russian).
Geographic Specialties
California, Illinois, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Western United States, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Russia
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- Degrees
- BA (French (Spanish & Russian minors))
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- Languages
- French, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Italian
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- Repositories
- Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon Archives, Clackamas County Family History Society, Oregon Historical Society, Oregon State Archives, Washington County (Oregon) Museum, Willamette Heritage Center, Yamhill County Historical Society
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- Testimonials
- "My genealogy project had ground to a halt before I started working with Janice. Then it accelerated to warp speed, and here I am submitting my application for citizenship, much sooner and with better documentation than I ever imagined. I would never have arrived to this point without Janice s help, for which I am very grateful." - Brian R.
"Thank you for all the work you've been putting into researching my family! It is exciting to see pieces of their lives and learn where they came from." - Wendy B.
"I have included all your research. It made quite a difference." - Daniel K.
"EVERYONE appreciated all of the excellent information that you provided. Several people, with years of genealogy experience, came up and congratulated me for finding you. ... Your talk was detailed and well organized, and answered everyone s questions before they could even think of them. Your handout was excellent ...."
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- Lectures
- Using Online Newspapers for Genealogical Research
Using Online Historical Black Newspapers for Genealogical Research
Using Online Historical Jewish Newspapers for Genealogical Research
Reconstructing Family Information When You Start with Almost Nothing
Finding the Women in Your Family Tree
Introduction to Jewish Genealogy
Jewish Genealogy: Why Is This Research Different from All Other Research?
Online Resources for Jewish Genealogy
Introduction to Genealogy
Freedmen's Bureau 2.0: A Better Way to Do Slave Research
Finding Family Members in Freedman's Bank Records
Vital Records and the Calendar Change of 1752
So You Found Them in the Census: That's Only the Start
Finding Religious Records
Using City (and Other) Directories in Your Research
What's Buried in Cemetery Records
Probate Records Can Prove Family Connections
Digging Deeper on FamilySearch
Irish Research Online
They Died in San Francisco: A Little Used Source of Pre-1906 Deaths
Immigration and Naturalization Research
But It Wasn't a Foreign Language to Your Ancestors
Researching Historic LGBT Relatives
Copyright Issues for Genealogy
Citing Your Sources in Genealogical Research
Reading and Transcribing American Colonial Handwriting
Follow a Family through 150 Years of Newspapers
Using the Subscription Newspaper Web Sites at LDS FamilySearch Centers
A Tale of Two Brothers: The Patriot and the Outlaw
Amazing Things You Can Find in the Newspaper about Your Ancestors
Finding and Following the Paths of My Cuban Cousins
Using Finding Aids for Jewish Records to Help Research Non-Jewish Ancestors
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- Publications
- "Where I'm From", Santa Clara County Connections, Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society, Fall 2016
"Unspoken Tragedies" (second author with Angela Williams Brown), The Baobab Tree, AAGSNC, Summer 2016
"Finding and Following the Paths of My Cuban Cousins", Avotaynu, Avotaynu, Inc., Summer 2016
"A Black Baker at the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition", The Baobab Tree, AAGSNC, Spring 2015
"When I Almost Cooked Dinner for Leonard Nimoy", ZichronNote, SFBAJGS, May 2015
"Zalmon Reuben Orlowsky: Portrait of a World War I Veteran", California Nugget, California Genealogical Society, December 2014
"The Chaotic Saga of Oil in Galicia" (translator), The Galitzianer, Gesher Galicia, December 2012; original article by Jerome Segal and Renaud Lavergne, "L'Epopee oubliee du petrole de Galicie", Geo-Histoire, October November 2012
"International Jewish Genealogy Month", ZichronNote, San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, November 2010 (with Jeremy Frankel)
"Napoleon's Finest", Roots-Key, Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles, Summer/Fall 2006
"The Value of Family History Travel", ZichronNote, San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society", February 2005
"Clues in Religious Traditions", More Brickwall Solutions to Genealogy Problems, Moorshead Magazines Ltd., 2004
"Keep Talking to Relatives!", More Brickwall Solutions to Genealogy Problems, Moorshead Magazines Ltd., 2004
"Lucky Thirteen", 500 Brickwall Solutions to Genealogy Problems, Moorshead Magazines Ltd., 2003
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- Affiliations
- Genealogical Speakers Guild ; Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy ; San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society ; Jewish Genealogical Society of Oregon ; Jewish Genealogical Society of Long Island ; Genealogical Forum of Oregon African American Special Interest Group
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- Blog
- ancestraldiscoveries.com/
Contact
Contact
- Business site: www.ancestraldiscoveries.com/
Work Contact
Work Contact
| Phone: | (503) 381-2654 |
| Email: | janicemsj@gmail.com |
| Street Address: | 1009 NE 196th Avenue |
| Address 2: | |
| City: | Gresham |
| State/Province: | Oregon |
| Country: | United States |
| Zip/Postal Code: | 97230 |