Jessica Fontana
Genealogist and owner of Ancestral Path Genealogy Services
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- Business Name
- Ancestral Path Genealogy Service
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- Non-Research Specialties
- Instructor
- Software Developer
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- Research Specialties
- African American
- Court Records
- Heir Searcher
- Land Records
- Migration
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- Research Counties
- Allen County, Ohio, United States
- Auglaize County, Ohio, United States
- Grundy County, Missouri, United States
- Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States
- Mercer County, Missouri, United States
- Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States
- Scott County, Missouri, United States
- Stoddard County, Missouri, United States
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- Research Provinces / States
- Arkansas, United States
- Delaware, United States
- Illinois, United States
- Indiana, United States
- Kentucky, United States
- Maryland, United States
- Missouri, United States
- North Carolina, United States
- Ohio, United States
- Pennsylvania, United States
- South Carolina, United States
- Tennessee, United States
- Texas, United States
- Virginia, United States
- West Virginia, United States
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- Research Countries
- England
- Italy
- United States
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- Research Time Periods
- 17th Century
- 18th Century
- 19th Century
- 20th Century
- 21st Century
I have over 15 years of experience and was formerly an employee of Ancestry ProGenealogists. I specialize in research in the Southern, Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, Great Lakes regions of the U.S. I have a Master of Science in Education with teaching experience with age groups middle school students through senior adults and instructional design experience with technology companies.
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- Degrees
- Bachelor of Music - Ohio State University
Master of Science, Extension Education, minor in Adult Education Methods - Ohio State University
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- Languages
- English, German, some Italian
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- Repositories
- Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota Genealogical Society and willing to go to county courthouses in Scott, Dakota, Carver, Wright, Le Sueur, and Ramsey counties.
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- Testimonials
- bout your research goals.
Jessica’s work on behalf of my family gave us more than I could ever put into words. She gave us the names of enslaved ancestors, and now we can speak them; she helped us uncovered our roots, and now we can water them. I have never had a stronger sense of self or identity as I do now, thanks to her genealogical work.
Working with Jessica on researching our family history was one of the best experiences my sister and I have had. She talked with each of us to determine what we were hoping to learn, and established three goals initially. She developed a plan to include particular family members of interest, how far back we wanted to go, and laid out the specifics we had in mind. We received detailed updates throughout the process, and as we got more information, we were able to adjust our goals based on the information provided. Jessica approached her research into our family the same as she would into her own. We truly felt it was a collaboration throughout. Jessica checked in with us along the way, and gave us options about the direction we could proceed. Once we felt we had what we wanted she prepared a narrative report, a journal which cites and analyzes the documents she collected and an image document with copies of all original sources collected. Throughout the process it was obvious that researching ancestry is a true passion for her, and the wealth of information we received is a result of that passion. She went beyond our expectations!
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- Lectures
- Enhancing Your Research with Periodicals: PERSI and JSTOR
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- Publications
- "Joseph J. Allen: One of the First African American Mail Carriers in Saint Paul, Minnesota," Generations: Quarterly of the Minnesota Genealogical Society, Vol 55, Number 1, Spring 2024.
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- Affiliations
- Minnesota Genealogical Society, APG Northland Chapter, National Genealogical Society, and NGS Forensic Genealogy SIG.
Contact
Contact
- Business site: www.ancestralpath.net
Work Contact
Work Contact
| Phone: | 952-250-2425 |
| Email: | jessica@kinura.net |
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