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Kate Blankenship

Rhode Island-based genealogical and historical researcher and writer
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
United States
Currently accepting clients for...
  • Family History Research
  • Writing /Publishing
Family History Research
  • Document Retrieval / Record Agent
  • Ethnicity / Religion
  • Family History Research
  • Immigration / Naturalization
Writing/Publishing
  • Author/Writer
  • Editor
Other Speciality
  • House Historian / Local History
  • Handwriting / Palaeography
My name is Kate Blankenship, and I am a professional genealogist and researcher with over 15 years of experience. I am a Wisconsin native and a lifelong history enthusiast with an academic background in archaeology and Latin American studies. As I developed my research chops in graduate school at Brown University, I realized I could use those skills to dig into questions I had always had about my heritage. That curiosity-driven hobby has evolved into a deep-seated passion for genealogy and public history, especially in my home-away-from-home state of Rhode Island. Whether it’s building your family tree from scratch, documenting the life story of an ancestor, tracking down paper records in local repositories, deciphering old handwritten documents, or lending a new perspective to brick walls in your own investigative efforts, I will use my wide-ranging research experience to effectively and comprehensively tackle your project.

Past Projects:
  • Uncovering the French-Canadian, Irish, and English ancestors of an adoptee with deep New England roots
  • Constructing detailed biographies of teachers and students at a 19th-century school for Black children in Providence, Rhode Island
  • Tracing the property records of formerly enslaved families building a new life in North Carolina after emancipation
  • Transcribing and annotating the early 20th century diaries of a Jewish-American teenager in New York City
  • Tracking down living relatives of notable Rhode Island Black and Indigenous businesswoman Christiana Carteaux Bannister
  • Documenting the life and career of a 19th-century British champion jockey and horse-trainer
Geographic Specialities
Rhode Island and New England
Great Lakes, Deep South, Texas, New York City, United Kingdom, Germany, Latin America (Digital records only)
Additional specialities or search keywords
African-American genealogy and history
Research Time Periods
  • 20th Century
  • 19th Century
  • 18th Century
  • 17th Century
Languages
Spanish
Affiliations
Association of Professional Genealogists
New England Association of Professional Genealogists
Rhode Island Genealogical Society
Degrees
BA in Latin American Studies, University of Texas at Austin
MA in Latin American Studies, University of Texas at Austin
MA in Anthropology, Brown University