Currently accepting clients for...

• Family History Research
• Writing /Publishing
• Other Speciality

Lesley is the founder of Canadian by Surprise LLC, a genealogical research service specializing in Canadian citizenship by descent for Americans with French Canadian and Quebec ancestry.

Before founding Canadian by Surprise, she worked as a federal contractor for the US Army, analyzing historical records dating back to the Civil War. Her work included helping maintain the Army’s official Medal of Honor Roll, answering Congressional inquiries, and conducting fraud investigations — building actionable cases for prosecutors and translating obscure government records and regulations into language any jury could understand. That institutional records background informs every research engagement she undertakes.

Her practice focuses exclusively on documenting the direct ancestral line from a Canadian-born ancestor to the client — the specific chain required for Canadian citizenship by descent applications under IRCC. 

Geographic Specialities
North America, Canada, United States

Additional specialities or search keywords
Citizenship genealogy, Canadian by descent, Bill C3, Jus Sanguinis, French Canadian Ancestry

Research Time Periods

• 21st Century
• 20th Century
• 19th Century
• 18th Century
• 17th Century
• 16th Century and Earlier

Languages
English, some written French / Quebecois 

Honorifics/Credentials
Magna cum Laude

Degrees
BA Political Science, College of Santa Fe

Graduate coursework at University of Texas at Dallas' Emerging Media and Communications program