Currently accepting clients for...

• Family History Research
• Writing /Publishing

I love using unusual sources and social history to solve puzzles. I also do short-term tasks like obtaining copies of documents from area repositories, and I provide coaching to researchers who are stuck. I visit various repositories in Suffolk & Middlesex counties in metro Boston. I have a special interest in researching people, families, and communities that have been marginalized in surviving records. My research focuses include (but are not limited to) colonial-era New England; researching enslaved and recently free Northerners; researching emigrants' British Isles ancestors and relatives; tracking migratory families; and researching immigrants, from the colonial era to the 20th century.

I have been doing genealogical research for over 20 years. In 2010 I completed Boston University Center for Professional Education's Certificate in Genealogical Research. At that point I had been helping people with pro bono projects for several years, and after completing BU's program I began taking paying clients. (For details of my further genealogical education experiences, please see the "Education" section below.)

My personal research has given me skills in tracking migratory people, both between and within countries, and has exposed me to a wide range of record sets and types of research. Some of the record sets I especially enjoy using are school records, historical newspapers, court records, tax records, account books, notarial records, maps, and cemetery records, as well as using DNA test results as a complement to traditional research methods.

Education

In 2022 I enrolled in the Masters of Science Programme in Genealogical, Palaeographic & Heraldic Studies at the University of Strathclyde, but subsequently decided to transfer to the History of the Family master's degree program at the University of Limerick, where I began my studies in September 2023 and am scheduled to finish in August 2024.

Highlights: B.A. (Anthropology), Oberlin College; Certificate in Genealogical Research, Boston University Center for Professional Education (2010); ProGen Study Group (2010-12); "Writing Family History Narratives and Other Genealogical Works" (2011) and "Civilly Uncommon: Advanced Legal Analysis for Genealogists" (2014), Boston University advanced genealogical courses; "Pre- and Post-Slavery Research" at the Midwest African-American Genealogical Institute (2016); "Practical Genetic Genealogy" at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (2016); “African-Native American Research” at the Midwest African-American Genealogical Institute (2020); "Researching New York: Resources and Strategies" at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (2020); "From Sea to Shining Sea: Researching our Ancestors' Migrations in America" at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (2021, Week 1); "The Pennsylvania German and Research in the Keystone State" at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (2021, Week 2); "Writing and Documenting for Peer Review" at SLIG Academy for Professionals (2021); "Beyond the Golden Door: Immigrants to the U.S.A. after 1890" at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (2021, Week 1); "Advanced DNA Evidence" at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (2021, Week 2); "Researching Ontario and Quebec Ancestors" at the Canadian Genealogical Virtual Research Intensive [Institute] (2021); "Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis" at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (2021); "Operation Jumpstart: Beyond the Basics of Military Research" at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (2022); "Catholic Records" at the Applied Genealogy Institute (2022); "Mastering the Art of Genealogical Documentation" at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (2022, Week 1); "Gateway to the Garden State: New Jersey Research" at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (2022, Week 2); "Researching African American Ancestors: Courthouse Records" at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (2022); "Essential Speaker Skills" at the Family History Academy (2022); and "Virginia from the Colonial Period to the Civil War" at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (2023); as well as taking additional courses and attending numerous conferences, seminars, lectures, etc.

Geographic Specialities
Boston area; Massachusetts; New England; England; Scotland

Publications/Media
"Using School Records," article in the September 2012 issue of Indiana Genealogist, published by the Indiana Genealogical Society; "The Long Trek Westward: Migration from New England to New York and the Midwest," article in the December 2013 issue of The Bulletin, published by the Genealogical Forum of Oregon.

Lectures
Researching Enslaved and Recently Free Northerners," History Camp Boston in Boston, Massachusetts, on 26 March 2016; "Early Modern England and the Colonization of New England," History Camp Pioneer Valley in Holyoke, Massachusetts, on 30 July 2016.

Repositories
Archive of Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA; Boston City Archives; Cambridge Historical Society, Cambridge, MA; Congregational Library; Massachusetts Historical Society; Massachusetts State Archives; Massachusetts State Library; Middlesex County Probate and Family Court, Cambridge, MA; MIT Museum; New England Historic Genealogical Society Library; Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe Institute; and additional archives and libraries. PLEASE NOTE: On 1 April 2020 I resumed taking paying clients, but as of June 2024 many archives in the Boston area remain open by advance appointment only, with some archives currently closed. I'm fully vaccinated and I'm happy to go to archives in person for clients where it is an option and they have safety measures in place. Please be aware that many of the open archives require appointments to be booked days in advance.

Research Time Periods

• 20th Century
• 19th Century
• 18th Century
• 17th Century

Languages
Fluent English; intermediate Spanish; a little Italian and Arabic. Can read some Latin and German, particularly words found in common records.

Certificates
Certificate in Genealogical Research, Boston University Center for Professional Education (2010); ProGen Study Group (2010-12)

 

Affiliations
Member of APG & the New England chapter of APG; student member of the Register of Qualified Genealogists; member of Atlantic Black Box Project, a group for people "researching & reckoning with New England's role in the global economy of enslavement"; member of a number of additional genealogical and historical societies.

Degrees
Bachelor of Arts, Oberlin College (Anthropology)