Behind the Search

What seemed a simple quest to fill the branches of my family tree brought more than just names and dates. As I uncovered each ancestor and their story, I began to understand that I wasn't just filling up my family tree. I was filling up my soul.

My journey into the power of family history began over a decade ago when I solved a mystery that had stumped my own family for generations, and uncovered the identity of my grandmother's birth mother. That initial discovery sparked what would become an insatiable curiosity about my roots - and yours.

Since then, I've unearthed the stories of remarkably diverse ancestors: a determined woman who founded a town, grandfathers who fought on opposite sides of the Civil War, resilient Appalachian mountain folk with mystical traditions, early American pioneering settlers, determined immigrants from all over Europe, colorful characters of questionable repute, and even connections to Viking nobility. I also discovered that artistic talent runs deep in all of my bloodline—I truly didn't stand a chance to be anything other than an outside-the-box creative thinker.

Beyond names and dates, I've witnessed how patterns—both gifts and challenges—echo through generations. Talent and addiction, choices and consequences, trauma and resilience—all ripple through family lines whether we acknowledge them or not. When we recognize these patterns, we gain a powerful freedom to shape our own stories with greater awareness and intention.

Global Detective

With over a decade dedicated to this craft, I bring authoritative expertise and razor-sharp instinct to every project. I've traveled intensively, with purpose and tenacity, through more than a dozen countries with their infamous historical sites, ancestral grounds, and places of collective victory and anguish. I've researched and guided tours that help families walk in the footsteps of their ancestors and touch the family heritage in tangible ways. Through these experiences - and my network of various international archival holdings - I've amassed a personal archive of hundreds of thousands of documents, photographs, letters, and personal accounts that help me connect scattered pieces of family histories that might otherwise remain mysteries forever.

As I followed these historical threads, I discovered that personal and global histories illuminate each other. The techniques that uncovered my family's past were the same ones that revealed the human experiences behind world-changing events. The detective work, the contextual understanding, the emotional connections—these skills bridge whole worlds.