I am a professional genealogist, living just southeast of Seattle.

I have been doing genealogical research since 1974, and have been a professional genealogist since 2008.  My clients come from all over the world, including Norway, Australia, and England, and I have collaborated with other researchers across the United States to explore local records that are not online.  I relish helping people connect with their ancestors, using a wide variety of records and resources.  I've done vital records look-ups, searched microfilmed newspapers, committed to ongoing research, compiled binders of original documents, and completed a forensic genealogy case for my local police department. 

I have a Master's Degree in Library Science, a Business Software Specialist certificate and a Paralegal Plus certificate.  I have worked for over 10 years in libraries in Western Washington, and have taught classes in library research at the community college level.  

I've written articles for several publications, including a review of GenealogyBank for the APG Quarterly (December 2009), a series of articles for my local newspaper, The Voice of the Valley (2011), and articles for the national website Archives.com.

I'm available to lecture on a variety of genealogy topics, including "Discover Your Family History", "Beyond Ancestry.com: Searching for Your Ancestors Online", "Genealogy in the Computer Age", "Podcasts, Webinars and Blogs, Oh My!", and "Finding and Using Historic Newspapers".

Education:
Institute for Genealogical & Historic Research, Samford University, 2010:  Writing for Genealogists
Institute for Genealogical & Historic Research, Samford University, 2011:  Genealogy as a Profession
ProGen 12 Study Group: 2012
National Genealogical Society Home Study Course: completed 2012
National Genealogical Society Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, 2010

Memberships:
I am a member in good standing of the following organizations:
Association of Professional Genealogists

National Genealogical Society

Seattle Genealogical Society

New England Historic Genealogical Society

North Carolina Genealogical Society


Genealogical Speakers Guild

Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy

Daughters of the American Revolution


New York Genealogical and Biographical Society


Seattle Genealogical Society


Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society

Online Databases and Subscriptions:
Ancestry :  perhaps the best-known genealogy website, it has thousands of digitized records for the US and the world.
Fold3:  a nationally known database that concentrates on military records.  There are fully digitized files of Revolutionary war pension records, and indexes and images of records from the War of 1812, the Civil War, both World Wars, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.  Other records include city directories, census records and newspapers.
GenealogyBank:  used primarily for U.S. historic newspapers (1690-2007), an obituary database (1977-present), the Social Security Death Index (free; updated weekly); and historic documents.
FindMyPast:  the premiere website for researching ancestry in England, Cornwall and Wales.  Records include birth, marriage and death records, parish registers, military records, and census records.
Scotland's People:  the official website of the National Archives of Scotland, this database contains digitized original records such as parish registers, valuations and census records.
RootsIreland: Ireland's largest family records database

Research Facilities:
I do regular research onsite at these repositories:

Family History Library, Salt Lake City
Washington State Archives, Olympia
Washington State Library, Olympia
Seattle Public Library
Tacoma Public Library
National Archives, Seattle branch
Puget Sound Regional Archives
King County Archives
King County Superior Court
North Carolina State Library and Archives, Raleigh
Library and Archives of Michigan, Lansing

Social Media:
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All content (c) Claudia Breland, 2013