Genealogy Research & Translation Services
Experience, Skills and Continuing Education
Experience, Skills and Continuing Education
Unlock Your Family History with Personalized Genealogy Research Plans!
Start your journey with a complimentary 30-minute initial consultation via phone or online, where we’ll outline your specific goals and vision for your family history.
Do you need assistance with discovering and transcribing your ancestors' records to accurately build your family tree?
Are you applying to a lineage society, like the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada or the Daughters of the American Revolution and need expert research support?
Perhaps you're trying to locate your birth parents using DNA results or exploring citizenship by descent and need documented evidence of your ancestral ties to another country.
Whatever your genealogical aspirations may be, I am dedicated to helping you find the answers and preserve your family's unique story.
Research Packages designed for you:
- Basic Research Package 1: includes a review of your personal research/information, basic initial research and the development of a research plan. (6 hours: $450)
- Basic Research Package 2: includes a review of your personal research/information, the development of a research plan and preliminary research of the maternal or paternal branch of your family tree. (8-10 hours: $600-$ 750)
- Citizenship by descent research package (8 -14 hours:$600 - $1050)
- Tier 1 Research Package: includes a review of your personal research and the development of a research plan/timeline, preliminary research on both branches of your family tree, a pedigree chart, and ideas for further research. (12 -17 hours)
- Tier 2 Research Package and Report: includes a review of your personal research and the development of a research plan/timeline, in-depth research of your family tree, a pedigree chart, and a concise written genealogical report, and ideas for further research. (18-20+ hours)
- Custom Research Packages are also available to meet your unique needs
- Translation from French to English of birth/baptismal, marriage, death and other records. ($45.00 - $65.00 per record)
Experience, Skills and Continuing Education
Experience, Skills and Continuing Education
Experience, Skills and Continuing Education
- Vice Chair, APGCAN, APG Canada Chapter (formerly OCAPG, APG Ontario Chapter)
- Member, APG (Association of Professional Genealogists)
- Central East Regional Councillor, UELAC
- Genealogist, Sir Guy Carleton & Heritage Branches, UELAC
- Board Member, Quebec Genealogical esociety
- Member, Ontario Ancestors (OGS)
- Member, BIFHSGO ( British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa)
- Member, Niagara County Genealogical Society
- Member, NGS
- Certificate in Genealogical Research, Boston University
- 37+ years of News Research experience
- Certificate in Digital Content and Community Management(in progress), McGill University
- Graduate Diploma, Public Relations Management, McGill University
- B.A. Double Major Journalism/Political Science, Concordia University
"You live as long as you are remembered." — Proverb
"Rising from the Ashes at 60"
Why did I decide to name my budding genealogy business "familyfootprints.ca" ? Well, my paternal 1st cousin, Karan has my same quirky sense of humor and we often joke about our Haimerl family feet. They are not our most attractive family inheritance, being far from delicate and dainty feet. Yes, those are my feet in the first photo you see on this website. Karan sends me Bigfoot memes. I send Karan pics of my size 11W feet from vacation spots.
I've always been curious about my ancestors but never as serious about family history research as now. I was gifted an abundance of free time when my news research job was abolished in December 2018 after almost 34 years with a major broadcasting company. I was a researcher, field producer, production assistant, fill-in assignment editor, director during those three+ decades. I have a B.A., Double Major in Journalism and Political Science from Concordia University. My first job after getting my B.A. was as producer of an open-line public affairs radio show. In 2013, I received a Graduate Diploma in Public Relations Management from McGill University.
I started our family tree on My Heritage about 8 years ago. I took my first DNA test at My Heritage, in May of this year. I tested with My Heritage, then Ancestry and last week I sent a DNA test kit into 23 and me. One of my personal goals is to find my mom's unknown birth father.
I completed the Genealogy Principles course at Boston University this fall. I registered for the certificate course in Genealogy at Boston University and will be starting class in January 2020. I'm developing the skills I need to help others with their family history research and solve their own mysteries.
This September, I also enrolled in the Professional Development Certificate in Digital Content and Community Management at McGill University. In my Content Creation class, we had a couple of minutes to come up with a six-word memoir. Here's mine: "Rising from the ashes at 60."
I intend to fulfill that promise with my Genealogy work.
"Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future." — Gail Lumet Buckley
Great-Grandma Kochanowski and Holly c.1960
My family roots- One step at a time
Finding My Roots
“Who wants to see its branches bloom,
honors its roots.” (Proverb)
Finding My Roots
Once upon a time, there was a family farm in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario with a large Elm tree...
The 100+-year-old Elm began to wilt from a tree disease in the summer of 2011. My mom and her older " brother" Peter both passed away by the end of the year. My cousins knew that I considered this old Elm tree a lucky family talisman and believed it symbolized the spirit of our Krzewska/Kochanowski ancestors in the Soo. The tree was cut down just as my mom reached the palliative stage of her Parkinson's disease. My uncle passed away 3 weeks after my mom. The old farm where the tree grew hasn't belonged to our Krzewska/Kochanowski (Kenoski) family for many years. Originally, it was a 50-acre working farm. As the limits of the city expanded, several large farms were expropriated, including our family farm. My Uncle Pete was left with about 2.5 acres which included the farmhouse, barn, and other outbuildings. Uncle Pete sold the remaining acreage when he and my aunt retired full-time to Goulais Bay. The farmhouse, barn, and other buildings were knocked down to make way for new housing development. The Elm and several other trees and bushes kept growing but the apple orchard was no longer productive so it was torn down. I left the Soo when I was about 10 years old but as an adult, I made pilgrimages to that old Elm tree and took a photo every time I was in my hometown. The new property owners were fond of that majestic old Elm and because the roots were spread so wide, they had to keep the stump intact when they cut down the tree. The property owners continue to decorate and plant flowers around the stump every year. Our family roots are strong and still growing!
My Favourite Genealogy websites/blogs
WEBSITES/BLOGS
My enthusiasm for Genealogy has been sparked by the many professionals who have been working diligently in this field long before I took an interest.
I am sharing some of my favourites here:
Elizabeth Shown Mills - https://www.historicpathways.com/
I designated Elizabeth Shown Mills the "Goddess of Genealogy" in a blog post I wrote for one of my Digital Content classes at McGill University.
Mags Gaulden: https://grandmasgenes.com/
Judy G. Russell - https://www.legalgenealogist.com/
Robert Estes - https://dna-explained.com/
Ellen Thompson-Jennings - always ready with a kind word and helpful hints
https://blog.familyhistoryhound.com/
Genealogy Ensemble:https://genealogyensemble.com/
UELAC United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada: https://uelac.ca/
Ontario Ancestors: https://ogs.on.c
APGCAN: https://apgcan.org/
Association of Professional Genealogists: https://www.apgen.org/cpages/home
Quebec Genealogical eSociety: https://genquebec.com/en
lots more to be added...