Ancestral Story Weaving Session

Moving past just a spiritual connection to ancestors, I took the route of an actual degree in Family History Research and now work as a Professional Genealogist. I use my specialized skills to gather and weave these stories together from pages of handwritten ledgers, records of birth and death stored in archives and old churches, and clippings from the oversharing newspapers of tiny towns.

Through the hours and professional process of researching the origins of YOU, I combine the names and dates, fragments of information, with the context of the time and place. Your ancestors are then woven into timelines and patterns and shared with you in an immersive slideshow session.

Ancestral Story Weaving Sessions offer the bridge between ancestral connection as a casual practice and ancestral connection as a deep, personal, and visual path to the kind of healing that reaches generations in both the past and the future.

Does this work for everyone?

Yes...and possibly no? (read on). If your ancestors lived in a country that records are easily and readily available, I will be able to find more information about them and can tell a more full story of their lives and better integrate how it fits with your own.

If your ancestors lived in a country where records are difficult or impossible to find, I will focus more on historical context and uncover what I can about them under this lens. I will give you the option for a refund, if this is the case for your family.

What information do I need to provide? 

I do not need any information about living relatives. All I need is enough information about your closest deceased ancestors (grandparents or great-grandparents). I will need their name and location with date for a life event (birth, marriage, or death). This is usually enough for me to get started. I will contact you if I need more. If you already have access to an extensive family tree, I will use this information to put together pieces of your ancestors' lives that best tell their story and experience. I will also do some research where necessary to fill in the missing pieces.

I will need that information for each family line that you would like me to explore. You can provide any additional helpful information on the intake form provided after you pay.

Why does it take so long?

Genealogical research takes time. I need to look for records about your ancestors, and ensure that I am following the correct "John Smith." I use professional genealogy standards while I research, so that you get the most accurate telling of your family stories. Because of this, I need 6+ weeks from the time that I receive your intake form before we meet for your session.

Also, I only do a few sessions each month, so be sure to submit your intake form asap, so that you can get your spot as quickly as possible.

Do you do all the research yourself?

I conduct most of the research myself, but I do contract out research to other genealogists if I need more expertise in a certain area. Once I have done the bulk of the research (or received it from another professional genealogist), I build the stories to share with you in a way that helps you connect and see how they relate to yourself. 

What training do you have?

I graduated with an associate's degree in Family History Research. As part of my education, I spent hours researching and writing reports about my own and other's ancestors. I learned how to research using the Genealogical Proof Standard, and understand the importance of accurate and realistic genealogical research.

How far back will you research?

Because of the nature and purpose of these sessions, I will likely only share stories and experiences of your close ancestors (those who lived in the 1800s and early 1900s). These are the ancestors whose experiences have most affected your own and whose records are readily available. Research further back is very difficult and time consuming, so would come with a much higher price tag. Occasionally I have shared stories of earlier ancestors if research time allows, and if it seems applicable to your experience in the session.

How would you integrate my story with my ancestors'?

There is a lot of research out there that talks about epigenetics and how the experiences of our ancestors can actually affect our DNA. I believe that there is great power in understanding the stories of our ancestors, so that we can better understand ourselves.

Did your great-grandmother experience trauma while pregnant with your grandmother? How might that have affected her posterity? Was there a pattern of abandonment in your family tree? Is there trauma that you have inherited?

These are all things that I am open to exploring as I uncover stories about your ancestors. There is no guarantee to what I can find, but I will look through this lens of generational trauma and patterns as I research your family.