Research

Area of Expertise: State and Federal Censuses, New England, Ireland, and New York research, with a focus on research methodology and organization. Lindsay also oversees the research team working on the 10 Million Names project.

Areas of Expertise: African American genealogy, Oklahoma and Freedmen of the Five Tribes, Mississippi, and generational Americans with enslaved and/or enslaver ancestors.

Cynthia Evans is the Director of Research for 10 Million Names. She manages and performs research for 10 Million Names projects.

June oversees the expansion, management, and preservation of our Digital Collections within the American Ancestors Special Collections.

Areas of Expertise: Irish genealogy, the Atlantic Canadian Provinces of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and New England.

Shalley Marshall received a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in Russian from Tulane University, and a M.S. in Library and Information Science, with an Archival Management focus, from Simmons University.

Anjelica is a senior researcher on the 10 Million Names team.

Todd Pattison, Conservator, works to preserve and care for the collection of books, manuscripts, and fine art.

Danielle Rose oversees the many dedicated volunteers who assist with creating database content for the 10 Million Names Project.

Areas of Expertise: African Americans, Enslaved Africans, Colonial America, Revolutionary War, and New England

Sarah Dery has been with American Ancestors since 2017, working closely with the Chief of Research.

Areas of Expertise: Colonial New England, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Ireland.

Christine Bachman-Sanders is a researcher in the Research & Library Services Department.

Peggy Carpenter Genealogist has a B.A. in Family History from Brigham Young University. 

Sheilagh Doerfler joined American Ancestors in 2013 as a member of the Research and Library Services team.

Zack has been a member of the research services team since 2014.

Kate Gilbert has been a member of the Research Services team since 2023. She holds a BA in History from the University of New England, as well as a Master's Certificate in Museum Studies from Tufts University.

Areas of Expertise: Colonial-era New England, Jewish history, lineage societies in the United States, and archival standards.

Areas of Expertise: Irish immigration, Irish records, DNA, church records, German, New York (both city and state), and New England.

Areas of Expertise: 19th-century America, Germany, New York, New York City, Norway, Italy, westward migration, immigration history, and descendancy research.

Abe is a graduate of McGill University, having earned a BA in History with minor focuses in Linguistics and World Religions.

Kimberly Mannisto joined American Ancestors as a researcher on the Research & Library Services team in 2021.

Areas of Expertise: American genealogy, Ireland, Italy, and DNA.

Peggy Polydoros is a Researcher in the Research & Library Services Department.

Paul is part of our Research Services team working on research cases as well as lineage cases for lineage society applications.

Natalia helps the Research Services department stay organized and run smoothly. She assists the Researchers and Research Services Director.

Areas of Expertise: DNA, New England, Atlantic Canada, Quebec, and Italy

Zobeida leads the volunteer program for Database Services and assists with creating and improving the database offerings on the American Ancestors website.

Theresa's passion for history led her to pursue her master's degree at Salem State University. Before joining American Ancestors she spent the last ten years working in higher education with a focus on project and data management.

Hale is responsible for scanning and indexing documents for the online archives.

Amanda assists with creating and improving the genealogical databases. She started at American Ancestors as an indexing volunteer in 2020 and then joined the database team in 2021 as a digitization assistant.

Prior to joining the American Ancestors staff as Lead Genealogist of the Early New England Families Study Project, Alicia compiled and edited numerous important genealogical publications.