About Stone House Historical Research
Stone House Historical Research is located in Vermont’s beautiful Champlain Valley. Cathi Becker Wiest Desmarais CG, Stone House’s principal researcher, has a broad range of genealogical experience in U.S. records, with a particular focus on Vermont and Pennsylvania. Research on location in Ireland and Germany broadened her research perspectives. In addition to family history research for individuals, Cathi works on military repatriation cases for the U.S. Army, through a contract with SNA International, to find family members of soldiers missing from past wars. She also undertakes forensic research for law firms to locate heirs and beneficiaries. She enjoys showcasing a family’s history in a heritage album or family tree chart so that all members of a family can appreciate it.
Cathi achieved board-certification as a genealogist in June 2011. She is a board member of the Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy (CAFG), and presented at their October 2012 Forensic Genealogy Institute in Dallas. She is an active member of the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists.
Cathi has had a lifelong interest in bygone times. While other grade school girls played with “Barbies,” she convinced her friends to play “olden days.” She pestered her family to stop and explore every old cemetery they passed. By age 12, she was writing to courthouses to research her family tree. College and parenting took precedence for a time, but before long Cathi returned to her love of “olden days” and began her serious pursuit of genealogical inquiry.
Education:
- Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Vermont with 30 years experience in teaching and administration.
- 2012, Forensic Genealogy Institute, Dallas, Texas. Attendee and presenter.
- 2012, Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP), Advanced Genealogical Methods with Dr. Thomas Jones
- 2009, Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research (IGHR), Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Intermediate class.
- 2008, National Institute of Genealogical Research (NIGR) at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
- Professional Genealogy Study Group (ProGen1), an 18-month program completed in December 2009.
- National Genealogical Society Quarterly Study Group, 2008-present.
- Attendee at local, regional and national genealogical conferences.
Professional Affiliations:
- Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG)
- Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy (CAFG)
- Association for Professional Genealogists (APG)
- New England Chapter of the APG
- National Genealogical Society
- Vermont Historical Society
- Vermont French Canadian Genealogical Society
- Lancaster County (PA) Historical Society
- Cameron County (PA) Historical Society
- The International Society of Genetic Genealogy
Publications:
Desmarais, Catherine Becker Wiest. "Technology for Tracking Time." Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly 34 (September 2012): 143-45.
Arner, Amy E.K. and Catherine B.W. Desmarais. "A Goal Buddy, a System, and a Couple of Apps: How Two Professionals Get Things Done. Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly 34 (September 2012): 133-35.
Desmarais, Catherine Becker Wiest and Noreen Alexander Manzella. "Who Fathered Jacob and William Northamer? Pennsylvania Tax Records Help Determine Kinship." National Genealogical Society Quarterly 100 (June 2012):123-32.
Desmarais, Catherine Becker Wiest. "Restoring the Identity of Elisabeth Bair of Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Was She a Northamer or a Wetsler, and Who Were Her Parents?," Crossroads7 (Spring 2012): 6-15.
Desmarais, Catherine Becker Wiest. "A Research Treasure Hunt." Family Chronicle (January/February 2009).
