Catherine Desmarais, Certified Genealogist

What's New

CAFG proud to assist Purple Hearts Reunited

Posted: May 27th, 2013

On this Memorial Day weekend the Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy (CAFG) is proud to announce our partnership with Purple Hearts Reunited as CAFG’s newest Volunteer Initiative Program. Capt. Zachariah Fike of the Vermont Army National Guard has established Purple Hearts Reunited, Inc., a non-profit organization that “rescues” lost or stolen Purple Heart medals and returns them to the family of the serviceman/woman who earned them. …

Read More

Posted in Forensic Genealogy, Military Repatriation | 2 Comments »

National Archives of Ireland Tour

Posted: January 9th, 2013

A tour of the National Archives of Ireland, by a visiting American professional genealogist. Read More

Tags: , ,
Posted in Irish Genealogy | 2 Comments »

The National Library of Ireland

Posted: December 13th, 2012

As if I wasn’t overwhelmed enough by just being in Ireland, entering the most beautiful library I have ever been in put me over the top. I love this place. If I didn’t have to find food eventually, I might never leave. Well, not for a long time anyway.
Doesn’t the beauty of this place say…

Read More

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments »

A heart-filling, time-traveling day in Ireland

Posted: November 12th, 2012

I’ve been home from Ireland for a few weeks, but am just now getting my feet back under me. I had hoped to post to my blog during my trip, but I found myself falling exhausted into bed each night instead. Every day was thrilling and overwhelming. I did take lots of photos, and over [...]

Read More

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Family, Irish Genealogy | 8 Comments »

Crossover for Mac and Linux FREE on October 31st!

Posted: October 29th, 2012

I love my Mac, but I’ve never warmed up to Reunion or Family Tree Maker for Mac, or any of the other Mac-native genealogy database software. I prefer RootsMagic, which is a Windows-based program. I know I am not alone in that regard. RootsMagic will eventually be offering a Mac version, but there’s no release date set yet. Fortunately, I can run RootsMagic on my Mac with a little bit of help from ……

Read More

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Technology and Genealogy | 2 Comments »

More Vermont Vital Records on Family Search!

Posted: October 5th, 2012

Breaking news… Family Search has added over 50% more Vermont Vital Records images! …

Read More

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in professional genealogy, Public Records Access, Vermont Genealogy, Vermont Town Records | 2 Comments »

Of Rabbit Holes and Vermont’s 1798 Federal Direct Tax Records

Posted: September 6th, 2012

… I discovered that none of the 1798 direct tax records for Vermont are known to survive at the federal level, but a few remnants do remain in Vermont. The most exciting find was …

Read More

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in My research projects, Uncategorized, Vermont Genealogy, Vermont Historical Society, Vermont State Archives and Records Administration | 4 Comments »

Do You have a Vermont Black Sheep Ancestor?

Posted: August 15th, 2012

Black sheep ancestors are often the most interesting. If your black sheep ancestor lived in nineteenth- or twentieth-century Vermont, they just got even more interesting. The Vermont State Archives and Records Administration (VSARA) recently accessioned records from the Vermont State Prison at Windsor. The prison registers begin in 1809, …

Read More

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Public Records Access, Vermont Genealogy, Vermont State Archives and Records Administration | 2 Comments »

GRIP 2012: Day 5 – Genealogical Illusions

Posted: August 1st, 2012

I’ve had a few days now to recover from GRIP. Attendees of genealogical institutes will know what I mean when I say that it takes a while to come down from the high of spending an intense week isolated with fellow genealogists, immersed in learning new genealogical research techniques.

On occasion I have joked that I could learn something from Tom Jones if he was reading a cereal box, and I bet it’s true. …

Read More

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Genealogical Education, Genealogical Institutes, Indirect evidence | 7 Comments »

GRIP 2012: Day 3

Posted: July 25th, 2012

… Do I sound exhausted? There’s a reason for that. It’s called homework. Homework to end all homework. My eyes are crossed and my brain is fried. Dr. Jones gave us …

Read More

Tags:
Posted in Genealogical Education, Genealogical Institutes | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Association of Professional Genealogists member

Catherine Desmarais is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists

board certified

Catherine is a Board-Certified Genealogist. Certified Genealogist and CG are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by Board-certified associates after periodic competency evaluations.