Discover the Past. Preserve Your Legacy.
Whether you’re searching for Eastern European ancestors, uncovering family connections in the Mid-Atlantic region, or exploring your family's immigration journey to America, Michelle can help illuminate the stories that shaped your family's history.
As an Accredited Genealogist®, Michelle brings a combination of historical expertise, research skills, and a deep commitment to accuracy. Every family’s story is unique, and she strives to offer personalized service to uncover and honor your ancestral past. Michelle understands the challenges of finding hard-to-access records and specializes in navigating language barriers, historical events, and complex migration patterns.
In-Depth Expertise: She has extensive experience navigating historical records, archives, and databases across continents and centuries.
Personalized Approach: Every family is unique, and she tailors her research to your specific goals and questions.
Reliable Results: With a commitment to accuracy and thoroughness, she provides evidence-based insights that bring your family history to life.
Sharable Deliverables: You'll receive a detailed results report and research history for you to share with family members.
Sample 100-hour Report:
📖 Paul Lesher Family Report
📖 Lesher Research History
Ready to start your journey into the past? Contact Michelle to discuss your family research goals. Together, you’ll explore your heritage and build a detailed picture of your family’s story.
The ICAPGen service mark, Accredited Genealogist® and AG® registered marks and the Accredited Genealogical Lecturer™ and AGL™ trademarks are the sole property of the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists. All Rights Reserved.
Have you ever wondered if the family tree you’ve started online is accurate — and how you can be sure you’re tracing the right ancestors?
Have you hit a wall trying to figure out exactly where your immigrant ancestors came from — and what records might still exist in their homeland?
Are you stumped with interpreting historical documents correctly, especially when they’re in old handwriting, unfamiliar languages, or legal terminology?
Whether you're starting from scratch, stuck on a challenging research problem, or seeking to expand your knowledge, a one-on-one consultation with a professional genealogist can open the door to your family’s history.
You've got questions. We've got answers.
I ask clients to forward any family documents which may aid in the research process and eliminate duplication of already known information or copies in the family’s possession. Also, if applicable, an invitation to your online tree would be beneficial for projects.
I work in blocks of time. The initial project is a fifteen-hour block to allow for review of client materials and to begin initial research based on the project goals. Costs for the project are emailed to you.
Yes, I provide a summary report along with an outline of findings and recommendations for continued research in a PDF file. Also, you will receive a separate PDF file of images of all documents located during the research session. Each page will have the appropriate citation detail at the bottom. Original, certified copies are forwarded to the client via USPS Priority Mail.
Depending on availability, onsite research may be needed to access the non-digital resources. This time is normally taken out of the block of time you’ve contracted, unless you agree to add more time to accomplish a specific goal/task. Any direct expenses, copy costs or travel expenses for the researcher, would be billed directly at the close of the research session. Record translations are completed as part of the time contracted for the project.
Depending on location, most available records for Eastern Europe can bring lineages firmly into the mid-to-late 18th century.
An average turn-around time for basic projects is 6–10 weeks. Overall, this is dependent on the project’s goal(s) and the need for ordering documents/copies from an outside agency or foreign country.