Want to learn more about your ancestors who came to North America? Maybe they fought in the Revolutionary War, or perhaps your ancestors were part of Canada’s French colonies.
Either way, the Family History Library’s United States and Canada research team can help you discover the stories of your ancestors from the sometimes overwhelming spectrum of United States and Canadian history.
Meet the Team
Each member of the team has unique expertise in helping others research their family history.
- Carol Smith is the manager. We are sorry to say that she is retiring this year, but she has contributed much to what the team is today.
- Beth Taylor helps research areas such as DNA, probate, and land. She is also great at keeping everything together and organized.
- Lyn Rasmussen is an expert at African American family history, Native American family history, and Southern United States topics and records.
- Tim Bingaman focuses his research on all parts of the broad and varied United States, especially Pennsylvania.
- Mallory Kempter and Cara Jones are the team’s hardworking contractors.
The team runs both the second and third floors of the Family History Library. Because the team covers a lot of ground, teamwork and coordination are some of their greatest strengths.
Staying Up-To-Date
The team works hard to keep their knowledge current. Along with their one-on-one work with guests at the library, the team schedules a variety of conferences and institutes to attend throughout the year. This participation allows them to be savvy to the newest strategies, records, and technologies related to genealogy.
Versatility
Perhaps the most impressive quality is this team’s ability to help you with all the different localities in the area they research. They are an English-speaking team, but you wouldn’t know it from the wide variety of records they work with. These records may include French records in Quebec,Spanish ones in the southwest, Polish papers in Chicago, or Irish documents that from Boston.
Some areas have more genealogical records than others, but the United States and Canada research team is always working to improve our collections and help research an impressively large chunk of the world and its history.
For help with your North American family history, check out the United States Research Seminar coming up on September 10–13. These classes are held at the Family History Library and will be also be broadcast as webinars.
