Independent Researchers

If you would like further assistance with your research, please contact one of the researchers listed below.* All are familiar with and have used our collections. Contact the researchers directly for further information on their research areas, experience, and fees. Please note that MNHS does not endorse any particular individual on the list. We cannot vouch for the quality of the services provided nor is MNHS responsible for the results provided.

*Please note that the list is randomized. Refreshing the page will reorder the list.

DEBBIE BOE, MnCP, MINNESOTA CONNECTIONS: 114200 Hundertmark Road, #110, Chaska, MN 55318, email: minnesotaconnections@gmail.com, website: debbiesgenealogy.com. Specializing in Minnesota and Minnesotans. Services include, but are not limited to, genealogical research, house history/property research, business history research, courthouse research, archival research, historical medical research, licensing research, and paralegal services. Will visit on-site locations to review original records, search for information, or complete genealogical interviews.

MICK CAOUETTE: Stillwater, MN (612-206-1195), email: mickcaouette@gmail.com. Specializing in film, video, photo, and sound research. Twenty years’ experience working with AV collections, including four years as audio visual assistant to the MNHS curator. Master’s degree in history and film.

CHARLENE K. ROISE, HESS ROISE HISTORICAL CONSULTANTS: The Foster House, 100 N. First St., Minneapolis, MN 55401 (612-338-1987), email: roise@hessroise.com, website: www.hessroise.com. History of architecture, landscape architecture, art, commerce, and technology.

ANNA PIERSON CLAXTON: 28275 Holyoke Ct., Northfield, MN 55057 (507-664-9536), email: akclaxton@yahoo.com. Immigrant groups: Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, “lost” immigrants. Locating Scandinavian origins, genealogy.

BARBARA BEZAT, HISTORIC PRESERVATION RESEARCH: 2395 Benson Avenue #102, St. Paul, MN, 55116 (651-402-2903), email: bbeza03@gmail.com, Specializing in archival research, with a focus on architectural history and historic preservation. Retired curator and archivist at Northwest Architectural Archives; 30+ years’ experience using a wide variety of resources, including archival holdings throughout the state and the US.

PAMELA J. ERICKSON: 4300 Trenton Lane #204, Plymouth, MN 55442 (763-381-9830), email: pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com, blog/website: http://pjefamilyresearch.blogspot.com (On This Date in Minnesota History). Genealogy Help Desk Volunteer at Minnesota Historical Society; member of Minnesota Genealogical Society, Minnesota Historical Society, and Finnish Genealogy Group; specialize in researching genealogical and historical records in Minnesota and western Wisconsin, including: census records, birth records, death certificates, obits, grave site photos, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records. Will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MNHS records.

PAULA STUART-WARREN, Certified Genealogist℠: 2000 County Road B W #130321, St. Paul, MN 55113; email: paulastuartwarren@gmail.com, website: http://genealogybypaula.com. Certified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists. Accepts a limited number of clients. Historical and genealogical research and one-to-one consulting; manuscripts, military, county and state records. Specialties include Midwestern and Plains states, Native American research, Minnesota Historical Society, Family History Library, National Archives, and Wisconsin Historical Society.

MICA ANDERS, ANDERS GENEALOGICAL SERVICES: St. Paul, MN (319-321-2325), email: mica@andersgenealogicalservices.com, website: www.facebook.com/AndersGenealogicalServices. Professional genealogist and lecturer with over 10 years of experience utilizing a variety of record types, including census, directories, newspapers, military records, vital records, cemeteries, and microfilm. Will travel to conduct research and photograph locations. Special interests include African American genealogy and families from Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, and Missouri. Fluent in Spanish. Can read German, Portuguese, and Latin.

SARA BRATSCH: Sturgeon Lake, MN (763-286-7009), email: silverliningsresearch@gmail.com, website: https://silverliningsresearch.com/. Former genealogy Help Desk volunteer, Minnesota Historical Society and the Anoka County Historical Society Library. Holds a Bachelors in Business Administration and a Master of Information Technology Management degree. Specializes in the use of technology to improve genealogy research.

RON KURPIERS: 461 Sibley St., St. Paul, MN 55101 (651-224-8180), email: ronkurpiers@gmail.com. Historical and genealogical research including Minnesota census, newspaper, death records, naturalizations, city directories, military, veteran records, and archival manuscript research.

DAVID JOHNSON: 208 S. Jefferson, New Ulm, MN 56073 (507-354-4825), email: johnsondave442@gmail.com. Specializing in Scandinavian ancestry (with local connections overseas), church records, obituaries, cemetery records, newspapers, city directories, censuses, military and veterans records, NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) records, death records, court house records. Specializing in 18th- and 19th-century US research. French, Irish, and Native American research in Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota. References available.

STEVE NIELSEN: 343 Roslyn Pl., Minneapolis, MN 55419 (612-201-4217), email: nielsen.steve13@gmail.com, website: www.bluewindowresearch.com. Archival/manuscript research, death certificates, newspaper article, obituary searches. City directories, Hennepin County pre-1900 birth and death records, Hennepin County marriage records, prison records, state hospital records. Quick turnaround on MNHS look-ups.

ANNE M. DROLET: 500 E Grant St, Unit 1607, Minneapolis, MN 55404, email: anne.mccart.drolet@footlightresearch.com, website: www.footlightresearch.com. 30 years’ professional experience: advanced degrees in American multicultural literature and heritage conservation and preservation. Experience with all types of record resources. Areas include: family genealogy; architectural history and preservation documentation; house and company histories; written research-based narratives. Specialties: farm life, movie theaters, 20th-century social changes, Twin Cities history, and US history, 18th to early 20th century.

LORIS SOFIA GREGORY: (952-431-5586), email: lorissofia@frontiernet.net, website: http://www.lorissofiagregory.com/research/. Efficient researcher and writer with 25+ years’ experience in MNHS reference library (Gale Family Library), state archives, museum collections, exhibits and historic sites, as well as films, multimedia, and interpretive nature trails. Expertise in Minnesota, Iowa, and Midwestern family and house histories; genealogy; Dakota, Lakota, and Ojibwe; American Indian Movement; state hospital and Stillwater Prison records; health, natural/cultural history, transportation, weather, and women's history.

SUSAN WEINBERG: 5736 Dewey Hill Road, Edina, MN 55439 (612-865-1246), email: sgweinberg@gmail.com, website: http://studio409art.com/genealogy, blog: http://sgweinberg.blogspot.com. Specialization in Jewish genealogy. All record types: immigration, naturalization, census, probate, newspapers, vital records, and directories. Familiar with local archives as well as New York genealogical resources, Polish archival records, and Holocaust records.