Mission Statement
Mission Statement: To provide a well-researched and detailed genealogy for clients guided by principles of inclusion and social justice.
::
My guiding principles: I approach genealogical research using both feminist and social justice lenses. What does this mean?
To look at genealogy with a feminist lens means thinking much more dynamically than the traditional views of genealogy that center men’s stories. A feminist perspective allows us to consider women’s stories beyond who they were in relation to the men in their lives, whether in name- a surname handed down from a father or changed upon marriage- or legal construct that positions children and wives as property of men. Using a feminist lens means tracing the fainter, and too often forgotten, “maternal lines” and prioritizing the inclusion of these family members (even if they never married or had children) as part of a full and dynamic practice of genealogy. Our female ancestors and their stories are just as much a part of the family and the fabric of our history, and knowing about them is as important as being able to follow a family surname back for generations through the paternal line.
To look at genealogy with a social justice lens means to be honest with ourselves about who our ancestors were– all of our ancestors. Looking at genealogy from a social justice lens first involves taking an honest look at how genealogy itself has historically been used and continues to be - for example, recognizing that societies such as the DAR came out of a desire to use genealogy to further white supremacy by proclaiming colonial descent as “legitimate” in an age of increased immigration. It means understanding that the likelihood of being able to document who your ancestors were increases exponentially with how much money, social status, and privilege they had at the time. Genealogy has been used throughout history, and continues to be, by people in privileged positions to wield and distort social power and harm others.
Looking at genealogy from a social justice perspective means, on a much more personal level, that we may have to accept and reckon with a complicated legacy. To understand genealogy, we must put our ancestors in their historic context, but in order to do so responsibly, we must look to question simplistic narratives of previous eras and instead start with questions. What were their lives really like? What were the conversations and debates of the time? Who is included in the stories we are looking for, who is missing, and who wrote the history or documents that survive? When looking at Colonial America, for instance, there are documented Native American “raids” - what was the other side of that story? How did our ancestors as *individuals* behave towards the Natives whose land they stole? Looking at genealogy through the lens of social justice means not accepting the settler colonialist narrative that the settlers “bought” the land and settled on it “legally” or that raids in which Natives were massacred deserve to be called “Battles.” Individuals, not nameless hordes, participated in all of these acts and deserve to be held individually accountable when we find that they were involved.
Our white ancestors may have enslaved people. What were those enslaved people’s names? What were their stories? Looking at genealogy from a social justice lens means not allowing enslaved human beings to fall through the cracks of history when they are mentioned in wills. It means recognizing that to say our ancestors “owned slaves” is nowhere near giving a full picture to what it means to enslave a human being. Looking at genealogy through a social justice lens means including all of these things in our ancestors’ biographies, just as we include their professional accomplishments and marriage dates.
Knowing where we came from can give us a better knowledge of how to unpack our privilege in the present and build a more just future. Looking at the past without rose colored glasses forces us to confront our present and look how our own choices will have effects on the future. With this knowledge, we can better do the continual work of justice, free of guilt or carrying myths about our ancestors, but rather recognizing them as human beings just like ourselves. We can use the knowledge that it was not nameless forces but individuals that built our current systems to inspire us to use our inherent power as individuals to build better systems for future descendants we may have.