Genealogist links clients to long-lost ancestors

CHAMBERSBURG - You might call Pam Anderson a private investigator, but not in the traditional sense. As a genealogist, she spends her time helping people from around the country locate information about deceased relatives from the South Central Pennsylvania area. 

"Many people know a good bit about their grandparents and great grandparents from their parents," Anderson said. "But where it gets hazy is when you go past there, and that's where I come in."

While Anderson helps others learn, it is also a learning experience for her. She started in 2010, and not yet being a veteran of the business, she says each case helps her learn. 

"The more I do the more I know," she said. 

Anderson got into the business by doing research for herself. She originally was trying to find out more about the family that built her house. Then in 2012 she began to get more recognition. 

"The (Franklin County) Historical Society asked me to do more research requests on ancestors, so I began going to the courthouse to do research," she said. 

Then in 2014 she officially got into the business by creating Anderson Construction and Genealogy Services. She also does construction work, but says genealogy makes up just about all of her income. 

Typically, how Anderson gets involved with a client is pretty simple. They contact her first through email, fill out a form, and then sit down and have a conference call about what exactly the client wants. 

"People want to know what's true and what has been embellished about their ancestors," Anderson said. 

Once the research process begins, Anderson looks for key documents and other family names. She says deeds are extremely important. 

"Deeds also list neighbors, which can help."

"Once you have a lot of the stuff there, it helps to look for consistencies and inconsistencies which can be useful in tracking down leads," she said.

However, nowadays people can do a lot of this sleuthing themselves. With sites like ancestry.com, average people can find out information about their ancestors by themselves. Anderson says once people reach a point on their own where they get stuck, then they come to her. 

Even with all the resources available, the job still presents plenty of challenges.

"A lot of times clients want things in black and white but you just can't find all that information," she said. "The hard thing is proving all the information you have gathered."

Sometimes, proof is necessary for a client. While a lot come to her out of curiosity, some come because they need proof to gain access to certain groups. 

"I have had people come to me in order to prove they belong in a group like the Sons of the American Revolution," she said. 

The Sons of the American Revolution is a fraternal group for male descendants of officers in the Revolutionary War. 

While Anderson has helped clients from South Carolina to California, she has also helped herself. Recently she discovered relatives she didn't know she had in Slovakia, then went and visited them two weeks ago. 

"It was great. It was like seeing old family I never knew I had," she said. 

Anderson attributes her success in genealogy to a field that is very cooperative.

"I've had a lot of help and have had good mentors at the Franklin Historical Society," she said.

For the future, she plans to incorporate her construction background into what she does now. 

"I have thought a lot about doing house history because that ties in well with construction."

She also very much enjoys writing. Recently she had an article published in the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly. It was about her change of career fields and the skills that are transferred to each career. 

"Some of my clients have said I should get my proofs published," Anderson said. "So I think writing is definitely something I want to expand upon in the future."