*Certified Genealogist (sm) and CG (sm) are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists® and are used under license by Board-certified associates who meet program standards and periodic competency evaluations.
Text Box: Specializing in colonial Connecticut genealogy.

To contact me:

Email: bmathews@gis.net

Barbara J. Mathews, CG

P.O. Box 399

Lexington, Massachusetts 02420-0004

Phone: 781-424-1467

 

Last updated 4 January 2012

Work Experience

These are paid positions. For a complete list of publications in genealogy, see “Books and Articles.” Volunteer positions are listed in “Society Participation” below.

 

Welles Family Association

q         Genealogist, 2001-present: Compiling six-generation study of colonial immigrant family.

 

Massachusetts Chapter of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America

q         Verifying Genealogist, 1993 to 2007; 2010– present: Supporting Dames candidates from throughout the U.S. in proving their lineages to eligible Massachusetts ancestors.

 

New England Historic Genealogical Society

q         Research Assistant, Great Migration Project, 2001 to 2003: Compiled published literature searches on immigrants to New England 1635-1636.

q         Web Columnist, 1999 to 2001: Developed topics and wrote column on genealogical research in Connecticut.

q         Consulting Editor, Newbury Street Press, 1996 to 2000: Aided new authors in structuring and presenting their research; co-writer of The Descendants of Thomas Lamkin of the Northern Neck of Virginia by Dr. Harold E. Wilkins; book reviewer for The Register.

 

 

Blog: The Demanding Genealogist

Begun in 2011, my blog “The Demanding Genealogist” critiques genealogical work products of myself and others with the goal of helping us all to improve our work. The blog provides an opportunity to define and discuss terminology and evaluation criteria. My series on Conflicting Evidence led to an internet radio appearance in 2011.

 

Education Development Experience

 

Board for Certification of Genealogists Education Fund

(an independent tax-exempt trust)

Trustee, 2002-present

Worked with colleagues to establish in 2005 “Putting Skills to Work,” a hands-on workshop that takes place the day before the annual conference of the National Society of Genealogists. Each daylong workshop has two sessions focusing on establishing a broader base of genealogists able to do genealogy to a higher standard. Work as Conference Coordinator between the Ed Fund and the NGS conference program chair.

 

Personally developed and presented sessions on:

q         2005, “Writing Genealogies”

q         2007, “Evidence Evaluation”

 

ProGen Independent Study Groups

Mentor, ProGen Group 7, February 2010-September 2011
Responsible for actively mentoring an online study environment using a curriculum developed by others based on the book by Elizabeth Shown Mills [ed.], Professional Genealogy: a Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers and Librarians. Manage three concurrent work groups using an online teaching environment with posted homework, homework feedback, active student discussion participation, and group chats. Students who successfully complete the course receive a certificate.

 

Current Projects

q         Compiling a completely updated six-generation study of The Descendants of Gov. Thomas Welles of Connecticut and his Wife, Alice Tomes

q         Researching, analyzing and writing “The Search for a Maiden Name through the Development of the Biography of a Colonial Connecticut Woman: Abigail ___ and her Three Fancy Husbands, Capt. Ebenezer Riley, Maj. Jonathan Heart, and the Rev. Dr. Cyprian Strong”

q         Indexing the correspondence of Donald Lines Jacobus

 

 

Society Participation

These are leadership positions only; this is not a complete list of memberships.

 

q         Massachusetts Genealogical Council, Archives Director; former President.

q         Board for Certification of Genealogists, former Vice President, former Secretary; Trustee of the BCG Education Fund—an independent tax-exempt trust.

q         Welles Family Association, Genealogist, Second Vice President; former President, former Secretary.

q         Connecticut Historical Society, volunteer currently helping to compile the correspondence of Donald Lines Jacobus.

q         Association of Professional Genealogists, Past Trustee for Region IV, past member of the Professional Management Conference Committee, past Chapter Liaison and past Greater Boston Chapter Representative.

q         Connecticut Professional Genealogists Council, former Secretary, former Vice President, and former Secretary/Treasurer.

q         Connecticut Society of Genealogists, former board member.

q         Descendants of the Founders of Ancient Windsor, former Membership Secretary.

 

 

Education

Florence Heller School, Brandeis University, Master in Human Services Management, 1981. U.S. Department of Education Public Service Fellowship. Thesis on a mathematical model for assessing children’s needs statewide across rural and metropolitan areas. Specialty in mental health administration.

 

University of Missouri at Rolla, graduate work for a degree in Nuclear Physics, 1971-1972. U.S. National Institute of Science Research Fellowship. Incomplete. Research on nuclear energy levels in doped crystal structures using Mössbauer spectroscopy.

 

University of Connecticut, Bachelor of Arts in Physics with Honors, 1971. Honors Program Scholar. Teaching Assistant in the Semiconductor Lab. Junior honors thesis on thin-film conductivity in semiconductors. Senior honors thesis on scattering using a cyclotron.

 

 

Barbara J. Mathews, Certified Genealogist*