https://www.foundingmothersgenealogy.com/home daily 1.0 2023-02-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/1634734710974-O7F4U21ZC1ZKU2OFEQYI/FMG-Logo-01.png Home - Welcome to Founding Mothers Genealogy Genealogy for the twenty-first century; look beyond names and dates and tell your family story. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/1634744422162-GFFHS9EBSZA8L7NFQD7Q/4+generations.jpg Home - Go beyond names and dates to tell your family story. Tell your family story with exhaustively researched genealogy books. Each book is unique and includes the story of your ancestors and the times and places they lived including records, photos, and more. For more information on all services offered, check out the services page. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/1609010976395-8OQULNOWY98FOTCYK05Y/Denna+Sonja+1.jpg Home - Genealogy for Social Change. A Millennial with a degree in studio art isn’t your typical genealogist, and I don’t offer your typical genealogy. I’m more interested in finding stories than I am in completing lineage society applications. I heard all sorts of family legend as a kid and set out after my grandfather’s passing to see if any of it was actually true, and fell in love (or rather, complete obsession) with the process of genealogy itself. It’s this love of finding a lost ancestor and an untold story that I hope to share with my clients. For more information about me, check out the “About FMG” page. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/1634739260658-P686AK54X3Z2YNW9XQ52/cyndi.png Home - A comprehensive, categorized and cross-referenced list of links for genealogical research sites online. A comprehensive, categorized & cross-referenced list of links for genealogical research sites online. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/1634738638236-9GX2AD8E5A55TNTQ0Q3L/Association+of+professional+genealogists+logo Home - The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(6) professional organization dedicated to the growth and enhancement of the genealogical profession. Founded in 1979, APG is the world’s largest association for professional genealogists, representing nearly 3,000 members in forty countries around the world. We provide education, advocacy, best practices, and a professional community to our members in order to secure records access and to help advance their careers and the genealogical profession as a whole. We also seek to protect the interests of clients engaging the services of a professional genealogist and the public perception of the field of genealogy. The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(6) professional organization dedicated to the growth and enhancement of the genealogical profession. Founded in 1979, APG is the world’s largest association for professional genealogists, representing nearly 3,000 members in forty countries around the world. We provide education, advocacy, best practices, and a professional community to our members in order to secure records access and to help advance their careers and the genealogical profession as a whole. We also seek to protect the interests of clients engaging the services of a professional genealogist and the public perception of the field of genealogy. https://www.foundingmothersgenealogy.com/mission-statement daily 0.75 2020-12-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/1609006693883-W70D6AUA4TR8HX4UJUJV/janet+miles+forrest.jpg Mission Statement - 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. https://www.foundingmothersgenealogy.com/services daily 0.75 2025-09-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/167543a8-76e7-4f2a-9b0f-c6824ab8d4e3/FMG-books2+%281%29.jpg Services https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/4c826cf8-752b-4130-b152-072f418d2399/FMG-books+%281%29.jpg Services Each book tells the story of one branch (surname) of your family. Exhaustively researched and detailed with the stories of your ancestors and the times and places they lived in. Founding Mothers is specifically committed to telling the forgotten stories of the women of your family. It is my mission to remember the “forgotten half” of our ancestors. Now accepting commissions for 2026. Please contact me via the contact form to schedule a Zoom call to discuss your project. Sample books available via request. https://www.foundingmothersgenealogy.com/about-me daily 0.75 2024-12-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/d7c848e6-1b7e-465d-b545-1a7dd2116991/Screen+Shot+2022-04-24+at+5.30.45+PM.png About FMG - Meet Sonja Alves “My passion for genealogy and my previous background in art combine to specialize in creating beautiful and unique family books for my clients. I also do more traditional family trees and am available for freelance work by the hour for assistance with any project. I'm conveniently located in the same neighborhood as the New England Historical Genealogical Society Library, which is an invaluable research resource.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/1634744163923-A16GEWB6LIWZVD8OCPDM/fanny+fisher.jpg About FMG - My background before genealogy is in art, and I while I do not hand illustrate the family history books that I make, my artistic eye for composition brings a unique touch to each book. I graduated from Hampshire College with a degree in studio art, and I have had work shown at AS220 gallery in Providence, Rhode Island as well as pieces sold all around the world. My portfolio of collage art can be found here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/1634742787477-ZUDCJNM227KOCCV1NT52/founding+mothers+genealogy+morgan+family.jpg About FMG - My name is Sonja Alves and I’m an 11th generation New Englander, third generation Swedish immigrant, and second generation descendant of Holocaust refugees married to a Portuguese immigrant. My children are both Mayflower descendants and the first generation born in this country, making them the ultimate Americans. I’m also the inheritor of the genealogy bug. After my grandfather passed in 2012, I attempted to recreate his father’s family genealogy tracing the family (allegedly) to Charlemagne. I succeeded in both verifying his work and discovering a passion that I have turned into a profession. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/a98a97ba-dccc-426f-8759-9ea46326cc68/Sean.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/25670863-d32f-4cce-90e3-ed428029153f/IMG_4958.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/fc80eb2a-5806-446b-b9bc-fd42a206fab9/IMG_8809.jpeg https://www.foundingmothersgenealogy.com/contact daily 0.75 2020-12-26 https://www.foundingmothersgenealogy.com/testimonials daily 0.75 2021-10-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/1634743802428-LHXMY3Z7Z8QGQXCFIWEK/Founding+Mothers+Genealogy+testimonials+one+baby+book+3_edited.jpg Testimonials - "Ms. Alves and Founding Mothers was able to find a truly remarkable amount of information about my father in law’s roots. It was the thoughtful way it was woven together, written, and presented that truly made it a fantastic gift for my husband’s family, and an exciting new piece of family heritage. I can’t praise the process and the results enough to adequately capture how pleased we are all with the work she did for us." — Amanda Peterson https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/1634743984822-JR6ADY9NYN6K88HRAEZU/nina+high+school+graduation.jpg Testimonials - "The book that Sonja created is an invaluable gift to me and my family. First and foremost, it was a portrait of my late father's life. He was already 56 when I was born, and there was so much about him I didn't know. It was such a pleasure to hear about him - like he was just somewhere else, and I was getting good news. The book also provided excellent historical and cultural context for my family's past. Because of the thoroughness of Sonja's research, I not only learned new things but more importantly got closure on what will not be known. Our family were Jews in Belarus at the turn of the 20th century. I wanted to know what family history there was to be found, and what was permanently lost in the purges. Now I know. I'm very grateful to Sonja for all her help." — Dorian Gittleman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/1634744067287-7XWQ1378Y0UG96NQK6FH/emily+kenneth+baby.jpg Testimonials - "My family and I are thrilled with Sonja and the work she did to bring to life a whole portion of our ancestry that we previously knew very little about (my grandfather's military career). Her thorough research is only matched by her thoughtfulness and devotion that she pours into every line of the family book. We could not be happier with the outcome and overall service; not only does her writing read like a best selling novel but Sonja is quick to respond and worked with us throughout the entire process to ensure that we were happy with the end product. This is something we will treasure forever. " — Jennifer McAlpine https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fe764c6caf95b4fe922529f/1634744163923-A16GEWB6LIWZVD8OCPDM/fanny+fisher.jpg Testimonials - "I got a genealogy book done on my great grandfather. It was a gift to my mom, who spent a lot of time with him when she was young. Sonja was able to turn short, scattered anecdotes into a thorough story of my great grandfather's life, complete with details that even my mom didn’t know. My mom teared up when she read the book because it confirmed all the lovely memories she had about her grandfather’s spirit and personality. Sonja’s warmth and humor made the process easy and fun. I can’t wait to do it again for another ancestor. " — Becki Maisch