Katie Rebecca Garner Genealogy
Utah’s Professional Genealogist – Breaking Brick Walls Since 2018
Using census records, vital records, immigration and naturalization documents, probate files, military records, DNA evidence, and more, I piece together the real story of your ancestors, not guesses, not approximations, but verified genealogical relationships backed by original source documents. Every finding I deliver is documented with the evidence that supports it, so you can trust what you’re building on.
Your family history is worth getting right. Let’s find the answers together.
Services
You don’t need to have it all figured out before reaching out. Whether you’re just getting started with a handful of names and dates, or you’ve hit a wall that years of searching hasn’t cracked, there’s a package here for you. Every project delivers findings you can trust, verified, documented, and ready to build on.
Mini Genealogy Project
Document Retrieval or Research Plan
- Option A – Retrieving and transcribing a document.
- Option B – Developing a research plan based on what you’ve already done and what’s still available for you to research.
5 hours max
Genealogy Research Project
In-Depth Ancestor Investigation
Whether you know nothing at all about your ancestors or have spent years researching them, I will begin with what you have. I will seek out additional records, such as U.S. census records, vital records and immigration and naturalization records about your ancestors to answer your burning questions about them. I will write a report on my findings that details what the records prove, sparking new connections with your ancestors.
10 – 40 hours
Narrative Family History
Your Ancestors’ Story in Their Own Era
Have you already researched the heck out of your ancestors? Or have other people researched them and attached so many photos and documents that it’s overwhelming? I will go through all these photos and documents, write up the story they are trying to tell, and weave in historical information. This story will bring your ancestors to life.
10 – 15 hours per ancestor
Activities For Families
Genealogy isn’t just for grown-ups. The best family histories are discovered together. These activities turn ancestor research into real-world adventures your kids will actually want to go on, and talk about for years.
Cemetery Scavenger Hunt
Forget the museum gift shop. Send your kids on a real historical hunt through a local cemetery, tracking down ancestors who share their last name, their nose, maybe even their stubborn streak. I’ll design a fully customized scavenger hunt built around your family history and your local cemetery, so the adventure is personal, not generic.
Every headstone is a clue. Every clue is a story.
Family Discovery Trip
Travel Deeper Than Any Tour Guide Can Take You. Any traveler can see the sights. You can walk the exact ground your great-great-grandmother walked. Before your next trip to your ancestor’s homeland, I’ll research the specific places that shaped their life, their village, their church, their school, their employer. You’ll arrive not as a tourist, but as a family coming home.
Don’t just visit, belong there.
Refer A Friend
Book A Consultation
My path into professional genealogy began in 2014, when I started volunteering with FamilySearch as a young missionary. What started as service quickly became a calling. I took that passion to college and earned an Associate degree of Applied Science in Family History Research from BYU-Idaho in 2018, one of the few formal genealogy degrees available in the country. I haven’t stopped learning since, continuing my professional education through Heritage Genealogical College, the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), RootsTech, and ongoing self-directed study.
I’m also a published genealogy writer, contributing research articles to Price Genealogy, GenealogyBank and Family Tree Magazine. On the creative side, I write genealogy ghost stories, because some ancestors demand a more dramatic entrance.
When I’m not tracking down elusive ancestors, I’m at home in Orem with my husband, spoiling him with my cooking, watching movies and anime, knitting or crocheting, or buried in a good book. I bring that same warmth, patience, and attention to detail to every research project I take on.”
Genealogy Blogs
Dig into the world of American genealogy research. From decoding census records and tracking immigrant ancestors to understanding DNA evidence and navigating courthouse archives, these articles are written to help you research smarter, whether you’re just starting your family tree or pushing through a stubborn brick wall.
Easter & Our Ancestors Through the Years (part 1)
With Easter approaching, I thought it would be fun to look back and see what Easter meant to our ancestors, and how they celebrated it. In this blog series, I have gone through...
The Immigrant Servants Database
This article is also published by Price Genealogy. Colonial America was a land of opportunity, offering possibilities and freedoms that most impoverished Europeans could only dream of. With a voyage...
Story My Father Told on St. Patrick’s Day
This blog is also posted by GenealogyBank. So many people emigrated from Ireland in the 1700s &1800s that there are now more people outside of Ireland with Irish heritage than there are people...
World War II US Research
This blog is also posted by Price Genealogy. Historical Background Not long ago, everyone’s father or grandpa had been involved in World War 2. Now that it’s the 2020s, as WWII veterans are moving...
Immigration
This blog is also posted by Price Genealogy. Aside from the indigenous population, the U.S. is peopled with immigrants and descendants of immigrants. Some immigrant ancestors are as recent as...
For Valentine’s Day, Find Your Ancestor’s Love Story
This blog is also posted on GenealogyBank. Many couples celebrate their love on Valentine’s Day, while single people look for some other love to celebrate....
A 4-Generation Love Story for Valentine’s Day
This blog is also posted on GenealogyBank, Valentine's Day approaches, and everyone is making plans to celebrate love. Valentine’s Day is also a perfect time to celebrate the love that brought us...
Marriage Records
This blog is also posted by Price Genealogy. Love is in the air with the celebration of Valentine’s day. Couples celebrate their love while single people eagerly await the post-Valentine’s day...
Genealogy Tip: DNA Inheritance Explained
This article is also published by GenealogyBank. When you take a DNA test and view your matches, you might wonder how everyone is related to you. Many databases will indicate the amount of DNA you...
Genealogy Tips: Researching Your Immigrant Ancestors
This blog is also posted on GenealogyBank. Aside from what remains of the indigenous population, the U.S. is peopled with immigrants and descendants of immigrants. Some immigrant ancestors are as...
Naturalization Research in the United States
This article is also posted with Price Genealogy. Family stories may have been passed down about an immigrant ancestor. Or the immigrant ancestor is discovered after tracing the family back several...
New Year’s Resolutions
This article is also published on Price Genealogy. It’s a new year. Have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet? Are they merely a wish likely to be forgotten? Or do you have a plan in place to...
Our Ancestors’ Christmas Happenings
This blog is also posted on GenealogyBank. In modern days, friends and family follow each other on social media, where they post about their lives. In this way, people can keep tabs on each other...
Christmas Celebrations – Some Other Opinions
This blog is also published with GenealogyBank. Some of our Christmas traditions have ancient pagan origins. The pagan winter celebrations included reveling, wild partying, and illegal activities....
Our Ancestors, Religion, and Christmas
This blog is also published on GenealogyBank. Religious people of our day emphasize keeping Christ in Christmas. With holiday parties, gift shopping, baking, and charity donations to keep up with,...
Christmas Traditions
This blog is also posted on Price Genealogy. This Christmas season, many of us are practicing traditions we have known since childhood. Some of these traditions may have been what our parents and...
Colonial Christmas
This blog is also posted on Price Genealogy. This Christmas season, many of us celebrate with traditions passed down from our parents and grandparents. Some of us have made new traditions to...
Mayflower Pilgrims
This blog was also published by Price Genealogy. Four hundred years ago, the Mayflower landed in Plymouth harbor and the Pilgrims began to establish a colony in their new home. The replica...
Thanksgiving Traditions: My Great-Great-Grandmother’s Mashed Potatoes
This article is also posted on GenealogyBank. As we make our Thanksgiving plans, we each have certain foods we can’t imagine Thanksgiving without. Thanksgiving turkey is a classic. Each family has...
My World War I Ancestors
This blog is also posted on Price Genealogy. Known as the Great War prior to WWII, WWI raged for a few years before the U.S. entered the conflict. This war only occurred a few decades before WWII,...
Newspapers in Research
This article is also posted on Price Genealogy. Newspapers are the ancestors of Facebook. Our ancestors used newspapers to keep up with the world around them, much like we use social media today....
Death Records
This article is also posted by Price Genealogy. A good genealogist will use various record types in researching their ancestors, and this includes records created around a person’s death. What could...
Genealogy Tip: Finding & Using Probate Records
This article is also posted on GenealogyBank. When a person dies, their possessions and property go to their relatives. The probate process is the legal proceedings through which this is...
Genealogy Tip for Halloween: Cemetery Research
This blog is also posted on GenealogyBank. Cemeteries are one of the many spooky things associated with Halloween, to the pleasure of genealogists. For family historians, a cemetery is a source of...
U.S. History Research in Different Time Periods
Different periods of U.S. history present various challenges. Pre-1850 The first U.S. census to name every household member, not just the head, was 1850. Most places did not have civil registration...
Genealogy Tip: Death Certificates
This blog is also posted by GenealogyBank Death certificates hold a wealth of information for family historians, and should be one of the key documents in a genealogist’s search. Photo: Eddie August...
Organizing Genealogy: avoiding a mess
Having an organizational system for your genealogy helps prevent it from becoming a mess of information. There are different ways to organize things; each person has one way or another that works...
Genealogy Tips: U.S. Census Records, 1790-1840 (Part I)
This blog was also posted on GenealogyBank. When the United States was created, the founding fathers decided it was necessary to make a count of the population every decade. The first census was...
Researching a Random Execution Case
I have been transcribing a record from a 1787 murder case. I needed to see such a record for creative writing research. I searched for a newspaper clipping about an execution that took place in...
Newspaper Research Backs Up Old Family Story
This article was also published by GenealogyBank. A good researcher will combine evidence from multiple sources to get a picture of what life was like for their ancestors. One such resource is an...
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Contact Me
Ready to find answers? Send me an email or click ‘Get Started’ below and tell me everything you know about your ancestors, names, dates, locations, family stories, dead ends, all of it. No detail is too small and no starting point is too bare. I’ll review what you share and get back to you with a custom estimate for your research project.
Katie Rebecca Garner
Phone: 1-385-472-7979 katie@krgarnergenealogy.com
Orem, Utah
Get Started
As a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, I adhere to its strict code of ethics, so you can trust that every research project is conducted with honesty, integrity, and respect for your family’s history.