Welcome to TransAncestry! My name is Mark Newton, and I am a professional
genealogist and translator. This website describes my professional services and how I might assist you in
both locating and translating genealogical documents.
I am available to provide genealogical research and translation services,
concentrating in the Boston area, Massachusetts, New England, upstate New York and Canada.
I specialize in French-Canadian, Scandinavian, Irish and Jewish family lines.
But even if your family does not come from these ethnic groups, I can still help
you.
The particular archives or record centers I work in are varied, and depend
on the kind of material you are looking for. These record centers
include:
The New England Historic and Genealogical Society, Boston
The Federal Archives, New England Branch, Waltham (Boston)
The Massachusetts State Archives, Boston
The Vital Statistics Office of Massachusetts, Boston
Les Archives Nationales du Québec, all branches
The American-Canadian Genealogical Society, Manchester, NH
The American-French Genealogical Society, Woonsocket, RI
Courthouses throughout New England
Cemeteries throughout New England, Canada, upstate New York
Boston Public Library
The types of records and documents I I specialize in locating, analyzing and translating include:
Civil records -- birth, marriage, death
Religious records -- baptisms, weddings, burials
Divorce petitions, probate records
U.S. and Canadian censuses
Land deeds, civil proceedings, some adoptions
Citizenship petitions in both the United States and Canada
Obituaries, newspaper articles
Ketubot - Jewish wedding documents
Headstones
French-Canadian notary records
Diaries and journals
Personal correspondences and biographies
Wills and military records
I also specialize in the following ethnic lines:
French-Canadian
Irish
Scandinavian (Swedish, Norwegian, Danish)
Jewish
German
English
Scottish
My "niche market" in the field of translation consists primarily of handwritten documents (manuscripts) which I
first transcribe in the source language. Most translation agencies and even many free-lance translators cannot
provide this service, as they do not specialize or are not skilled in the analysis of period handwriting.
And if they do consent to accept your project, be aware that the per-word rate will be very high.
The following examples of handwritten documents (French, Swedish, Yiddish) suffice to illustrate my special skills.
In this French-Canadian Catholic parish marriage record, can you find the date and place of the wedding
along with the names of the groom, bride
and their parents, along with their occupations?
In this Swedish parish record, can you find the village name, name of the baptized child, parents names,
witnesses and occupations?
My undergraduate degree is in German,
from Georgetown University,
School of Languages and Linguistics, now the Faculty of Languages
at the College of Arts and Sciences.
I also studied Latin, Hebrew, French and Norwegian while at Georgetown.
I have over 71 semester undergraduate credit hours in foreign languages, and over
30 graduate semester hours in Hebrew and Aramaic.
I transcribe and translate original handwritten
manuscripts and printed documents in the following languages:
German
French
Hebrew
Latin
Yiddish
Dutch
Swedish
Norwegian
Danish
A good translator must naturally be skilled in the source language he or she
translates from. But in the field of genealogy, he or she must also be skilled
in the terminology of public records, as well as be proficient in analyzing
centuries-old handwritten manuscripts. Sadly, the clerks, public officials,
clergy, census-takers and other bureaucrats from days gone by did not all
necessarily have the best penmanship. Essential data, such as personal
names, town origins, occupations and causes of death are often obscured
through poor penmanship. My job as translator is to analyze the handwriting
in order to decipher and then translate your ancestor’s biography.
The sorts of documents I translate include:
Diaries and letters
Obituaries and newspaper articles
Court documents and notary records
Baptismal and birth certificates, marriage
licenses, death and burial records
Notary records, census records,
and more.
If you have never even thought of trying to find your ancestors, whether on the
Internet or elsewhere, I invite you to try now! One very good place to start is
the International Genealogical Index
in the database of the famous Mormon Archives. But beware! Because this
database is only as good as the accuracy of each individual contributor,
just because you find a name, doesn't necessarily mean the information
associated with it is correct. The place names, dates, and genealogies could
have errors. That is why you very often will need to find original records,
and that is where I can help you.
If you are interested in how I might be able to assist you in your
search for your family roots, whether as genealogist, translator, or both,
please e-mail me and I will
send you a package of information explaining my services, including my
professional background, credentials, rates and other information. Let me know if
you are interested in a particular type of family research (Irish, Jewish, Swedish, etc.)
and I will send you one of my many FAQ’s on your particular area of interest.
Simply give me a short summary of your needs,
and I will be better able to help you. Be sure to visit my professional profile at
the
Association of Professional Genealogists
for more information.
I occasionally update this site, so be sure to refresh your browser in order to access the most recent version.