Meet Rachel, Project Manager for Legacy Tree Genealogists

Meet Rachel, one of Legacy Tree Genealogists talented project managers!

Rachel Derenthal comes to Legacy Tree Genealogists with a background in business, accounting, and family history research. She originally obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Middle East Studies and Arabic from Brigham Young University however her post graduate jobs pushed her towards the field of business and accounting. In 2016 she decided to switch career paths and enrolled in the Family History Research program at Brigham Young University-Idaho with a specialization in British Isles research. While working towards this degree she was hired as a Southern States researcher with Ancestry ProGenealogists and gained experience working with DNA and brick wall cases.

In 2019 she and her family moved to New Jersey where she started her own genealogy company which focused on immigrant and African American heritage cases in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. She has given lectures on navigating genealogy websites and getting started with personal family history research.

Her own family has its share of mysteries, brick walls, black sheep, and heroes. Many of her ancestors are veterans who served in the Revolutionary War, Mexican War, Civil War, World Wars, and most recently in the Vietnam War. She enjoys locating and sifting through old military records and has used pensions and muster rolls to solve many genealogical mysteries for herself and others. If she had to choose one record group to research for the rest of her life, it would be old court records in a local county courthouse. The documents found there show the true character and tell the unheard stories of an ancestor!

In addition to researching, Rachel enjoys gardening, playing Nintendo Switch with her boys, and volunteering with the local refugee population. She is excited to use her business and research experience in her new role as project manager for Legacy Tree Genealogists and looks forward to helping you find your ancestors.

We’d love to help you with your family history, whether we’re breaking down brick wall mysteries, finding your biological parents, or just starting from scratch finding the stories about your ancestors. Contact us today for a free quote.