Melissa Knapp

Description

Melissa Knapp is a professional genealogist specializing in Southern U.S., Irish, and Scottish research, with particular expertise in the Scottish and Irish diasporas and migration during the Early American Republic. She has a special interest in exiles and political rebels who left their homelands in the aftermath of war and displacement, particularly following the 1798 Irish Rebellion and the Highland Clearances.

Dissertation

Melissa master’s dissertation reconstructed the lives of Irish immigrants who naturalized as U.S. citizens in Charleston, South Carolina, during the Early Republic (1790–1830). Her research revealed the deeply personal motivations behind the immigrants’ pursuit of citizenship, highlighted the significant role of kinship networks within the host society, and demonstrated an exceptional degree of religious pluralism in Charleston.

Genealogical Research Services

Melissa is currently accepting client research projects to reconstruct individual lives and families through rigorous, evidence-based research. Her work draws upon both archival and online sources, including civil and vital registration records, census returns, parish registers, newspapers, military, land, and probate records, as well as (but not limited to) lesser-used records such as court, early naturalization, and alien records.

Research packages include fully documented client reports that go beyond reporting names and dates to provide clear analysis and meaningful interpretation. Each report incorporates relevant local and social history to illuminate ancestors’ lives within the times and places in which they lived.

Further details are available at http://kindredgrove.com, or inquiries may be directed to kindredgrove@gmail.com. She offers a complimentary 30-minute consultation by phone or video to discuss individual cases.

Melissa is also available for speaking engagements and presentations.