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Cathy A. Dailey MBA

Curious, analytical, strategic – specializing in roundabout methodology
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
United States


  • Speaking / Presenting

  • Methodology & Resources
  • Available for in-person events
  • Available for virtual events

  • Author/Writer
  • Editor
"At the bottom of Lake Erie with the fish" was the response my father would always give when asked about his grandfather, Captain John Dailey.  Tragically, the Captain drowned during a gale storm on Lake Erie in 1909.  Knowing only his name and profession, I uncovered the mystery of the Captain's death as well as his survival of an earlier shipwreck just off the breakwaters of Fairport Harbor, OH.
 
Additional family research led to an uncle accused of robbing a bank during mid-day in Green Bay; two trials later, he was found “not guilty.”  I also learned of the heroics of my 2X great grandfather and grandfather as they both rescued children from icy river waters in Green Bay in 1907 and 1927 respectively.
 
By tapping alternative resources, I’ve incorporated “round-about” problem-solving methods for locating my pesky “hidden” family members.  During presentations, I share these various search techniques – incorporating case studies to help attendees visualize the usage of substitute sources.  My “go to” toolkit includes newspaper collections, city directories, property records, probate files, corner’s reports, church/diocesan records, cemetery and funeral home archives. 
 
Getting to the resource is the first step – “mining the find” completes the process.  When presenting, my goal is to teach skills you can use to help break through your brick walls.

Property records, Sanborn Maps, newspaper, cemetery and funeral home archives, probate files

Presentation topics:
1). Using Alternative Resources to Fill in the Dash
2). Census Records and City Directories: Looking Beyond the Address
3). Map-a-Mania: Using maps to provide ancestral context
4). Obituaries, Death Notices, Funeral Home and Cemetery Records
5). Cemetery Symbolism & Imagery: Markers, Headstones and Tombstones
6). Tips and Tricks from a Genealogist's Toolbox

  • 20th Century
  • 19th Century

Member of:
  • ​National Genealogical Society
  • Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International 
  • Wisconsin Marine Historical Society
  • Milwaukee Personal Ancestral File User Group (MPAFUG-Milwaukee, WI)
  • Bay Area Genealogical Society (Brown County, WI)
  • Erie Society for Genealogical Research (Erie, PA)

Credentials:
  • Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI:  Master of Business Administration (MBA)
  • University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI:  Graduate Certificate in Mediation and Negotiation
  • Harvard Law School - Cambridge, MA:  Certificate in Mediation and Conflict Management
  • Bradley University, Peoria, IL:  BS in Journalism/Public Relations and Broadcast Production