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Jennifer L Liber Raines

Western New York Genealogical Researcher. Passionate Preservationist. Lecturer & Content Creator.
Bridge & Case LLC
Owner
716-217-2920
Orchard Park, New York
United States
  
Currently accepting clients for...
  • Family History Research
  • Speaking / Presenting
Family History Research
  • Document Retrieval / Record Agent
  • Family History Research
Speaking/Presenting
  • Family History Research
  • Methodology & Resources
  • Available for in-person events
  • Available for virtual events
Other Speciality
  • House Historian / Local History

Offering genealogical and historical research and preservation/archival support services to individuals and organizations.

Professional Profile:

Jennifer Liber Raines has always loved a good story and problem to solve.  

After a successful career in marketing and communications, her curiosity and passion for research and storytelling led her to genealogy.  For the past twelve years, she has been helping clients, researchers, and community members explore and document history.  Deeply committed to preservation and partnerships, Jennifer is a member of the New York State Archives Advisory Committee and a past member of the New York State Historical Records Advisory Board (2018-2023). She was a member of The Buffalo History Museum’s Board of Managers, where she served as Board Vice-President and Advancement Committee Chair. A long-time volunteer for the Western New York Genealogical Society, Jennifer previously served as President and Preservation Chair; she is currently their webmaster.​
 

Jennifer’s personal research focuses on the history of Western New York’s institutional poor; specifically, her work documents the lives and experiences of individuals who worked and received care at the Erie County Poorhouse (1851-1926) as well as those children bound out and placed at local orphanages by the County of Erie.  From 2013-2019, Jennifer served as a member of the University at Buffalo’s Erie County Poorhouse Cemetery Project.  ​
 

Jennifer is a frequent lecturer and a past contributor to such publications as the Western New York Genealogical Society Journal, Swedish American Quarterly, and Bioarchaeology of Dissection and Autopsy in the United States.  

 

Community Service:

New York State Archives  2018-Present

  • Member, Archives Advisory Committee 2023-Present

  • Member, New York State Historical Records Advisory Board   2018-2023 

    • ​Workgroup Member, Every Voice | Every Story: Achieving Greater Agency, Equity, and Social Justice in New York’s Historical Record  Initiative  2020-2021

​

Western New York Genealogical Society​  2012-Present

  • Board President   2017-2019

  • Library Volunteer  2012-Present

  • Preservation Chair  2017-2024

  • Programming Chair   2013-2017

  • Publicity & Community Outreach Chair   2013-2019​

  • Webmaster 2015-Present

  • Board Member  2013-2016

 

Buffalo History Museum  2017-2022

  • Board Vice-President    2020-2022

  • Chair, Advancement Committee   2019-2022

  • Member, Advancement Committee   2017-2022

  • Member, Strategic Planning Committee  2019-2022

​

University at Buffalo   2013-2019

  • Member, Erie County Poorhouse Cemetery Project   2013-2019

  • Volunteer Researcher, National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program Grant: Battle of Scajaquada Creek Bridge   2017-2018

Additional specialities or search keywords
New York State Poorhouses
Publications/Media
Publications:

Liber Raines, J.L. “Early Buffalo (New York) Tax and Assessment Roll Books: 1815 to 1823.” Western New York Genealogical Society JOURNAL, volumes 46 (March 2020) through 48 (June 2021).

Liber Raines, J.L. “Children Bound Out by the Erie County Superintendents of the Poor, 1864-1868.” Western New York Genealogical Society JOURNAL, volumes 45 (June 2018) through 46 (September 2019). 

Sandy, D., Jones, J.E., & Liber Raines, J.L. “The Buffalo Orphan Asylum and the Settlement of Swedes in Northern Pennsylvania and Western New York.” The Swedish American Historical Quarterly, 67 (October 2016): 216-240. 

Nystrom, K.C., Sirianni, J., Higgins, R., Perrelli, D., & Liber Raines, J.L. “Structural Inequality and Postmortem Examination at the Erie County Poorhouse.” K.C. Nystrom, ed. The Bioarchaeology of Dissection and Autopsy in the United States. Switzerland: Springer International, 2017. Pages 279-300.

Liber Raines, J.L. “Erie County Children and Orphans Placed at Local Charitable Institutions (1875-1882). Western New York Genealogical Society JOURNAL, volumes 41 (September 2014) through 42 (March 2016). 


Conference Posters and Presentations:

Liber Raines, J.L. “Forgotten People, Forgotten Places: The Lives & Lessons of the Erie County Poorhouse Cemetery Project.” Lecture. New York Archives Annual Conference: Rochester, NY, 2019.

Liber Raines, J.L. (2014, April 14). “The Importance of Documentary Evidence in Understanding Demographic Patterns at the Erie County Poorhouse (1851-1926).” Symposium poster. Association of Physical Anthropologists Annual Conference: Calgary, AB, Canada, 2014.

Higgins, R. & Liber Raines, J.L. “Confirming Burial Location in the Erie County Poorhouse Cemetery Using Death Certificates and Mortality Records from 1880 – 1913.” Symposium poster. Association of Physical Anthropologists Annual Conference: Calgary, AB, Canada, 2014.

Higgins, R., Liber Raines, J.L., Perrelli, D., & Sirianni, J. “Using Documentary Evidence to Study the Erie County Almshouse Skeletal Collection: Problems and Potential.” [Conference presentation]. New York State Archaeological Association Annual Conference: Watertown, NY, 2013.
Lectures
  • Captured: Using Transcriptions, Abstracts, and Indexes in Your Research
  • Death Is Not The End: Introduction to Probate, Wills, and Estates in New York
  • Finding Your Family History: An Introduction to Genealogy
  • Genealogy in the Classroom: Research Possibilities & Resources Grades 7-12 (New York State)
  • Places, Faces, & Social Graces: Tips and Techniques for Researching New York Newspapers
  • Remembering: The Lives & Lessons of the Erie County (NY) Poorhouse
  • Understanding & Utilizing Western New York Land Records
Repositories
Surrogate's Courts; County Clerk's Offices; City, Town, & Village Clerk's Offices throughout Western New York; Buffalo History Museum; Buffalo & Erie County Public Library.
Research Time Periods
  • 21st Century
  • 20th Century
  • 19th Century
Honorifics/Credentials
  • William Hoyt Archives Award for Advocacy - New York State Archives (2018) 
  • Empire Service Award - New York Genealogical & Biographical Society (2018)
  • Owen B. Augspurger Award for Service to Local History - Buffalo History Museum (2016)
  • Franklin Scott Prize Award, The Swedish American Historical Quarterly [co-author of article, "The Buffalo Orphan Asylum and the Settlement of Swedes in Northern Pennsylvania and Western New York"] (2016)
Certificates
Genealogical Research Certificate - Center for Professional Education
Boston University [Issued Apr 2013]
Affiliations

  • Association of Professional Genealogists

  • Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania

  • National Genealogical Society

  • New York Association of Local Government Records Officers

  • New York Genealogical & Biographical Society

  • Western New York Genealogical Society

Degrees
B.A., English, SUNY Geneseo