Founder of Professional Genealogy Research Services of New England

  Patricia M. St. Marie, Lead Genealogy Researcher

Patricia is the founder of Professional Genealogy Research Services of New England and the lead genealogy researcher. Patricia has a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Disorders from Worcester State University and a Master of Education degree in Special Education Assistive Technology from Simmons University. Patricia has worked for the French River Education Center, Inc. since 1996 providing related services in the areas of Speech and Language Therapy and Assistive Technology throughout Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut.
Patricia’s love of family history began when she was a young girl traveling in the backseat of a car visiting various cemeteries to tend to the graves of numerous relatives with her Grandmother Ruth and Uncle Fran. Her Uncle Fran would drive her and her grandmother from cemetery to cemetery where Ruth would tell stories (some ordinary and some colorful) about relatives in each cemetery. In 2003, Patricia took an interest in memorializing her family tree and with the help of her living relatives, Patricia began the arduous process of recording her family pedigree.
By 2006, Patricia had confirmed old rumors told by her grandmother Ruth about their Bigelow cousins, explaining that the family was indeed related to Col. Timothy Bigelow, as her father John Bigelow claimed, and that the Bigelow family had many famous cousins among the ranks, including Clara Barton.
Briefly, Patricia worked with the registrar of the Col. Timothy Bigelow Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Worcester, Massachusetts to establish a new lineage to an American Revolutionary Patriot, Andrew Bigelow. Shortly before Ruth’s death, Ruth and Patricia were admitted to the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
In 2020, Patricia’s research led to the discovery of ancestors that traveled on the Mayflower. 400 years after her ancestors landed at Cape Cod, Patricia submitted an application to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants to establish her lineage to Mayflower passenger, James Chilton. Following verification of her genealogical research, Patricia was admitted a lifetime member of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants in 2021.
A love for discovering her own personal family history, a desire to share all she learned about her own relatives with anyone that would listen, and years of pro bono family history research for co-workers and friends, Patricia pursued formal training in genealogical research.
After completing several courses through the National Genealogical Society and earning a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University, Patricia opened a small business in professional genealogy research.
Patricia and her husband Jonathan are the parents of three children and live in Central Massachusetts where Patricia has lovingly dragged her family all over New England, Montreal, Quebec and Ireland to conduct research, wander through cemeteries, explore city monuments, research in local libraries, churches, repositories and even collect a few living cousins along the way.

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