Directory of Members

Gail Blankenau is a professional genealogist, speaker and author, specializing in German genealogy, land records, and lineage research. She first became interested in family history by looking for treasures in the attic when she was growing up. As a teenager, she started labeling old family photographs and things progressed from there.

As a professional, some of her recent client projects have taken her to Salt Lake City, Utah, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Illinois, Texas and Missouri, as well as numerous projects in Nebraska. Her own roots are from almost every state east of the Mississippi.

In addition to private client research, Gail enjoys speaking and writing about genealogy. Her articles have appeared in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, The Genealogist, Everton's Genealogical Helper, The National Genealogical Society magazine, Family Chronicle, Internet Genealogy, The Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly and Nebraska Ancestree.

She was a research consultant for the award-winning book, A Question of Freedom: The Families who Challenged Slavery from the Nation’s Founding to the Civil War, by William G. Thomas III. She also serves as the genealogist for the Nickerson Family Association on Cape Cod, a research consultant for the College of Arms in Great Britain (American lines) and as a board member for the Germanic Genealogy Society. She also serves on the Nebraska Historical Society advisory board for digitization of Nebraska newspapers.

Gail has written an award-winning nonfiction history entitled "Journey to Freedom: Uncovering the Grayson Sisters' Escape from Nebraska Territory" (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, Bison Books, 2024).

Kristen Epps, author of Slavery on the Periphery: The Kansas Missouri Border in the Antebellum and Civil War Eras:

Gail Shaffer Blankenau transforms the little-known account of the escape of Celia and Eliza Grayson from enslavement in Nebraska City into a remarkable story of the experiences of enslaved people and enslavers in the western borderlands. In the process, she illuminates the important role this episode played in the national debate over the extension of slavery into the western territories on the eve of the American Civil War.  Journey to Freedom is historical detective work at its best.

Publications:

Journals:

"Some Descendants of Nathaniel Mead of Greenwich, Connecticut, through his son Josiah Mead" (ca. 1701-ca. 1771), New England Genealogical and Historical Register, Vol. 163 (January 2009): p. 33-38; Vol. 163 (April 2009): p. 145-155; Vol. 163 (July 2009): p. 213-218.

"Abraham Daniels Family Bible with annotations", Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 48, No. 3, (Sep 2009), p. 161-162.

"Sergeant John Smith of Rhode Island, with Descendants in Early Ohio", The Genealogist, Vol. 26, No. 1, (Spring 2012), p. 3-23.

Magazines:

“Using Theses and Dissertations to Enhance Your Family History,” National Genealogical Society Magazine, 49, no. 3 (July-September 2023).

“Journey to Freedom from Nebraska Territory,” Nebraska History, no. 2 (Summer 2022), 78-95. This article won the James Sellers Award for Best Article in a volume of Nebraska History.

“It’s All in the Family: Benefits of Family Associations,” National Genealogical Society Magazine, 47, no. 2 (April-June 2021).

“What’s in a Name?: Sources for Name Changes,” Nickerson Family Association, Fall 2020.

“A Comfortable Place to Live In: Using Homestead Files in Family History,” National Genealogical Society Magazine, 45, no. 1 (January-March 2019), 17-23.

"Women Homesteaders," National Genealogical Society Magazine, Vol., 40, No. 2, April-June 2014

"Rich Resources for Poor Ancestors", Family Chronicle, (Nov/Dec 2009), Moorshead Ltd.

"Using German Parish Records", Everton's Genealogical Helper, (Jan 2009), Logan UT, Everton Publishers.

"Signature Style", Family Chronicle, (Mar/Apr 2009), Moorshead Ltd., Canada.

"When the Irises Bloom", Family Chronicle, (Jul/Aug 2009), Moorshead Ltd.,Canada.

"Keeping Up with the Smiths", Family Chronicle, (Sep/Oct 2009), Moorshead Ltd., Canada.

"19th-Century Photos-How to Spot a Copy", Family Chronicle, (Nov/Dec 2009), Moorshead, Ltd., Canada.

"April Fools: Genealogy Style!", Family Chronicle, (Mar/Apr 2010), Moorshead Ltd., Canada.

"Portraits from the Past", Internet Genealogy, (Apr/May 2010), Moorshead Ltd., Canada.

"Funeral and Prayer Cards in Genealogy - A Small Collection of German Prayer Cards, Cuming and Dodge Counties, Nebraska", Nebraska Ancestree, v. 35, no. 1 (summer 2012)

"Women Homesteaders", National Genealogical Society Magazine, v. 40, no. 2, April-June 2014.

2023 Winner of James Sellers price for best article in a volume of Nebraska History magazine.

2025 Finalist for Midwest Book Award Nonfiction History

2025 Winner of Nebraska Book Award Nonfiction History

Genealogist, Writer, and Co-Editor: The Nickerson Family Part 5: Samuel (Nickerson Family Association, 2025), winner of the 2025 Connecticut Society of Genealogists Richard G. Tomlinson Award for Literary Excellence

Germanic genealogy, Midwestern research and methods, archival and courthouse research, and land records.

Beginning:

• Genealogy 101 – Hunting and Gathering
• Genealogy 201 – The Journey
• Stories in Stone: Cemetery research
• Keeping up with the Smiths and Joneses – Researching those Common Surnames
• Who is Hiding in Your Drawer? Date and Identifying photographs (also a short version – 20 minutes)
• Beyond the Basics: Hands on Practice with genealogical research (requires computer lab or venue with laptops and good Internet access).
• The Good, The Bad and the Ugly – Citations for Your Family History
• Marriages, Murder and Vigilantes: A Frontier Odyssey

Beginning-Intermediate

• Break Through Brick Walls Using Land Records Part I
• Break Through Brick Walls Using Land Records Part II
• Who Is Hiding in Your Drawer? Dating and Identifying 19^th Century Photos – 1849-1900
• Dating and Identifying Photos – 1880 to 1910
• Rich Resources for Poor Ancestors
• Women Homesteaders: Three Case Studies
• Combining Tools for Real Research Questions: DNA Case Studies

Intermediate-Advanced

• Proof or Consequences: Change How You View Evidence
• Connect the Dots with a Family Migration Study
• Probing Probate Records for Hidden Gems

German Heritage Series:

• Finding Your Germanic Ancestral Village
• Deciphering Old German Script
• Using German Parish Records Part I
• Digging Deeper into German Parish Records Part II
• Find Your Roots in German Farm Histories
• Power Combination: German Church Records and Farm Histories
• Beyond the Bauer [Farmer]: Your German Ancestor’s Place in the Social Structure
• What’s in a Name? Deciphering German Given Names and Nicknames
• Dating and Identifying Your German Ancestral Photos
• Germans from Russia – An Introduction
• Unexpected Union – a Tale of Two Soldiers in the Great War
• Peopling the Prairie: Germans in America’s Heartland
• Marrying the Farm: It’s Complicated (Intermediate – Advanced)
• Researching Your Roots in Alsace-Lorraine
• From the Old World to the New: German Immigration and Emigration Records Across the Centuries
• AI in Action: German Case Studies
• Finding Family in Numbers: German Census Records and Census Substitutes

In Development:

Researching Your Westphalian Ancestry

Bottleneck Research: Sources and Methods for Tough Research Questions

Midwestern research questions

Using Territorial Records in Your Family History

Family History and Material Culture: What Your Ancestor’s              “Stuff” Can Tell You

Sample comments from evaluations

Gail was genuine and refreshing.
Gail was a GREAT speaker!
Lots of energy and participation.
Gail Blankenau is a gem. I could listen to her all day.
Gail's passion is unmatched.

From Blake Bell, historian from the National Homestead Monument:

Gail has been the star of every conference I've hosted. I wouldn't think about hosting a genealogical event without her; she is always the first person I call.

• All topics delivered with PowerPoint
• May need microphone depending on size of audience
• Will develop lectures on specific topics
• Will travel
• Home housing not accepted
• Will provide hand-out masters for duplication

Presenting since 2009--Short List of Recent Engagements:

January 2026: Swiss Roots, Mountain Trails: Peaks and Valleys in Your Ancestral Research (Germanic Genealogy Society)

February 2026: Tips in Deciphering Germanic Handwriting (Germanic Genealogy Society--filled in for ill speaker)

October 21, 2025, Palatines to America, Pennsylvania Chapter. From the Old World to the New: German Immigration & Emigration Records Across the Centuries

October 25, 2025, Palatines to America, Ohio Chapter. Two presentation seminar. Finding Your Roots in German Farm Histories; and, Power Combination: Using German Farm Histories with German Church Records

June 2025 IGGP Conference in Cincinnati, OH. Finding Family in Numbers: German Census Records; AI in Action: German Case Studies

March 7, 2025, webinar for Eastern Washington Genealogical Society German Interest Group. “What’s in a Name” Deciphering German Given Names”

January 2025, webinar for Germanic Genealogy Society “The Power of Home Country Research: A Key Step Before German Record Research

April 27, 2024, Nebraska State Genealogical Society conference, Columbus, Nebraska, “Marriages, Murder and Vigilantes: A Frontier Odyssey.”

November 16, 2023, Germanic Genealogy Society, “Research Your Ancestors from Alsace-Lorraine.”

November 14, 2023, Central New Jersey Genealogical Club, “Probating the Probate,” and

June 2023, International German Genealogy Partnership Conference, Fort Wayne, Indiana: "German Homesteaders," and “Researching Your Family from Alsace-Lorraine,”

April 29, 2023, Germanic Genealogy Society, on-site workshop in Mendota Heights. “Straight from the Source? Analyzing and Weighing Proof Documents.”

April 22, 2023, Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society, Seminar, four presentations.

December 8, 2022, Germanic Genealogy Society, “Using German Parish Records Part 2: Digging Deeper.”

October 27, 2022, Germanic Genealogy Society, “Using German Parish Records Part 1: An Introduction.”

February 9, 2022, Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana, “Finding Your Germanic Ancestral Village.”

September 1, 2022, German Genealogy Group, Kings Park, NY, webinar, “Beyond the Bauer (Farmer): Your Farm Ancestor’s Place in the Social Structure.”

March 22, 2022, Sacramento German Genealogy Society, “Proof or Consequences.”

October 23, 2021, Hamilton County Ohio Genealogical Society, “Rich Resources for Poor Ancestors,” and “Find Your German Roots in Farm Histories.”

July 2021: International German Genealogy Partnership Conference – Marrying the Farm: German Rural Family Inheritance Strategies

April 8, 2021: What’s in a Name? Deciphering German Given Names and Nicknames

March 11, 2021 - Beyond the Bauer (Farmer): Your German Farm Ancestor’s Place in the Social Structure

July 2019, International German Genealogy Partnership Conference - A Tale of Two Families in World War I; and Dating and Identifying German 19th-Century Photos

Jul 23, 2019, Yankton, South Dakota, Public History program -- Women Homesteaders

June 8, 2019, Kansas Council of Genealogical Societies, spring conference.

April 26-27, 2019: Colorado Chapter of Palatines to America, Denver, CO Spring Conference: Multiple topics.