Your Genealogy Expert: Meet Anna Schnell
Anna Schnell is the founder of Swedish American Ancestors and will be your first point of contact when you commission our services. Depending on the assignment she works alone or together with other professional genealogists.
Anna was born and raised in Sweden, where she first developed an interest in genealogy by researching her own family tree starting around 20 years ago. In 2011, she took her first DNA test, further deepening her passion for genealogy and history. Like many Swedes, her family tree includes ancestors who emigrated to North America.
Anna’s Journey to Becoming a Professional Genealogist
Living in California, Indiana, and New York along with visiting her American relatives in Colorado, inspired Anna to become a professional genealogist. She specializes in North Americans with Swedes in their family tree, and Swedes with North Americans in theirs.
Formal Education
To enhance her expertise, Anna studied Swedish genealogy, history, paleography (old handwriting), historical archives, and Swedish American history, at several Swedish universities, including Göteborg, Linköping, Stockholm, and Uppsala. She also holds an MBA in International Economy from Uppsala University. Anna worked as an employee and consultant for among others Save the Children, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).
Informal Education
In addition to her formal education, Anna completed numerous genealogy related courses. These included subjects such as DNA analysis tools, Canada and U.S. based genealogy, as well as using Swedish historical maps, genealogical archives and databases.
The courses were offered by genealogy experts at historical societies, companies specializing in DNA research, museums, libraries, and national archives. In addition, Anna also learned many research skills by analyzing around 40 Swedish American related photo albums, dating from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s.
ProGen and APG
Anna participated in the 14-month ProGen 63 Study Group, where she gained further practical experience with genealogy methods and American historical records.
Today, Anna is a proud member of the Swedish genealogical societies Genealogiska föreningen and DiS-Öst, as well as the US based Association of Professional Genealogist.
Your Genealogical Journey
Your journey into discovering more about your Swedish-North American roots can begin with a friendly conversation with us. Feel free to reach out through our contact page or book a free consultation.