About Prairie Genealogy & Gary Ball-Kilbourne PhD, CG®
Prairie Genealogy is owned and operated by Gary L. Ball-Kilbourne, a professional genealogist residing in Fargo, North Dakota. 
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Meet Gary Ball-Kilbourne:

​     I began researching my own genealogy as a hobby over forty years ago. After a career as a pastor and a senior editor, I started Prairie Genealogy to help persons find their family roots, especially in the Northern Plains, spreading out from the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin.
     My personal family stories have also caused me to develop research expertise in Maryland, Connecticut, and Germany.
     I hold a Certified Genealogist credential. (CG, Certified Genealogist, CGL, and Certified Genealogical Lecturer are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluation.)
     Besides straightforward genealogical research, I am available to coach you as you work on your own research, as well as to engage with family history projects involving organizing information and files, writing, and editing.
    My recent client work has included such projects as:
  • helping persons push their family trees back additional generations in locales such as early 19th century Pennsylvania and Missouri;
  • finding towns of origin for immigrant Norwegians, Germans, and Germans from Russia;
  • discovering the month-by-month Civil War activity and location for a Confederate soldier from Virginia;
  • conducting local research for the ​Who Do You Think You Are? television show.
     I also am a lead facilitator for modules of the online genealogy principles and the genealogy research certificate course of Boston University as well as a mentor for the GenProof study groups.
Training:
  • Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy—Virtual All-DNA Advanced Evidence Analysis Practicum (2020); Maryland: Researching the Old Line State (2020); Burned Counties and More: Overcoming Destroyed, Missing, or Non-Extant Records—Sources and Techniques/ Methods (2019); Virtual Nordic Research (2018); Virtual Advanced Evidence Analysis Practicum (2016)
  • Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh—Tackling Tough Research Problems (2018); Advanced Research Methods (2016)
  • Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research—Genetics for Genealogists (2017)
  • National Institute for Genealogical Studies—Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies (PLCGS), American Records, with distinction (2017); German Records, with distinction (2019)
  • Boston University—Certificate in Genealogical Research (2016)
  • Excelsior College--Genetic Genealogy (2019)
  • GenProof 43—Mastering Genealogical Proof (2015)
  • Vanderbilt University—Doctor of Philosophy, religion


​Professional & Lineage Society Memberships:
  • Association of Professional Genealogists
  • National Genealogical Society
  • North Dakota State Genealogical Society
  • South Dakota Genealogy Society (research member)
  • Minnesota Genealogical Society
  • Red River Valley Genealogical Society (eastern North Dakota & western Minnesota)
  • Wisconsin State Genealogical Society
  • ​Maryland Genealogical Society
  • New England Historic Genealogical Society
  • Connecticut Society of Genealogists
  • Utah Genealogical Association
  • Ohio Genealogical Society
  • Cambridgeshire Family History Society
  • Germans from Russia Heritage Society
  • Norwegian American Genealogical Center
  • Norwegian-American Historical Association
  • Sons of the American Revolution (Maryland Society, Col. Tench Tilghman Chapter; Dakota Society)
  • Swedish Colonial Society (Forefather Member)


Genealogical Publications:
  • "Correcting the Identity of the Mother of Samuel Kilbourn (abt. 1789-1839) of East Hartford, Connecticut, and Baltimore, Maryland," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, forthcoming.
  • "Confirming the Parentage of Samuel Kilbourn of Baltimore (1814-1855), Maryland Genealogical Society Journal 61 (August 2020): 273-299.
  • Review of ​How to Find Your Family History in U.S. Church Records: A Genealogist's Guide, by Sunny Jane Morton and Harold A. Henderson, Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly 35 (March 2020): 40-41.
  • "A Cautionary Tale: Finding a Birthplace for Delany DeVine of Deuel County, South Dakota," Minnesota Genealogist 48 (Winter 2017): 5-9.
  • Calvin Research Report, "Genealogical Work Samples," Board for Certification of Genealogists (bcgcertification.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ResearchReportBall-Kilbourne.pdf). 

Let's get started!
If you are ready to work on your family's story, then let's get started!