A few things we’re great at

Lineage Society Applications

If your family came to this country in its early years, it’s very likely that you had ancestors help to win our freedom from Britain. I’m the descendant of several patriots and an active member of the Daughter of the American Revolution and United States Daughters of 1812. I’ve helped others find those missing documents for several different lineage societies – and I’m happy to help with yours!

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Genealogical Research

Whether your tree is fully researched, just a sapling or you haven’t even found the forest yet, I can help it bloom and grow. From documents and records to photos and stories, let me introduce you to your family.

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DNA Analysis

With the advent of several home DNA kits now available, we have access to a powerful tool that smashes brick walls and widens families across generations. It can be confusing to understand your results, but after supervising hundreds of tests and aggregating results, I can help with that. Let’s put those puzzle pieces together.

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Adoption Heritage Searches

There is a powerful call in some adoptees that draws them to want to know more about their birth families. What ethnicity am I? When did “my people” first arrive here? What made up my bloodline? I’ve helped others answer these questions, within the confines of state laws and being respectful of privacy. If you need a guide on your journey of discovery, I’m ready.

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MY STORY

The Deck of Cards

Yes, my paternal grandparents had 54 grandchildren, a “full deck” of cards.

My name is Cheryl Odell (also known as number 39) and I am the Summerhouse Historian. My father was one of 16 children all born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My grandparents, of Irish and German decent, had eight boys and eight girls, all of whom were raised in a very religious and patriotic home. All eight boys honored their parent’s patriotism by enlisting in the military.

I was born in Los Angeles, California and raised in the San Gabriel Valley where I grew up with many of my first cousins. I went to high school with my cousins, had jobs with my cousins, had my first apartment with my cousins, and most of my friends were my cousins. You can say that family was truly my life.

It was not until 1992, when traveling to a family reunion, that my passion/obsession for genealogy and family history was ignited. As I traveled to cemeteries, schools, and past family homes with my dad, I found myself questioning him about “the summer house”. So the story goes, as my dad and I are standing in front of one of his family homes, I ask him, so where is the summer house? He responds, this IS the summer house. I respond with, did you only live here during the summer? He comes back with no, this was our only house. Confused, I ask him, so why was it called the summer house? My dear dad laughs and says, because after every window in the house was broken, it had air conditioning all year-round. Hence, “the summer house”.

With a background in medicine, law, corporate business, and genealogy, I find myself as one who is able to think outside the box and find those long lost ancestors and look at their historical significance. I have experience in adoption searches, lineage society applications, DNA, and family tree creations.

I look forward to hearing from you and helping you with your genealogical research.

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What Our Clients Say

Cheryl and her team have a passion for finding those missing ancestors and bringing them home to your family tree.

“Cheryl became our family historian in 1992, and she never looked back. She has helped our aunts and uncles test their DNA to determine our family heritage and complete our very large family tree.”

Brooke O.

“Cheryl discovered a secret that had been kept in our family for over 60 years. Through research, family stories, and DNA, she was able to find my birth father, half brother and half sister. I thought I was an only child, and now I have two siblings, three nieces, three nephews, four great nieces, and four great great nieces.”

Pamala P.

“Cheryl had known about my adoption case for over ten years. As soon as I heard she had become a professional genealogist, I hired her to research my family tree to find the son I gave up for adoption. We just recently tested my DNA, and I look forward to my results and see if we can find my long lost son.”

Melody H.

“Cheryl was able to find the records needed to prove one of our families American Revolutionary War Patriots. She traveled to Nashville, TN and visitied many repositories, met with a university professor who knew this part of history, and never gave up hope of proving his service to his country. She was able to find his service record in a very old book that proved in the town minutes he had served as a 2nd lieutenant.”

Bryanna M.

This is one of the things we do best

It all started in 1920, when Jacob Nickolas Nestler married Catherine Elizabeth Schaeffer, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jacob of German and Irish decent joined Catherine of German and French decent. These devout Catholics wanted a large family and between 1921 and 1942, they had 16 children. This family photo was taken in 1942.

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