The Mystery Girl, Elise McKenna, is a Louisville-based genealogist and research historian specializing in microhistories. She takes genealogy to a new level, bringing the leaves on a family tree to life. Going beyond the names, dates, and relationships that are central to standard genealogical practice, Elise focuses on the people themselves, examining family correspondence, newspaper articles, legal documents to give her clients a personalized microhistory for their ancestors or subjects of interest.

Elise is currently involved in several major research projects, including serving as historian for Blackacre Nature Preserve, where she is compiling a history of Blackacre with a focus on the lives of the people enslaved by the Tyler family, who occupied the land from around 1800 until after the Civil War. She is also working to locate burial sites of enslaved people who died there.

You can find more information about her ongoing and past projects here.

Think you have a mystery for Elise? Fill out a research request!