About Marissa J. Gardner
Founder & Lead Researcher,
Treasured Ancestors
Marissa J. Gardner, Accredited Genealogist®, is the founder and lead researcher at Treasured Ancestors. With more than 20 years of professional experience, she specializes in complex family history and forensic genealogy research across the United States, Canada, and Central and Eastern Europe. Her team also has specialized skills in Latin America and Southern Europe research.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Family History and Genealogy from Brigham Young University (2005) and earned her AG® credential in 2011 through ICAPGen with a regional specialty in German research.
Her professional background includes work with Ancestry.com, Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, AncestryProGenealogists, Venio, and Legacy Tree Genealogists, along with her current role as a research consultant at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. In that role, she assists with complex research problems and works regularly with international records and methodologies.
Professional Focus
Treasured Ancestors assists with cases that require more than straightforward database searching. This includes identifying ancestral origins, resolving conflicting evidence, reconstructing family relationships, and supporting legal and citizenship-related research with documented conclusions.
Common areas of work include:
Overcoming complex genealogical brick walls
Identifying heirs for probate, trust, and property cases
Supporting dual citizenship applications through documented lineage
Producing research that meets legal and evidentiary standards
Our research is conducted to the high documentation standards required for probate proceedings, heirship, and other legal matters.
How Research Is
Approached
Genealogy research often becomes difficult when relevant records are not easily accessible or when multiple sources must be evaluated together. Much of this work involves moving beyond online databases into archives, historical jurisdictions, and record systems that require specialized interpretation.
Each project is approached methodically, with an emphasis on:
identifying the most relevant records
understanding historical and geographic context
evaluating evidence across multiple sources
building conclusions supported by documentation
Clients receive clear reporting that explains what was searched, what was found, and how conclusions were reached.
About Treasured Ancestors
Treasured Ancestors is a research-focused genealogy practice based near Salt Lake City, Utah, with access to the resources of the FamilySearch Library and other major repositories.
Marissa leads a small, trusted team of researchers and collaborators. While she remains directly involved in each project, the team provides additional depth across a wide range of languages, regions, and record types. This allows work to be completed efficiently while maintaining consistent standards.