Claudia C Breland

Although she has never actually lived in Michigan, author Claudia Breland has been coming to Beulah since childhood. The daughter of John Chase and Mary Reed, and granddaughter of Maurice and Ruby Reed, she fell in love with Benzie County at an early age. After Maurice Reed's death in 1971, Claudia received the file folders of birth, marriage and death certificates, family trees, typewritten stories, letters and newspaper clippings, all of which sparked a lifelong passion for family history and...See more

Although she has never actually lived in Michigan, author Claudia Breland has been coming to Beulah since childhood. The daughter of John Chase and Mary Reed, and granddaughter of Maurice and Ruby Reed, she fell in love with Benzie County at an early age. After Maurice Reed's death in 1971, Claudia received the file folders of birth, marriage and death certificates, family trees, typewritten stories, letters and newspaper clippings, all of which sparked a lifelong passion for family history and genealogy.She became a professional genealogist in 2009 with clients from around the world. She has lectured on the topic in Washington, Canada and at the National Genealogical Society conference. She is an avid user of DNA and has solved over 25 cases of unknown parent and grandparent puzzles. Claudia recently broke a 45-year brick wall, using DNA genetic networks to find a black sheep second great-grandfather, who deserted during the Civil War, and to discover a motive for the murder of her second great-grandmother in 1883. This is her sixth book. See less