Bio

Michael J. Leclerc is a popular genealogical educator, author, and editor who has taught students around the world to find and write their family’s history. He spent more than a decade on the teaching team of Boston University’s Genealogy Studies Program.

Full Biography

Michael J. Leclerc is a popular genealogical presenter, teacher, author, and editor who has taught students around the world how to find and write their family’s history. For more than a decade he has been a facilitator and instructor in Boston University’s Genealogy Studies Program, teaching research and writing skills.

He got his start in genealogy in the 1980s when he first visited the American-French Genealogical Society. From 1995 through 2011 he held a number of positions at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, working in a variety of capacities from research services to the library to digital and print publications. He was responsible for the launch of two websites, bringing searchable databases from the Society’s collections to its members for the first time. He wrote and edited a number of books, including Genealogical Writing in the 21st Century: A Guide to Register Style and More, Second Edition, with Henry Hoff, FASG and the fifth edition of the Society’s seminal guidebook Genealogist’s Handbook for New England Research. He was a contributing editor for American Ancestors magazine, and a consulting editor for the New England Historical and Genealogical Register.

In 2012 he joined Mocavo as Chief Genealogist, leaving in the summer of 2015. he worked with the development team to implement features of use to genealogists. He wrote about genealogical research and methodology for the Mocavo blog and made presentations around the world about how to use the website. He also hosted Mocavo Fireside Chat, interviewing leading genealogists about research and methodology and answering questions from Mocavo subscribers.

Mocavo was acquired by FindMyPast in 2016. Michael left a year later to focus on writing, editing, and teaching. He wrote the “Crafting Family Histories” chapter for Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice, & Standards (Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., 2018). He is former managing editor of the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly and is currently the editor of Rhode Island Roots, the journal of the Rhode Island Genealogical Society.

In 2019 he published the first in a series of books on the family of Revolutionary War patriot  Benjamin Franklin’s family. Volume 1 traces his English ancestry back to Robert Franklin who was buried at Earls Barton in 1572. Volume three, to be published in 2026, is a 700-page work on five generations of descendants of Benjamin’s father Josiah.