About Michael Lee Stills
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It started when my daughter came home with a homework assignment: "Dad, who are my ancestors?"

​That was more than two decades ago. A Boston University Certificate in Genealogical Research, hundreds of hours in archives, and thousands of records later, I'm still answering her question. But somewhere along the way, I got tired of just filling in charts.

The work that matters isn't finding another name and date - it's finding the story behind them. The hardware merchant whose obituary called him a "pioneer" but stopped there - missing the banker, the reformer, the man whose judgment mayors trusted more than police. The teenage girl who died young but whose illegitimate son was raised as family anyway. The father who wrote patriotic poetry before his children even enlisted.

These stories live in the gaps between what history recorded and what actually happened.

My Method

I assess what's known. I sense the hint, the thread worth pulling. I hunt for the missing pieces - the facts nobody found, the analysis nobody did. Then I tell a new story that gets us closer to the truth.

I call it "AI and I." I partner with artificial intelligence as a research collaborator - for synthesis, pattern recognition, and narrative development. The AI helps me dig deeper. I provide the instinct, the judgment, and the storytelling. The collaboration is transparent and the research is rigorous.

Current Projects

Martin Ballard's Seattle - The hardware merchant Seattle's 1907 obituaries reduced to a single occupation, missing the banker, capitalist, and reformer
The Culp Family - Six generations from German immigrant Baltzer Culp (1750) through my grandfather's WWII poetry
The Castle Keepers - Colonial Boston fort commanders and the dynamics of religion and power

Some of my subjects are my own ancestors. Others are strangers whose stories deserved to be told. All of them lived complicated lives in times we think we understand but mostly don't.

Background
  • Boston University Certificate in Genealogical Research
  • Former member, Association of Professional Genealogists
  • 20+ years genealogical research experience
  • Published author (volunteer management)
  • National conference presenter
  • Master's degree in Nonprofit Management
  • WikiTree volunteer and contributor

I'm based in Poulsbo, Washington, with my wife and our dog. When I'm not in archives or hunting gaps in historical records, I'm hiking the Olympic Peninsula.

The Archival Interloper: Hunting the gaps of place and time to tell the stories history missed.
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AI and I.