ABOUT REBECCA SHAMBLIN
Genealogist, Author, Teacher
For more than 20 years, Rebecca has pursued her family roots. Today, she thrives on helping Luxembourg descendants reclaim their heritage, as well as helping descendants of any culture tell their family story.
Luxembourgish Roots
Rebecca was born near Belgium, Wisconsin, a thriving center of Luxembourgish culture in America. Every one of her great-grandparents was of Luxembourgish descent. Over 75% of her ancestors came to Wisconsin from Luxembourg in the mid-19th century, including members of the Birenbaum, Bley, Feyereisen, Jacque, Kolbach, Ries, and Watry families.
Her grandfather Lawrence Feyereisen even grew up speaking Lëtzebuergesch in the home, even though he and his father had been born in America. He did not learn English until he went to school! In 1996, Lawrence and his wife Rosalie Kolbach were named Duke & Duchess of Luxembourg Fest in Town Belgium.
A pASSION FOR GENEALOGY
In 2002, Rebecca first became immersed in the world of genealogy. She had met more than 50 first cousins of her mother at a family reunion, and attempted to build a family tree to organize them in her head. She created her first family book, gifted it to her grandfather Lawrence, and hasn’t stopped thinking about her heritage since. In 2018, she reclaimed her Luxembourgish nationality via Article 7.
During the COVID pandemic, Rebecca dove even deeper into her research. She published a comprehensive history of her great-grandfather’s Watry & Weiland ancestors, complete with fully illustrated biographies and charts. While sharing her book online, other genealogists began to ask questions about how she did it. She wrote a blog post explaining it. She led a Zoom explaining it. She answered question after question on Facebook. With the publication of her second book, about her great-grandmother’s Schmidt & Krier ancestors, the attention grew further.
Finally, she decided to write a book about writing books. She published Leaving a Legacy: Turn Your Family Tree into a Family Book in 2023, and was astounded at the enthusiastic reaction of the genealogy community. She began teaching classes based on the book, and then classes based on all manner of genealogical topics. In 2024, she published Building a Legacy: A Guide to Combining Ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker.
A NICHE WITHIN A NICHE
In 2024, Rebecca’s life turned another corner with a phone call from Kevin Wester. The two had encountered one another at various times over the years in the course of researching families in the Ozaukee County community. In fact, as is often the cases with Luxembourgers in Ozaukee, they turned out to be related! 7th cousins, to be precise, sharing a great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.
Kevin’s citizenship & tour businesses were booming. During a phone call with Rebecca about a Luxembourgish genealogy issue, it occurred to him that this might be an answer. Genealogy is already a niche hobby in this world, and Luxembourgish genealogy was certainly a niche within that niche. Who better than Rebecca to hop on board?
a new life
Now, Rebecca lives with her two daughters in the suburbs of Minneapolis and spends her days doing what she loves. She helps clients establish their Luxembourg lineage and turn that documentation into European citizenship. She is overjoyed to assist on Luxembourg Adventures and see her ancestral homeland in a new way. And she continues to write books and teach, spreading the joy of genealogy to others.
To find out more, please visit www.rebeccashamblin.com.