Ms Rachel M. Croucher

Ms Rachel M. Croucher – BA (Melb), MA (Monash), DipFHS, MAAGRA

Researcher Type: Genealogist & Record Agent

Rachel M. Croucher is a highly credentialled genealogist and record agent with 20 years of experience in the practice of history. As a genealogist, she specialises in managing research projects to compile family histories and genealogies for clients. In contrast, as a record agent, she has extensive experience researching specific records and the holdings of specific archives. She earned a Diploma of Family History from the University of Tasmania, for which she was admitted to the Executive Dean’s Honour Roll. She is now studying for a postgraduate law degree and aims to practise in family law and succession law.

Rachel has been vice president of the Australasian Association of Genealogists and Record Agents (AAGRA) since 2020. She is also co-convenor of the Indian and South Asian Special Interest Group at the Society of Australian Genealogists (SAG), a volunteer marker for the SAG Certificate in Genealogical Research, a judge of the Nick Vine Hall Award hosted by the Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations, and a passionate mentor for beginner genealogists in the Writing Your Family Story course taught at the Genealogical Society of Victoria (GSV). Rachel also consulted on the SBS documentary series The Secret DNA of Us.

Rachel is also a certified editor with 15 years of experience in media and publishing. She is a member of the Young Lawyers Editorial Committee at the Law Institute of Victoria and was content editor at the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly for four years.

She provides services through Origins Research Network and is happy to work with clients on projects of any size.

Education

Bachelor of Arts | German and European Studies (Melbourne University, 2005),
Study Abroad Year | Central and Eastern European Studies And Islamic Studies (Vilnius University, 2002),
Master of History | Holocaust and Genocide Studies (Monash University, 2013),
Diploma of Family History (University of Tasmania, 2020), and
Juris Doctor (RMIT University, 2020-ongoing).

Research Interests

Central and Eastern Europe during World War II,
The Holocaust in Central and Eastern Europe,
Post-World War II German and Baltic (Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian) migration patterns to Australia,
The Punjabi and Indian Hawker Diaspora in Australia (Rachel’s great-grandfather was a Sikh Hawker from Punjab), and
The regions of Gippsland and East Gippsland in Victoria.

Services

Traditional genealogy (family trees, ancestry tracing, and descendant research),
Customised “Brick Wall” tutorials for family history researchers of all levels
Historical records searches,
Deciphering handwriting on old records,
Translating German records into English,
Editing and proofreading (academic and legal),
Public talks on genealogical topics.

Repositories