Colleen Alm joined the Research and Library Services department as a researcher in December 2023. She assists patrons with genealogical questions and unresolved family history research. In addition, Colleen completes lineage applications on behalf of patrons who seek membership in a variety of lineage societies including but not limited to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Sons of the American Revolution, Order of the Crown of Charlamagne, etc.  

When her family visited Ireland in 2010, she discovered her family’s original early 19th century homestead in County Cork where her family lived until the turn of the century. This sparked a passion for genealogical research, and she continues to try and locate more information about her Irish ancestors. She graduated from Bridgewater State University in 2023 with a B.A. in Communications and minors in History and Irish Studies.  

In Spring 2022, she co-wrote a paper titled, “America’s First Sex Scandal: The Rhetorical Strategies in the Hamilton/Reynolds Affair”, which discussed the rhetorical strategies Alexander Hamilton used in light of his political scandal in the 1790s when he was Treasury Secretary and how those same strategies compare to how modern political scandals have been addressed. The paper was presented at the 4th International Conference on Scandalogy at Otto Fredrich University in Bamberg, Germany in the Fall of 2022. The paper went on to be published as a chapter within the book, Scandalogy 4: Political Scandals in the Age of Populism, Partisanship, and Polarization, in 2023.  

In the Fall of 2022, Colleen studied abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland at the University of Edinburgh.  While in Scotland, she studied ancient Celtic literature and Scottish oral traditions. In 2019, she volunteered at American Ancestors, assisting with the Catholic Records Project. Her talent extends to other art too; Colleen has a vintage furniture and home decor booth at the Wrentham Country Store in Wrentham, Massachusetts. 
 

Areas of Expertise: Colonial New England, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Ireland