
Overview
I have over 35 years of historical research experience with 17 of those years conducting professional research for clients. I graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Business with a major in Marketing and a minor in Entrepreneurial Studies in 1992 after serving four years with the U.S. Army as a non-commissioned officer in “The Old Guard” at Fort Meyer, Virginia. Prior to founding Johnson Research Services in 2005, I was a criminal investigator in Du Page County and was a member of the Du Page County Major Crimes Task Force. I have written three books on Chicago history and am working on a fourth. I belong to the Association of Professional Genealogists and have been a past Chicago Area Representative.
Clients
I have had the pleasure of working with a wide variety of clients over the last couple of decades including:
- Authors
- Attorneys
- Heir searchers
- Family historians
- Non-profit organizations
- Museum curators
- Television production companies and networks including Discovery ID, A&E, The History Channel, The Travel Channel, PBS, BBC, and others.
Repositories
Over the years I have enjoyed exploring a great many historical repositories in the Chicago area including:









Lineage Societies
I have had many years of experience successfully navigating clients through the membership process for various lineage societies including:
- Daughters of the American Revolution
- Sons of the American Revolution
- Jamestowne Society
- Mayflower Society
- Society of the Cincinnati
- Holland Society
- Associated Daughters of Early American Witches
- and many others
Request a Quote
Every client is different and every project is different. I have worked on major projects that have taken years to complete such as documentaries or printed histories of families or organizations as well as a simple document lookups. I always quote a project at no cost to the client and will develop a research plan that the client approves before I undertake any assignments.
If you would like to discuss your project, please email me at:
chicagohistorydetective@gmail.com