How This One Woman Is Uncovering FBI Family Stories

As a former FBI agent, Amy Wisotsky knows how to use evidence to tell a story. While the parallels may not seem obvious at first, the tools used by crime-solving professionals to bring truth to light are often the very same techniques employed by genealogists to bring life to a person who may have passed long ago.

Amy serves as a trustee for the Society of Former Agents of the FBI Foundation and has found great meaning in the genealogical work of telling the life stories of agents who have fallen in the line of duty. “In our work with the Service Martyr program, we are able to tell stories of lives well-lived,” Amy says. “We create an enduring legacy and one that connects family across generations.”

Amy works together with another former FBI agent, Debbie Moore, to uncover details that allow them to tell agents’ life stories. One example is that of Edwin Curran Shanahan, the first person who died in the line of duty in 1925. Through genealogical research, Amy connected with Edwin’s granddaughter and has been able to tell a broader story beyond the moment of his death. “What’s important about these stories is that each of them had families, people who missed and loved them,” Amy says. “They had struggles, joys, and pains, like all of us.”

Amy’s interest in genealogy grew when her dad passed away. Going only off of stories she had heard as a child, she was able to learn a great deal about his life in Odessa, Ukraine, and her mom’s in Belarus, long before they came to the United States. “I started to think about leaving a legacy and what that really means,” she says.

As a member of several genealogical societies, Amy has learned that her interest is shared by many others. “In the days before DNA, this was much harder work,” she says. “One spent hours looking at microfiche or searching for people who were impossible to find. These days, DNA companies like Ancestry and 23andMe are incredibly popular at all age levels. More people are taking part and wanting to learn their family’s story.”

As Amy presents her work with the Service Martyrs program, she also encourages attendees to take the time to talk to their own family members. “I encourage everyone to get started,” she says. “For grandparents, this is a fun and meaningful activity to do with your grandchildren. You are sharing stories while building a paper or digital family tree. The kids are having a blast, and they don’t even realize they are building a legacy that will pass down for years to come.”

Working on genealogy projects also builds skills around math, technology, culture, and project management – for grandkids and grandparents alike. “Not to mention, you sometimes solve mysteries and find buried treasure,” Amy says. “I learned I had an uncle who was arrested as a fugitive during Prohibition and was written about in the papers as the ‘Moonshine Prince.’”

This work has been an inspiration to Amy, both in her personal and professional life. As she says, “It brings me joy to be able to focus on the power of connection across generations, telling stories of lives well-lived and creating enduring legacies.”

Items Amy Loves: “If I had to choose one item that I treasure most, it would probably be one of my old-time seltzer bottles,” Amy says. “I have a whole collection of them. I grew up in Brooklyn, and in those days, seltzer was still delivered to homes in metal baskets. I have one of the baskets, too! If you’re from Brooklyn, you know what an egg cream is. My dad would use the seltzer to make his delicious egg creams. Seeing the pretty bottles brings back great memories for me.”

By Megan S. Willman | Photos by Melissa Donald

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