Michael Elwood Pollock is a passionate independent genealogist and leader who owns multiple businesses. His genealogy work began while still in college and, along with being a personal care attendant, his most recent venture as a brand partner with Centropix makes him a versatile entrepreneur.
Balancing Passion with Purpose
Michael Elwood Pollock has been passionate about genealogy research, particularly in Virginia and forensic studies, for 50 years, starting while working as a “clerk-genealogist” at the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) to help fund his PhD studies at Georgetown University. This allowed him to recognize, then further develop, his passion for genealogy.
When changes at the DAR made the environment less comfortable, he decided to pivot and become a self-employed genealogist, avoiding the over-qualification hurdle that he encountered during job interviews from having a Master’s degree in Russian Area Studies. Michael also works part-time, about 20 hours a week, as a Personal Care Attendant.
Throughout his career, the biggest challenge for Michael has been balancing his varied interests and ensuring that he has the freedom to pursue his passion for genealogy without external constraints. Michael was recognized in Marquis’s Who’s Who in the South & Southwest 1997-1998 because of the series of articles he published in Frederick Findings on the order of battle of Virginia’s Continental Line Regiments during the Revolution. This project was initially rejected by the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1975 when he applied for a grant, but he proved that seemingly impossible things are achievable.
The Shift to Forensic Genealogy
As Michael transitioned his career in genealogy, he needed a steady income. Living in greater Washington, D.C. allowed him to access key research facilities like the National Archives and the Library of Congress while working a daytime job. His independent genealogy practice benefited from the growing interest in genealogy as he was starting due to the U.S. Bicentennial and the popularity of Alex Haley’s Roots, that continues as shown by articles in such venues as Pyschology Today (October, 2020).
A significant shift came when he relocated to Richmond, Virginia, due to redevelopment in Arlington. This move offered better access to resources for work overall, but particularly his Frederick County, Virginia, focused magazine. It also led to an increase in his forensic research work, eventually the bulk of his business, helped by a Yellow Pages listing in Richmond through which he acquired the law firm McGuireWoods as a client.
Michael’s genealogy company specializes in personalized research, with a focus on Virginia. His work ranges from individual genealogies to large projects for non-profits, governments, and corporations like Dominion Energy. He also provides expert testimony in court.
His work for individuals includes locating a single record to doing a full workup of both maternal and paternal lineages, sometimes with collateral lines, and even publishing the same. While at the Daughters of the American Revolution, he focused on verifying and, when possible, correcting the lineage claims submitted by both new and existing members to have their ancestors recognized by the society.
Adapting Genealogy in an Online World
The rise of the internet brought significant changes to genealogy, impacting Michael’s business as people gained access to distant repositories online, reducing the need to hire professionals. This shift resulted in the closure not just of his own periodicals, but also many periodicals where he advertised his services and publications, as the perception grew that everything could be found online, fueled by Ancestry.com’s advertising pitching its online services, often at a lower cost than his services.
Given these changes, he started two other businesses. Providing personal care services, sometimes as a live-in provider, allowed him to reduce overhead while maintaining flexibility for his genealogy work.
Michael’s newest venture is with Centropix, where he offers both virtual and real-time services, and has personally experienced significant benefits from using Centropix products, including the significant improvement in arthritis pain, reduced nighttime disruptions, and decreased reliance on steroids for an old shoulder injury in a motorcycle accident.
The Impact of Centropix Technology
Centropix was founded in 2018, with headquarters in Liechtenstein, and later expanded to the U.S. in 2021. Most key personnel are engineers trained in German-speaking countries, where schools are known for their excellence in engineering and medical fields.
Centropix currently offers four products: Kloud Maxi, Kloud Mini, Cocoon, and Bubble2, all based on advances in Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Frequency (PEMF) technology to what is being called Pulsed Electro-Magnetic/Molecular Activation. The Kloud devices, in particular, offer unique features like programmability and portability and are protected by multiple patents.
The Kloud and Centropix’s Vision for the Future
Centropix faces challenges in gaining acceptance, as its advancements are so new and unconventional. While people often look for “FDA approved” products, Centropix’s flagship Kloud, inspired by a Nobel Prize and also Class 1 FDA Registered, is effective and safe, unlike many FDA-approved products with potentially significant side effects.
However, acceptance is growing, with companies like GSK and Google investing in similar technologies, but resistance from the medical community may persist as these innovations challenge traditional methods and models.
With Centropix, its competitors will need to innovate for the next 20 years, i.e., the lifetime on the 4 patents that apply to its flagship product, the Kloud. This feature in Enterprise Magazine is an innovation in itself as this will be the first attempt to promote its products in this manner. Centropix is also featured in ongoing clinical studies and will appear in a documentary airing on Amazon Prime in December 2024.
Balancing Genealogy, Care, and Innovation in Business
With multiple sources of income and no payroll to meet, Michael’s focus is more on passion than profitability. Forensic genealogy is a narrow niche and does not demand unnecessary innovation, so Michael avoids it. The forensic work he does is not in high demand in Virginia because restrictions in other states on law firms doing the work in-house, quite often by a junior partner or even paralegal, when not contracting with a title search company, do not exist in Virginia, but his long-standing relationship with McGuireWoods and consistent performance have kept his business stable.
In personal care, he prioritizes his client’s well-being over business growth, quality over volume.
Centropix, with its groundbreaking technology, requires less innovation, as the company’s patents offer a competitive edge.
Keys to Success in Genealogical Work
Success in genealogy/forensics is due to Michael’s specialized skills, including an understanding of the Cyrillic alphabet due to degrees in Russian Studies from College of William & Mary and Georgetown University, and the ability to discern context in old documents. His knowledge helps him accurately interpret historical records, a skill that sets him apart from many in the field.
Phonetics is an important aspect. He has become adept at recognizing misspellings, especially those with phonetic origins. In today’s world, relying heavily on “Artificial Intelligence” can lead to incorrect conclusions, such as mistaking “Cannada” as a misspelling of the country Canada rather than a phonetic misspelling of the surname Kennedy. His success comes from searching in overlooked places, as exemplified by his discovery of two significant documents in a King George County, Virginia, order book from 1735 that no longer exist in their original counties of record.
In his work, he focuses on not just what is included in a document, but also on what is omitted. For example, an affidavit in Hanover County, Virginia, misstated several family relationships, raising red flags that led to significant findings. His unconventional approach to genealogy parallels his openness to alternative health practices, such as the herbal regimen that has contributed to his good health, and his exploration of Centropix products.
The Approach to Genealogy and Health Mentorship
In his genealogy/forensic network groups, Michael monitors special interest groups, primarily on LinkedIn to note what advice is given and if that advice parallels what he might recommend. With the number of people in his network whose native tongue is not English, he likes to engage in conversations that help him understand that person’s appreciation of nuance.
With Centropix, mentoring individuals is largely a process of engaging them in a conversation about the state of their health, gauging whether they are open to “new ideas”, and if they are, offering to demo Centropix products for them.
Independent Leadership Style
Michael’s leadership philosophy is open-minded and unconventional, focused on achieving what others deem impossible. He mentors only those who demonstrate a willingness to think outside the box. His genealogy business is a sole proprietorship, centered in Virginia, where he can utilize his expertise without the need to hire additional staff.
In his genealogy business, he has no actual organization beyond an informal, worldwide network of genealogy professionals intended for collaboration in advertising he began to cultivate, recruiting 125 individuals on LinkedIn in 2010 that won him recognition for having among the top 5% of most active profiles.
As an independent brand partner with Centropix he also does not have any real staff, except for the support staff at headquarters. This support staff is shared with all other brand partners. The compensation model focuses on commissions that come from direct drop-shipment to customers. Customers purchase through a brand partner’s website. The model also emphasizes the recruitment of other brand partners.
To learn more about Centropix, you can visit centropix.us/dna.
You can learn more about Michael’s genealogy work at https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-elwood-pollock-a927382b/
