ROOTS & BRANCHES

If there’s anything I like more than doing genealogy presentations myself, it’s trying to assemble speakers for topics about which I don’t know nearly enough.

One of those areas will be addressed when Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania holds a spring virtual seminar titled “Exploring Eastern European Genealogy” over two half days in early May.

And the folks addressing those topics? Oh, my, what a “dream team” if I do say so myself.

Tackling the nuances of the ever-changing peoples of the eastern half of Europe will be: Lisa Alzo, Michelle Tucker Chubenko, Joseph A. Everett, and Emily Garber.

Alzo will bookend the conference with a presentation on May 7 titled “Ten Things Every Eastern European Genealogist Should Know” and wrapping things up on May 8 with “Overcoming Brickwalls in Eastern European Research.”  

Also presenting on May 7 will be Joseph Everett on “Mining for Images: Locating Digital Records for Eastern Europe on Major Websites and Beyond” and Chubenko talking about “Mapping An Empire: Austria-Hungary.”

Garber’s lecture on May 8 will be “It’s Hard to Say, ‘Good-bye’—Challenges Faced by Eastern European Jewish Emigrants.”

The Eastern European “dream team” has a variety of credentials:

• Alzo is a freelance writer, instructor, and internationally recognized lecturer, specializing in Eastern European research and writing your family history She is the author of eleven books and hundreds of magazine articles. Alzo works as an online educator and writing coach through her website “Research, Write, Connect,” <https://www.researchwriteconnect.com>
• Chubenko has with almost 30 years’ experience researching her colonial American and Eastern European ancestry and is a Research Team Lead and professional genealogist with Legacy Tree Genealogists. Since October 2016, she has been LTG Specialist for Central & Eastern European research. Since 2013, she has been the co-coordinator for the Ukrainian History & Education Center’s Nashi Predky Family History Group.
• Everett is the Family & Local History Librarian at Brigham Young University. An Accredited Genealogist in Russian and German research, his 25-plus-year career also includes FamilySearch and Ancestry.com, including working in content acquisitions and content product and project management at the latter.
• An archaeologist by training Garber has been researching her Jewish family heritage since 2007 and holds a certificate from Boston University’s Genealogical Research program. She is a family history researcher, writer and speaker and owns Extra Yad Genealogical Services. Garber blogs at <https://extrayad.blogspot.com/>, has written two books and several articles on genealogical research.

The “Exploring Eastern European Genealogy” event will be held 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. EDT, Saturday, May 7, and 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT, Sunday, May 8. The presentations will be recorded and registrants will have 60 days after the conference to access them.

Registration fees are $40 for GSP Members and $50 for non-members, and registration can be done online at genpa.org/events