ROOTS & BRANCHES

The Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society was founded in 1974, which makes this year the organization’s golden anniversary.

And what could be more appropriate for a 50^th anniversary than a two-day hybrid conference, which will be held for in-person participants at the historic University Club in Pittsburgh.

The conference carries the theme of “The Journey of Our Ancestors: Tracing Our Western Pennsylvania Roots,” and explores the social and economic drivers, migration patterns, and more. Also included will be techniques for researching DNA, FAN club, and Pennsylvania court and property records.

The event will feature many in-person and virtual lectures on a variety of topics on Western Pennsylvania genealogy research.  

Your “Roots & Branches” columnist is among the presenters, with two lectures prerecorded (“Pennsylvania’s State Archives and State Library from the Inside Out” and “Deitsch, Deutsch, Dutch: Key Sources for Germans in Pennsylvania”) and one to be presented in person on “The Case of Pithole: Geography of a Boom Migration.”

But there’s a fascinating mix of speakers and topics available during the two days, including:

• Leslie Anderson with “The Bryans Brothers and the United States Colored Troops”
• Melissa Barker on “Diaries, Journals, and Calendars: Documenting Your Pennsylvania Ancestor’s Day-to-Day Life”
• Kelli Jo Bergheimer for “The ATGCs of DNA Analysis: Assumptions, Thinking Analytically, Guesses, and Conclusions” and “DNA Case Study: An Unknown Grandfather in Washington County, PA”
• Laura Cubbage-Draper and “Finding Female Ancestors Using Historical Newspapers in Genealogical Research”
• Sierra Green on “Researching Your Blue-Collar Ancestors at the Heinz History Center” and “An Archivist’s Guide to Genealogical Research at the History Center”
• Sharon Cook MacInnes presenting “Struggling for Land against Human and Political Forces: Exploring Our Pennsylvania Frontier Ancestors and the Recorded Treasures They Left Behind” and “Moving Targets: Tangled Misfortune, Historical Events, Personality Traits, FAN Club Reveal Family Migrations Hitting Pay Dirt”
• Kaitlyn Pauley and “Interweaving History and Heritage: Native American Genealogical Research in Western Pennsylvania”
• Elissa Scalise Powell with “Men of Steel: Researching Your Steel-working Ancestor,” “How Did My Pennsylvania Ancestor Get There?: Migration Trails Through and Out of the Keystone State,” and “Finding Buried Treasure in the Published Pennsylvania Archives”
• \Kris W. Rzepczynski presenting “West from Pennsylvania: Migration to the Great Lakes Region”
• Kate Townsend with “A Guide to Western Pennsylvania Court Records Research” and “Pittsburgh Genealogy 101 – A Guide to Researching in the Steel City”
• Pam Vestal on “Discovering the Richness of Your Ancestor’s Life in End-of-Life Records” and “Genealogical Pits I Have Fallen Into and How to Avoid Them”
• Megan Clark Young with “From Ulster to the Alleghenies: Uncover Your Scot-Irish Roots”

The University Club’s address in the Oakland section of the city is, 123 University Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.

For more information or to register, go to the URL, https://wpgs.org/50th-anniversary-conference/