Resources Hidden Treasures in Pennsylvania Genealogy Records at FamilySearch FamilySearch holds the largest online collection of Pennsylvania records for genealogy research. Here's how to find what you need to complete your family history in Pennsylvania.
Resources Is FindMyPast Useful for Pennsylvania Genealogy Research? FindMyPast has some unique record collections for Pennsylvania genealogy research, including the Philadelphia Archdiocese Roman Catholic church records. Learn what genealogy records are offered and how to access them.
Resources Pennsylvania Genealogy Made Easy: Tips for Ancestry.com Research Success If you are researching your Pennsylvania ancestors, you might be wondering how best to use Ancestry. I'll share some benefits of using Ancestry, tips and tricks to help you search on Ancestry, and their most-popular databases for online Pennsylvania genealogy research.
Podcast Podcast Episode 29: History Resources to Enrich Pennsylvania Genealogy Research Learn about the time and place of your ancestors through these Pennsylvania history books and journals.
Podcast Podcast Episode 28: History of Child Adoption in Pennsylvania An overview of the Pennsylvania laws on child adoption for genealogists.
Podcast Podcast Episode 27: Urban Cemetery Research with Mount Moriah Cemetery Discover the challenges of urban cemetery research for genealogists and learn how to find your ancestors buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery with tips from the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery organization.
history A Poem on Johnny Appleseed A poem on the life and times of Johnny Appleseed who spent some of his life in western Pennsylvania.
Podcast Podcast Episode 26: Rural Cemetery Research with the Berks County Association for Graveyard Preservation Discover genealogy tips and tricks for family historians researching rural cemeteries and finding ancestors buried in small family plots in this podcast episode featuring Lara Thomas of the Berks County Association for Graveyard Preservation.
Podcast Podcast Episode 25: Voting Records in PA Podcast episode on the different types of voting records in Pennsylvania available for genealogy research at county courthouses.
Resources The Ins and Outs of Pennsylvania Voting Records for Genealogy Research Voting records, also known as voter registration records, can be useful in Pennsylvania genealogical research.
Podcast Podcast Episode 24: President James Buchanan and Wheatland Of the 45 Presidents of the United States so far, only one came from Pennsylvania, James Buchanan. What did your PA ancestors think of President Buchanan? Get a peek into Pennsylvania history in this episode.
Podcast Podcast Episode 23: Listener Q&A and Season 2 Wrap-Up Denys wraps up Season 2 of the Your Pennsylvania Ancestors podcast, gives a preview of Season 3, and answers two listener questions on Revolutionary War research and professions genealogy research.
Podcast Podcast Episode 22: LGBTQ Genealogy with Stewart Blandón Traiman Genealogist Stewart Blandón Traiman of Six Generations Genealogy gives us ways to re-examine our ancestors’ records through a LGBTQ lens.
Podcast Podcast Episode 21: Break Through Brick Walls with Berks County Genealogical Society Berks County Genealogical Society, gives genealogy researchers methods on how to solve brick wall problems using local records in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Learn how to break down your genealogy brick walls no matter which county in PA!
Resources Successful Genealogy Research Requests by Mail It's not always possible to do genealogy research yourself at a repository. Most archives have a process to request research through mail or email for a small fee. How do you make the most of that genealogy research requests by mail?
Podcast Podcast Episode 20: What's a Prothonotary with Jonathan Del Collo If you’ve been wondering, “What is a Prothonotary?”, this episode is for you. Jonathan Del Collo is the Prothonotary for Berks County, PA and he explains what his office does and the records they have for genealogists.
Podcast Podcast Episode 19: Genohistory with Donna Cox Baker In 2020, Donna Cox Baker launched Genohistory on Purpose, combining her passions for genealogy and history. Donna’s other contributions include The Beyond Kin Project and the book Zotero for Genealogy.
Podcast Podcast Episode 18: Berks History Center with Charlie Adams In this podcast episode Denys interviews Charlie Adams, author, historian, story teller, and story collector on what Berks History Center offers for Berks County genealogy researchers.
history Local Pennsylvania History and Genealogy Journals Pennsylvania history and genealogy was captured in locally published journals for decades. Largely forgotten, these publications are a treasure for genealogy researchers.
Podcast Podcast Episode 17: Becoming a Better Researcher & PA German Research Denys reads some excerpts of history journal articles about the 1918 Influenza Pandemic and its impact on Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Then Denys answers a listener question on how to find records on early Pennsylvania Germans born between 1730 & 1760.
Podcast Podcast Episode 16: Ancestors’ Stories Part 3 & Finding PA Newspapers Part 3 of my three part series on Ancestors’ Stories: “Hold fast in your faith or whatever goodness and kindness you believe in” is what genealogist and social historian Lauren Peightel learned from her ancestors. Also learn how to find your ancestor’s community newspapers.
Podcast Podcast Episode 15: Ancestors' Stories Part 2 & Finding Ancestors' Journals Part 2 of my three part series on Ancestors’ Stories: “People do hard things all the time and we can too” is what genealogist Julie Medlock Flake learned from her ancestors. Listen to her stories and then learn how to find if your ancestors have letters and journals in archives.
Podcast Podcast Episode 14: Ancestors’ Stories Part 1 & Get Started with Journaling Part 1 of my three part series on Ancestors’ Stories: “Be gracious…be caring…be that helping hand” is what genealogist Heather Wylie learned from her ancestors. Listen to her stories and get started with 14 Days of Journaling.
Podcast Podcast Episode 13:Season 1 Wrap Up Denys Allen wraps up Season 1 answering a listener question on under-utilized resources in genealogy research in Pennsylvania. She then gives a preview of Season 2 of the podcast
Podcast Podcast Episode 12: Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collection Libraries Philadelphia has more than 100 archives in and around the city. Many of these Philadelphia-area archives have resources for genealogical research on Pennsylvania families. Listen to hear how to research in the Philadelphia Area Archives Research Portal (PAARP).
