GRIP Evening Sessions are a FREE opportunity to hear genealogy experts present. Sessions are open to the public. GRIP In-Person sessions are held on the LaRoche University campus in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Join us at 7pm ET in the university’s Zappala Campus Center Square on Tuesday, July 16th and Thursday, July 17th.
Tuesday, July 16th
Denyse Allen will present Four Records You Can Find in Archives to Complete Your Family History.
A show-and-tell of four common archival records from the over 800 archives across Pennsylvania. Each holds genealogical information not available anywhere else and the possibility of breaking down brick walls.
About the speaker: Denyse Allen is a genealogist on a mission to help you uncover the history of your Pennsylvania ancestors. In 2019, she founded PA Ancestors to provide the resources she wished she had when she began her own genealogical journey.
With a commitment to discovering her eight generations of Pennsylvania ancestors, Denyse has researched their lives in the courthouses and archives of Allegheny, Berks, Blair, Centre, Chester, Clearfield, Dauphin, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery, Northampton, Northumberland, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Snyder, Union, and Westmoreland counties.
Denyse’s books are written for today’s family historian who is going deeper into their ancestors’ lives and breaking down brick walls. Her current books are: Pennsylvania Vital Records Research: A Genealogy Research Guide for Birth, Adoption, Marriage, Divorce, and Death Records in Pennsylvania from the Colonial Era to Today, and Archives of Pennsylvania: A Genealogy Research Guide to Records in Archives, Colleges, Courthouses, Genealogical Societies, Historic Sites, Historical Societies, Libraries, and Museums.
Thursday, July 18th
Tammy Hepps will present, I Found People to Talk To: Reflecting on the First Decade of a One-Place Study Everyone Said Was Crazy
In 2014, Tammy Hepps moved to Pittsburgh for a year to read through the sixteen boxes of records left behind by the now-defunct synagogue founded by her great-grandfather. Ten years later, she’s still reading. In this presentation, Tammy will chart how her research goals grew from merely understanding her great-grandfather in context, to reconstructing the entire community that he and four generations of her family were part of. In addition to sharing highlights from her research discoveries, she will also reflect on the ways her in-depth research changed her personally.
About the speaker: Tammy A. Hepps uses genealogical research techniques to examine less-studied topics within American Jewish history. Creator of Treelines.com and past winner of the RootsTech Developer Challenge, Tammy draws heavily upon her technology expertise to create research approaches that break new ground in data gathering and interpretation. She is best known for her community reconstitution project focusing on the Jewish community of Homestead, PA, available online at HomesteadHebrews.com. She received her AB in Computer Science from Harvard College.
Have questions? Contact us at grip@ngsgenealogy.org
