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German Genealogy Workshop

Date: Sunday, June 30
Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission: $40 per person, $30 for History Center members

The Rauh Jewish History Program and Archives is participating in the History Center’s first German Genealogy Workshop.

Eric Lidji will provide an introduction on German Jewish records in Western Pennsylvania. Representatives from the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh and the Rodef Shalom Archives will also be on hand to help attendees with genealogical research questions.
 
The keynote speaker is Dr. Michael Lacopo, a nationally-renowned genealogist who specializes in German genealogy.

Benefiting beginners and seasoned genealogists alike, this in-depth, hands-on workshop will examine a multitude of historic records and electronic resources that will advance your German genealogy research.
 
Workshop presentations include:

  • Methods for Identifying the German Origins of American Immigrants
  • Finding and Using German Church Records
  • German Genealogy on the Internet: Beyond the Basics
  • Pennsylvania German Social History: Furthering Research by Understanding Your Ancestors
 
Representatives from the History Center’s Detre Library & Archives, the Archives & Records Center of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Department , the University of Pittsburgh Archives and Special Collections, as well as other local genealogical and heritage organizations will also be present to share insights and best practices with workshop attendees.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to attend a special curator-led tour of the History Center’s German American Collection on display within the museum’s fourth floor Special Collections Gallery.
Registration

Admission is $30 for History Center members and $40 for non-members. Space is limited. Please register online.
 
Box lunches are available for an additional $10.95.
For more information, please contact Sierra Green at 412-454-6361 or sgreen@heinzhistorycenter.org .
About Dr. Michael D. Lacopo

Dr. Michael D. Lacopo was born and raised in northern Indiana surrounded by extended family always willing to tell tall tales. Intrigued by his maternal family’s claim to be kinfolk of Abraham Lincoln, and his paternal family’s stories of murder and mayhem, he took to genealogical research in 1980 to substantiate these family stories. Genealogical research as a hobby was in its infancy in the 1980s. Combing libraries, archives, cemeteries and courthouses as a teenager, Michael gained the skills needed to become a keen researcher. His first major challenge in the world of research was tackled by finding his adopted mother’s birth parents in 1982. You can read about this adventure at his blog .

Michael’s interests and strengths include Mennonite research, German and Swiss research, especially as it pertains to the 18th century immigration to America, among many other topics. He makes many trips throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states chasing ancestors in primary repositories, and also devotes a considerable amount of time to European research, being proficient in reading German script. Having ancestors from many geographic locales as well as immigrants spanning the 17th century to the 20th century, Michael has a wide variety of proficiencies. He believes that as genealogists we should tell the tales of our ancestors and is a vocal proponent for learning the social history that interweaves our ancestors into the fabric of the past.
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Senator John Heinz History Center
1212 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, PA,15222
412-454-6000



A proud affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the  Senator John Heinz History Center  is the largest history museum in Pennsylvania and presents American history with a Western Pennsylvania connection.