Pennsylvania experienced even more transformation in the 19th century. Westward expansion and settlement continued across the Allegany Mountains, aided by growth in transportation systems such as canals and railways. Steel, coal mining, and oil made Pennsylvania an industrial powerhouse, fueled by a labor force of millions of newly arrived immigrants. This lecture will explore several records that emerge during this period, including federal passenger lists, Civil War pension files, published genealogies and local histories, employment records, and other less commonly used records.

Continued urbanization characterized much of 20th-century Pennsylvania. This lecture will look at records that emerge in the 20th century—including state-wide vital records—as well as changes in records and record keeping that persisted since the 17th century. We will also discuss the topic of “access” and a review of key research repositories.
 

German immigrants first arrived to American shores in large numbers in the late 17th century, and today nearly 45 million Americans have German heritage. Published resources are an essential tool for researching your German-American ancestors. There are treasure troves of published resources including general guides, dictionaries (both for words and surnames), books on paleography, and published records including immigration, census, and military records. Join our expert as they share go-to published resources for German family history research in America.

This lecture researches the primary and secondary sources associated with those involved in the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692.

This lecture will discuss military pensions (Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War) and railroad employment pensions. Learn how to find the family details and stories of your ancestors by using these financial documents. 

Those that were called to serve as priests, nuns, ministers, rabbis, etc. leave a legacy behind. This lecture will explore how to use religious records as well as other record types (including military, land, probate and school) to rediscover their stories.

This lecture will demonstrate how to discover details about railroad crew members in your family. This lecture will show how to find and use employee personnel records, Railroad Retirement Board pension files, railroad directories, maps, newspapers and railroad accident reports across different railroad companies.

In the 17th and early 18th centuries, Maine (then part of Massachusetts), New Hampshire, and Vermont were considered frontier lands for the early New England colonists. Whether you are researching these states during the colonial period or present day, there are certain record sets and go-to resources that you should be aware of. This lecture will review various study projects, databases, manuscript items, and other resources available through American Ancestors and other online web sites that can assist you in researching northern New England.

This lecture will review the different databases, repositories, and record collections available to research your ancestors who lived in Prince Edward Island, Canada. This lecture will focus on Irish immigrants and the records they left behind.

Learn about the go-to records, resources, and research techniques for researching your Connecticut ancestors. This presentation will cover 17th to 20th century resources available at the state, county, and town level.