2021 Meetings
January 27, 2021 Digging in the Digital Archive: Discovering Your Family's History in Digital Collections
This lecture will present a how-to guide for finding online sources outside of the major genealogy websites for Western Pennsylvania and beyond. It will give an overview of discovering free digital collections relevant to your research and tips and tricks for getting the most of these sites. It includes an introduction to the various digital collections available, the sources contained within, strategies for discovery, and finally, case studies that demonstrate the power of using digital collections to enhance family history research.
Our presenter: Kristin Britanik is a professional genealogist and owner of Deep Genealogical Services based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She previously worked in archival digitization within the University of Pittsburgh's Archives & Special Collections, coordinating digital collections sites, including the Historic Pittsburgh project. She was also the digitization program manager at The Andy Warhol Museum. Before moving to Pittsburgh, Kristin worked as a researcher at the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) in the Research Services department and as an archival digitization specialist for Ancestry.com.
February 24, 2021 The Barry Family’s Journey from Ireland to Pittsburgh: A Genealogy Adventure. 6:30 PM Zoom
The Barry Family’s Journey from Ireland to Pittsburgh: A Genealogy Adventure. Jim Barry of Reston, Virginia. Jim has been an avid genealogist for over 30 years. He is the project administrator for the Earls of Barrymore DNA Project and the Barry DNA Surname Group. This will be a live, virtual presentation of Jim's case study for his Irish ancestry, starting from his Pittsburgh-born parents and involving an essential Pittsburgh document trail.
March 24, 2021, Miners and Means: Life in a Coal Town. 6:30 PM Zoom
Amanda Peters, archivist at the Coal and Coke Heritage Center will share insights into the life of a coal miner and his family. She will explore immigration and migration, working in the mines and around the coke ovens, company and employee dynamics, and culture. Plus, we will take a live, virtual tour of the Heritage Center; learn more about artifacts in the collection and resources available for research. The Coal and Coke Heritage Center is a part of the Penn State Fayette Campus Library. https://fayette.psu.edu/visit/coalandcoke
Matt Scislowicz, President of the Eureka Coal Heritage Foundation Miners Memorial in Windber, PA. Until recently, there was a Coal Museum in Windber, but it was disbanded. Matt is very friendly and well-informed, and would be a great resource during a Genea-Break, to answer questions. He would LOVE to talk with us. His group's website is: http://echf.org/
April 28, 2021. A Genealogist’s Guide to the Pennsylvania State Archives. 6:30 PM Zoom
The presentation will cover various types of records of interest to genealogists in our collection and what records from our collection are available online. Our presenter will be Aaron McWilliams | Archivist, PHMC | Pennsylvania State Archives, 350 North Street | Harrisburg PA 17120. Phone: 717.787.8953 | Fax: 717.787.4822
Website: www.pastatearchives.com Email: [email protected]
May 24, 2021 - Facebook: A Tool for Genealogical Research.
Who is Thomas MacEntee? What happens when a “tech guy” with a love for history gets laid off during The Great Recession of 2008? You get me, Thomas MacEntee, a genealogy professional who’s also a blogger, educator, author, social media connector, marketer, network builder, and more. Thomas was laid off after a 25-year career in the information technology field, so he started his own genealogy-related business called High-Definition Genealogy. He shares many of his articles and videos for free at
GenealogyBargains.com! Thomas describes himself, “I’m a lifelong learner with a background in a multitude of topics and I’ve finally figured out what I do best: teach, inspire, instigate, and serve as a curator and go-to-guy for concept nurturing and inspiration. I believe in success, and that we all succeed when we help each other find success.”
June 23, 2021 - The Trifecta - using Find-A-Grave, Ancestry, and FamilySearch when Looking for Your Ancestors
Our presenter is Ryan Henry, a local Family History Consultant, Family History Library in Cranberry. Ryan Henrie will discuss how cross-referencing Find A Grave, Ancestry, and FamilySearch for genealogical research is a sound methodology
Link to Ryan's slide presentation on YouTube HERE
July 28, 2021 at 6:30 PM Picture Perfect Picnic: Lemonade, Cookies, and Photo Mysteries.
Cranberry Genealogy Club officers have planned an in-person social event at the Lions shelter in Cranberry Township Community Park. It will be on our normal meeting date, July 28 at 6:30 P.M. Programs chair Judi Boren will supply lemonade and water, and cookies. Come after supper or bring your own picnic supper. Why are we calling it Picture Perfect Picnic? Bring a "brick wall" photo that you'd like to learn more about. We will put our heads together to determine the timeframe of your photo based on clothing, setting, and hairstyles. President Sue Ennis will bring archival document sleeves to protect your photo as it is viewed by others.
August 25, 2021
Restore, Relive and Share Your Family Photos
Rick Voight, from Vivid-Pix was our guest presenter, demonstrating how to use easy software to quickly and easily restore scanned prints, slides, document and digital camera images. "The ability to connect with our roots through online records, documents, and photographs is the result of dedicated individuals and organizations that identify, scan, and make available vast quantities of information." This is both a discussion and demonstration but not a sales pitch. You may choose to consider this other similar image restoration software to enhance your genealogy finds.
September 22, 2021
The Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel Disaster
On Christmas Eve 1917, an overcrowded, out-of-control streetcar exited the Mount Washington tunnel, crashing into pedestrians. Twenty-three were killed and more than eighty injured in the worst transit incident in Pittsburgh history. The crash scene on Carson Street was chaotic as physicians turned the railway offices into a makeshift hospital and bystanders frantically sought to remove the injured and strewn bodies from the wreckage. Most of the victims, many women and children, were from the close-knit neighborhoods of Knoxville, Beltzhoover and Mount Oliver. In the aftermath, public outrage over the tragedy led to criminal prosecution, civil suits and the bankruptcy of the Pittsburgh Railways Company, which operated the service. We were delighted to welcome local author Mary Jane Kuffner Hirt, who will explored and explained the tragic history of the Mount Washington transit tunnel disaster.
October 27, 2021
Efficient Searching Using Newspapers.com
Newspapers provide a unique view of the past and can help us understand and connect with the people, events and attitudes of an earlier time. It's a terrific tool for genealogists - if you are a "smart-searcher'. We'll explain how to efficiently search for the results you want. Susan Ennis, club president led the program.
November 17, 2021
Getting Ready for the 1950 Census Release
Genealogy buffs are eagerly awaiting the release of the 1950 census on April 1, 2022 - get up to speed on why this census is radically different from previous forms, what you can do now to prepare, finding aids, and volunteer indexing projects - including one with Cranberry club members. This meeting will be both in-person and virtual, with our presenter, Thomas MacEntee.
Updated: 29 January 2022