South Hills Genealogy Day takes place Sunday, March 10th from 9 to 2 at the Beth El Congregation, 1900 Cochran Road in Scott Township. One speaker will be Marilyn Holt, who is head of the Carnegie Library’s Pennsylvania Department, where all the librarians are trained to assist people doing family research. She said personal computers and online databases have increased peoples’ interest in researching their family history.
The Mormons’ Family Search database has digitized some original records, but there’s still a need to visit record repositories like courthouses, according to Holt. “There are some very interesting databases available. You can go onto Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest, and you can start with resources such as the U.S. Census, but there is no database that will have all of the information that you need.”
The South Hills event features individuals doing their own research as well as professionals who lecture and teach. Holt said there will be some very good lectures on the basics of genealogical research, archival preservation of heirlooms and photographs, and how to use passenger lists to find immigrant ancestors.
