Your Pennsylvania Ancestors

Denys spent the winter doing a lot of reading and has two history books to recommend. Ready to break the narrative of what you know about American history? These books will do it! Sometimes when you…

Have you ever wondered what your ancestors ate? Food ethnographer and author William Woys Weaver shares why food traditions and food culture matter in understanding our past. William’s Roughwood Tabl…

To understand Pennsylvania’s past, genealogists need knowledge of PA farming. Most of PA’s first immigrants were farmers and agriculture dominated the economy for 200 years. Dr. Sally McMurry, profes…

Millions of American have German ancestry that can be traced to early Pennsylvania. Author James Beidler shares good practices and common mistakes in researching our German American ancestors. Topic…

Denys shares what to watch about Pennsylvania genealogy at RootsTech 2021. And also how to take advantage of everything at this free event hosted by FamilySearch.org. Don't miss it! Upload your fami…

What can cemeteries tell us beyond the names, birth and death dates of our ancestors? Turns out a whole lot! Learn how to interpret your ancestors gravestones with Lara Thomas of Berks County Associa…

Genealogist Dean Henry of Family Pearl, LLC shares his expertise in researching African-Americans in Pennsylvania. The genealogy of ancestors of African descendent requires using records beyond the P…

The Ulster Historical Foundation team and I had a rollicking good time talking about the challenges Americans have doing Irish research. Fintan Mullan, Executive Director of UHF; Gillian Hunt, Resear…

The Ulster Historical Foundation team and I had a rollicking good time talking about the challenges Americans have doing Irish research. Fintan Mullan, Executive Director of UHF; Gillian Hunt, Resear…

Denys gives a preview of the podcast for 2021. Hear the topics planned and what you can look forward to throughout the year. Subscribe to PA Ancestors Discoveries Newsletter

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Denys Allen covers for family historians:

• Free history resources available online
• History resources specific to your ancestors’ time and place
• How to search these history resources
• Stories of discov…

Denys Allen covers for family historians:

• the four major changes in child adoption laws in Pennsylvania
• the first thing to do when researching adoption
• how to request an adoptee’s original birth cer…

In this episode, Denys Allen interviews Jenn O’Donnell of the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, FOMMCI.  Jenn shares the work of FOMMCI, tips on making record requests of your ancestors there, and ho…

In this episode, Denys Allen interviews Lara Thomas of Berks County Association for Graveyard Preservation, BCAGP.  Lara shares the work of BCAGP, tips to find your ancestors in these tiny cemeteries…

In this episode, Denys Allen covers the types of voting records, namely voting registers, available during three different time periods in Pennsylvania. If you want to see a visual listing of voting …

In this episode, Patrick Clarke, Director of President James Buchanan's Wheatland, shares the policies and politics of James Buchanan’s time as President so we can think about how our ancestors may h…

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If you have an ancestor who was in a profession such as medicine, dentistry, or law, get some tips on how to research for their records. Also get some tips on how to verify if you have Revolutionary …

Over the last thirty years in the United States our culture became more open and accepting of expressions of sexuality and gender identity. We also know as genealogy researchers, our attitudes and no…

Most genealogy researchers will spend hundreds of hours on the computer trying to solve their brick walls - areas of their research where they are stuck, usually involving finding the parents of an a…