Our Programs
Our Goal…
to Learn and Share Genealogy
…in-person or online!
Past Presenters
Don’t Forget to Check Out All the Happenings at
The Comprehensive Calendar of Genealogical Events
maintained by the Bucks County Genealogical Society
2025
2025 Programs and Speakers
January 9th, Kate Townsend: “Beyond the Basics: Effectively Using Ancestry.com”
February 13th, Melissa Johnson: “Intro to English Genealogy Research”
March 13th, Mark D Thompson: “Using Artificial Intelligence to Research Documents & Letters”
April 1st, MLGC Video Discussion moderated by Joe Hunter and Sydney Cruice: “Technology in Genealogy: Ancestry Pro Tools”
April 10th, Nicole Elder Dyer: “Using Multiple Autosomal DNA Test Takers to Solve Distant Research Questions”
May 8th, Linda B. MacIver: “Demystifying the Three Big Free Digital Sites for Genealogists: The Internet Archive and Beyond!”
June 12th, Jennifer Zinck: “DNA and Your Revolutionary Ancestors”
Summer Break
2024
2024 Programs and Speakers
January 11th, Susan Evans: “Susan Evans: County Courthouse Research”
February 8th, Matt Weismantel: “Ellis Island: Its History and Its Documents”
March 14th, Laura Cubbage-Draper: “Finding Female Ancestors”
April 11th, Melissa Barker: “Using Archives to Fill the Gaps in Your Ancestor’s Timeline”
May 9th, James R. Hagerty: “Yours Truly – An Obituary Writer’s Guide to Telling Your Story”
June 13th, Paul Campbell-Trimbur: “House Histories: Rural & Urban-Case Studies”
Summer Break
September 12th, Sydney F Cruice: “Pennsylvania Research Repositories”
October 10th, Aaron McWilliams: “Pennsylvania State Archives Research: Navigating the State Archives Collections”
October 20th, Organized by Laverna Saunders, Sam Sorenson, and the Planning Commitee: “Genealogy for All Gens: Library Resources”
November 14th, Pam Vestal: “Teasing Out the Hidden Story Behind the Genealogical Facts”
December 12th, Paula Stuart-Warren: “The Neighbors Knew: Strategies for Finding YOUR Ancestral Details in THEIR Records”
2023
2023 Programs and Speakers
January 12th, Denys Allen: “Four Collections in Archives That Could Complete Your Family History”
February 9th, Joseph Roby: “Enslaved at Oakley & Beyond: Connecting and Sharing with Descendants of the Enslaved and Enslavers”
March 9th, Shannon Combs-Bennett: “The Legacy of the American Memory Collection: An Overview of the Digital Collections Located at the Library of Congress”
April 13th, Lisa Louise Cooke: “How to Organize All of This Genealogy Stuff”
May 11th, Michael Ramage: “Land Records: The Secret to Your Genealogical Success”
June 8th, Michelle Leonard: “Top Ten DNA Do’s and Dont’s!”
June 21st, Paul Woodbury: “Right Place, Right Time, Right Person: Intersections of DNA and Document Evidence”
Summer Break
September 14th, Sydney F Cruice: “U. S. Census Records- Extracting Everything Possible”
October 12th, Kimberly Bucklaw: “Timeline Techniques for Tracking 19th and 20th Century Urban Ancestors”
November 9th, Katherine R. Willson: “Facebook’s 16,700+ Genealogy/History Pages & Groups”
December 14th, Cari Taplin: “Unfamiliar Territory: Researching in a New (to you) Geographic Area”
2022
2022 Programs and Speakers
January 13th, Sydney Cruice Dixon: “Why Should Anyone Believe Your Research?”
February 10th, Dean Henry: “African American Genealogy Basics Illustrated”
March 10th, Diahan Southard: “Connecting Your DNA Matches”
April 14th, Mary Craudereuff: “Researching Quaker Records: Uncovering your Roots in the Religious Society of Friends”
May 12th, Amy Johnson Crowe: “Written in Stone: Tombstones and Other Cemetery Records”
June 9th, Kate Townsend: “England and Wales Vital Records Research 101”
Summer Break
September 8th, Sydney F Cruice: “Methods and Strategies for Breaking Down Brick Walls”
October 13th, Maureen Taylor: “Who’s Little Joe? Photo identification 101”
November 10th, Bryna O’Sullivan: “Trace Your Revolutionary Ancestors”
December 8th, Katherine Schober: “The Magic of German Church Records”
2021
2021 Programs and Speakers
January 14th, Sydney Cruice Dixon: “Sharing and Reporting Your Research”
February 11th, Crista Cowan: “Advanced Use of Ancestry.com”
March 11th, Thomas MacEntee: “Getting Ready for the 1950 US Census”
April 8th, Lisa Alzo: “Crossing the Pond: Techniques for Finding Your Elusive Eastern European Ancestors”
May 13th, Suzanne Trotter: “Correlating Research in Pre-1850 U.S. Federal Census Records”
June 10th, Judy Russell: “Rogues, Rascals and Rapscallions: The Family Black Sheep”
Summer Break
September 9th, Stephen Morse: “One-Step Webpages: A Potpourri of Genealogical Search Tools”
October 14th, Rich Venezia: “Discovering Your Immigrant’s Origins: Exhausting Every Resource”
November 11th, Chris Paton: “Scottish Research Resources before 1800”
December 9th, Mary Kircher Roddy: “FamilyBrowse A Different Way to Look at FamilySearch.org”
2020
2020 Programs and Speakers
January 9th, Michael Kearney and Cheryl Bittner: “Brick Wall Workshop”
February 13th, Michael Kearney: “Genealogy Methods – The Ganges Families History Project”
CANCELLED-March 12th, Sydney Cruice Dixon: “Building a Genealogical Proof Argument”
CANCELLED-April 9th, Mary Crauderueff: “Researching Quaker Reocrds”
April 9th, Syndey Cruice Dixon: “Government Records – How the Government Impacts Your Genealogy Research”
May 14th, Sara Butson: “Organizing Your Genealogy: How to Get the Most Information Out of Your Documents Using Charts and Timelines”
June 11th, Cyndi Ingle: “Cyndi’s List in Practice”
Summer Break
September 10th, Dana Palmer: “Connect Your Family Using Find-A-Grave”
October 8th, John Grenham: “The Recent Revolution in Irish Genealogical Research”
November 12th, Sandra Rumble: “400 Years In America: Joining the General Society of Mayflower Descendants”
December 10th, Lisa Louise Cooke: “How to Save Your Research from Destruction & Ensure Its Future Survival”
2019
2019 Programs and Speakers
January 10th, MLGC Planning Committee and Members: “Sharing Your Family Treasures”
February 14th, MLGC Members and moderated by Paul Campbell-Trimbur: “Breaking Brick Walls”
March 14th, Sydney F. Cruice Dixon: “Indirect Evidence”
April 11th, Aaron McWilliams: “Genealogical Resources at the PA State Archives”
May 9th, Tammy Schane: “Engraved: The Meanings Behind Nineteenth Century Tombstone Symbols”
June 13th, Paul Campbell-Trimbur: “Using Genealogy Tools for your House History Research”
June 27th, The Greater Philadelphia Genealogy Consortium: “Family Tree Maker (FTM) – Presentation and Demonstration”
Summer Break
September 12th, Mike Schwartz: “Finding Relatives in Surprising Ways”
October 10th, Russ Worthington: “Family Tree Maker – Basics for beginners and tips for the experienced users“
November 14th, Sydney F. Cruice Dixon: “Noteworthy Newspaper Strategies“
December 12th, Paul Campbell-Trimbur: “DNA Strategies – What tests? What companies?“
2018
2018 Programs and Speakers
January, Planning Committee Panel: “Brick Walls”
February, Planning Committee and Attendees: “Show & Tell”
March, Sydney Cruise Dixon: “Researching 17th and 18th Century Records”
April, Sue Long: “The Holmes Map”
May, Michelle Tucker Chubenko: “Researching Ancestors From the Austro-Hungarian Empire”
June, James Beidler: “German Genealogy Research”
We adjourn for the summer
September 13th, Michelle Tucker: “5 Tips to Use FamilySearch Effectively”
October 11th, Jerry Smith: “Making the Most of USGS Maps for Genealogy”
November 8th, Michael Kearney: “Google Search Tips” and Cheryl Bittner: “MLGC’s New Web Site”
December 13th, Judy G. Russell: “Don’t Forget the Ladies! A Genealogist’s Guide to Women and the Law“
2017
2017 Programs and Speakers
Jan. 12: “Show and Tell”
Feb. 9: Planning committee:“Brick Walls”: for handout on “How to Break down your Brick Walls” (cancelled due to inclement weather)
Mar. 13: Bette Male: “Where Was that Family Farm?”
Apr. 13: Cynthia Steinhoff: “Genealogical Clues From Schoolgirl Samplers“
May 11: Allen Male: “The Genealogical Proof Standard: Now That You Found the Information, What Comes Next?”
June 8: Dawn King Carson: “Become a Probate Detective: Rejoicing in the Probate Files of Our Ancestors“
We adjourn for the summer
September: Shamele Jordan: “Genealogy Maps and Mapping”
October: Bruce Katsiff & Rachel Wetzel “Genealogy Photography”
November: Rich Venezia: “Twentieth Century Immigration and Naturalization“
December: Sydney F. Cruice Dixon: “Gedcoms and photos: uploading to Ancestry.com”
Highlighted talks include notes. Just click on the link.
2016
2016 Programs and Speakers
January 14: “Brick Walls” MLGC panel
February 11: Cheryl Bittner: Using Familysearch.org
March 10: “Researching NARA in Washington, DC” Sydney Cruise Dixon and preparation meeting for bus trip to National Archives
April 7: Bus trip to the National Archives in Washington, DC.
April 14: “Internet Sources for Irish Research” Patrick Connelly
May 12: “Finding your German Immigrants” Michael Lacopo
June 9: “Writing and Storing Your Personal Stories for Your Descendants“ Marilyn Toole
Sept 8: “Maximizing Ancestry.com” Sydney F. Cruice Dixon
Oct. 13: “Hidden Clues in the U.S. Censuses” Marilyn Toole
Nov. 10: “Researching Your Irish Family” Frank Southcott (notes to follow)
Dec. 8: “Genealogy Research in New Jersey” Melissa Johnson
Highlighted talks include notes. Just click on the link.
2015
2015 Programs and Speakers
January 8: “Share Your Artifacts;” chaired by Susie Hedrick
February 12 :“Breaking Down Brick Walls;” resourced by the MLGC Planning Committee
March 12: “Genealogy Resources Available in Chester County, PA” Kim Bucklaw, Chester County Historical Society
April 9: “Delaware County Records” Keith Lockhart
May 14: “DNA- The Newest Tool for Genealogists: Y-DNA, mtDNA,and Family Finder Tests” DNA: Jim Bartlett, Family Finder
June 11: Shelli Nye: “How to Use the Family History Center“
We adjourn for the summer
September 10: Marilyn Toole “What Shall We Do With the Body: Burial Customs in America,” includes Findagrave.com
October 8: Show and Tell: Susie Hedrick
November 12: “Finding the Elusive Ancestor” Sydney Cruise Dixon
December 10: “Land Records and Mapping” Gerald “Gerry” Smith
Highlighted talks include notes. Just click on the link.
2014
2014 Programs and Speakers
January: “Show and Tell” Susan Hedrick
February: Cancelled due to inclement weather
March: “German Research” Jim Beidler
April: “Identifying People in Old Photos” Marilyn Toole
May: “Scandanavian Research” Ted Laws
June: “Brick Walls” Panel Discussion
Summer break
September: “Exploring our Club’s Web Pages” webmaster Marilyn Toole
October: “Researching Family in England” Frank Southcott
November: “Philadelphia Research: Not for Philadelphia Only” Sydney Cruice Dixon
December: “Resources of the Montgomery County Historical Society” Rose Brown
2013
2013 Programs and Speakers
Jan: “Show and Tell” Susan Hedrick, presenter
Feb: Jim Bartlett, Family Finder DNA testing service
DNA Comparison chart
Using FTDNA, 23&Me, and Ancestry DNA for Autosomal DNA
DNA Testing for Genealogists
Mar: Immigration: Gail Cappelli
Apr: Bruce Arnold: Scottish Genealogy
May: Sandi Hewlett: English Research
June: Susan Hedrick: Brick Walls
September: Cheryl Bittner: Who do YOU think you are? Contact Cheryl at cherylbittner@gmail.com for handout of this program.
October: Gail Cappelli: “Researching in Great Britain”
November: Bruce Arnold: “Researching Your New England Ancestry” (notes mailed to all on mailing list)
December: Kim Bucklaw, Chester County Archives: “Geographic timelines Part I: 18th century rural genealogy. Geographic timelines Part II, 19th and 20thcentury Urban Genealogy.”
2012
2012 Programs and Speakers
January: Genealogical Resources at Winterthur Library
February: Member Cheryl Bittner: “How to Plan a Family Reunion”
March: Member Sydney Cruice Dixon: “How to Research Military Records”
April: Mr. Richard Huey, LDS, “Continuing and Rapid Improvements at the LDS free website, FamilySearch.org.”
May: Susan S. Koelble, “Crossing the Pond: Finding Your Irish Roots”
June: “Break Down Your Brick Walls” MLGC Panel
July & August: No meetings
September: “Preparing for Travel/Cemetery Visits” Shirley Blake and Gail Cappelli
October: Marilyn Toole, “Free Books on the Internet, PERSI, and Using RootsWeb”
November: Sydney Cruice Dixon & Bill Nichols of the local LDS church “Research Using the Many Genealogy Services of the Church of Latter Day Saints“
December 13: Member John Weaber: “Software Options”
2011
2011 Programs and Speakers
Thurs., Jan 13: Jefferson Moak, NARA, “1940 Census”
Thurs., Feb.10: Bruce Arnold. “Reflections on a Personal Genealogy Search”.
Thurs., Mar 10: Linda McMeniman “Introduction to New York City Research”
Thurs., Apr. 13: Marilyn Toole “OK, I’ve Found them in the Census, NOW WHAT?”
Thurs., May 12: General Discussion forum
Thurs., June 9: Jim Beidler, Newspapers and Genealogy and retirement party for founder Craig TenBroeck
No meetings July and August
Thurs., Sept. 8, Emily Richardson, Ph.D. “Leaving a Legacy: Discovering New Ways to Find Your Ancestors”. There are no notes for this program.
Thurs., Oct. 13 Margery Fry, Director Temple University Archives: Check here for Notes
Thurs., Nov. 10 Lee Arnold, Senior Director of the Library and Collections at theHistorical Society of Pennsylvania.
“Holdings of HSP”
Thurs., Dec. 8 Charles Hummel, retired Deputy Director and Curator Emeritus of the Winterthur Museum and Library in Wilmington, DE and Adjunct Professor in the Art History and History Departments of the University of Delaware. “About the Pennsylvania Germans, 1683-1850”.
2010
2010 Programs and Speakers
1/17/10 Charles F. Kerchner: P.E. “Beyond the Paper Trail: What DNA Testing Can Offer”.
2/11/10 MEETING CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER
3/11/10 Marilyn Toole
4/8/10 Clarke Glennon, a Director of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, “Using DNA to research Family History.”
5/13/2010 Susan Koelble “The Lighter Side of Genealogy”.
6/10/10 Kay Haviland Freilich, CG, CGL,”Understanding the Vocabulary of Your Ancestors”
July, August 2010 No meetings
Sept. 8 Marilyn Toole
Oct. 14 Patty Tracz, owner of The Photography Center in Malvern spoke on “Bringing Family History to Life through Scrapbooking and How to repair old photos with Photoshop.”
Nov. 11 Speaker cancelled: general session for attendees. No notes for this program.
Dec. 9 James Beidler, renowned expert on German Immigration: “Germany to Pennsylvania: 18th Century Odyssey”.
2009
2009 Programs and Speakers
1/08/09 Jackie Heitmann,“Heritage Makers”
2/12/09 Marilyn Toole“Creating Timelines”
3/12/09 Jefferson Moak, PA “Genealogy from Court Records”
4/9/09 David Haugaard, HSP. “How to Add Some Biography to your Genealogy”
5/14/09 Jane Davidson, local architectural historian, writer and researcher.
6/11/09 Jim Beidler, author and lecturer, “Palatines to America” (There are no notes for this program.)
7/9/09 Wayne Burton, Family History Center in Broomall PA “Improvements in FamilySearch.org
8/13/09 John Weaber “Using Roots Magic”
9/10/09 Carolyn Ginther and Marilyn Toole, “Improving Your Search Straegies”
10/8/09 James Beidler, “Success Story: Finding a European Village of Origin”
11/12/09 Sandra Hewlett, CG “Collecting Since 1892, – The Resources of GSP”
12/10/09 Jefferson Moak, NARA,”Researching Your Revolutionary Ancestors in Philadelphia”.
(Click on underlined titles above for notes)
Abbreviations:
HSP: Historical Society of Pennsylvania
PA: Philadelphia Archives
CG: Certified Genealogist
GSP: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
NARA: National Archives and Records Administration (Mid-Atlantic Region)
2008
2008 Programs and Speakers
1/10/08 Jefferson Moak, “Using Maps in Genealogy”
2/14/08 Tony Burroughs, “Processing Family Papers”
3/13/08 Jane Dorchester, “Searching Deeds & Tax Records”
4/10/08 Pamela Powell, “Deciphering your Photographs”
5/8/08 Bruce Arnold, “Saving Media for Genealogical Records”
6/12/08 Beau Sharbrough, Footnote
7/10/08 Ann ,”Using Quaker Records”
8/14/08 Carolyn Ginther, “Genealogy Bank” and John Weaber “Google Alerts”
9/11/08 Kathleen Ashbey, FHC “New Developments in SLC”
10/09/08 Jefferson Moak, NARA, Immigration Records
11/13/08 Charles F. Kerchner Jr., www.kerchner.com “Genetic Genealogy”
12/11/08 Susan Koelble, CG “City Directories, How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Count the Ways”
Abbreviations:
CG: Certified Genealogist
FHC: Family History Center, Broomall, PA
Footnote: http://www.footnote.com (now FOLD3)
MLGC: Main Line Genealogy Club
NARA: National Archives and Records Administration: Atlantic Region
2007
12/13/07 Kathleen, FHC “Notes and Sources”
Abbreviations:
FHC:Family History Center, Broomall, PA
NARA: National Archives and Records Administration, Atlantic Region
2006
2006 Programs and Speakers
1/12/06 Sandi Hewlett, GSP, “Researching in England”
2/9/06 Patrick Connelly, “Immigration”
3/9/06 Kristin Pedemonti, “Story Telling”
4/13/06 Tom Howland, GSP, “DNA and Genealogy”
5/11/06 Jefferson Moak, NARA, “Using Maps in Genealogy”
6/8/06 Karen Higgins, GSP, “Working with Professionals”
7/13/06 Sandi Hewlett & Robert Plowman, “Conferences and Delaware County Archives”
8/10/06 Patrick Connelly, “Unusual Sources at NARA”
9/14/06 Susan Koelble, CG, “Irish Immigration”
10/12/06 Julie Garito, DAR, & Mimi Connelly, Mayflower Society, DAR & Mayflower Societies
11/9/06 Tom Showler, SAR, “Lineage Societies”
12/14/06 Bruce Arnold, MLGC, “Saving Media for Genealogy Records”
Abbreviations:
CCA: Chester County Archives
CCHS: Chester County Historical Society
CG: Certified Genealogist
DAR: Daughters of the American Revolution
GSP: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
MLGC: Main Line Genealogy Club
NARA: National Archives and Records Administration: Atlantic Region
SAR: Sons of the American Revolution
2005
2005 Programs and Speakers
1/13/05 Patrick Connelly, “NARA 1930 Census”
2/10/05 Kay Freilich, “Writing your Family History”
3/10/05 Cliff Parker, Chester County Archives, “An Overview of the Chester County Archives”
4/14/05 Patrick Connelly, NARA, “Irish Immigration”
5/12/05 Don Stone, GSP, “How to Put your Genealogy on the Web”
6/9/05 Heidi Sproat, Ancestry Presentation
7/14/05 Patrick Connelly, NARA, “Naturalization”
8/11/05 Dr. Robert Plowman, “Delaware County Records”
9/8/05 Craig Ten Broeck & Heidi Sproat, “Using the Internet for Genealogy”
10/13/05 Craig Ten Broeck & Heidi Sproat, “Using the Internet for Genealogy” part 2
11/10/05 Pamela Powell, CCHS, “Deciphering your Photographs”
12/8/05 Heidi Sproat, “Using the Internet for Genealogy”
Abbreviations:
CCA: Chester County Archives
CCHS: Chester County Historical Society
CG: Certified Genealogist
GSP: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
MLGC: Main Line Genealogy Club
NARA: National Archives and Records Administration: Atlantic Region
2004
2/12/04 Heidi Sproat, Easttown Library, “Using the Internet for Genealogy”
3/11/04 Lee Arnold, HSP
4/8/04 Marilyn Toole, “Documenting Your Life and Your STUFF”
5/13/04 Robert Plowman, NARA, “Tracing Family Through Baltimore about 1753”
6/10/04 Heidi Sproat, “Using the Internet for Genealogy”
7/8/04 Marilyn Toole, “Using LDS Library Holdings Effectively”
8/12/04 Gail Farr, NARA, “Immigration”
9/9/04 Susan Koelble, CG, GSP, “Philadelphia Research”
10/14/04 Heidi Sproat, “Using the Internet for Genealogy”
11/11/04 Jane Adams Clarke, GSP, “Deed Research”
12/9/04 Marilyn Toole, “Using PERSI”
Abbreviations:
CCA: Chester County Archives
CCHS: Chester County Historical Society
CG: Certified Genealogist
DAR: Daughters of the American Revolution
FHC: Family History Center, Broomall, PA<
GSP: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
HSP:
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
MLGC: Main Line Genealogy Club
NARA: National Archives and Records Administration: Atlantic Region
NGS: National Genealogical Society
PERSI: Periodical Resource Source Index
SAR: Sons of the American Revolution
2003
2003 Programs and Speakers
1/9/03 Herb Zearfoss, President, GSP
2/13/03*
3/13/03 Kay Freilich, CG, CGL, NGS
4/8/03 Rebecca Warlow, NARA, “Unusual Stuff at NARA”
5/8/03*
6/12/03*
7/10/03*
8/8/03*
9/11/03*
10/9/03*
11/13/03*
12/18/03*
* Programs speaker and topic unknown. Please contact the club’s email if you can help fill in the blank dates.
Abbreviations:
CCA: Chester County Archives
CCHS: Chester County Historical Society
CG: Certified Genealogist
DAR: Daughters of the American Revolution
FHC: Family History Center, Broomall, PA
GSP: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
HSP: Historical Society of Pennsylvania
MLGC: Main Line Genealogy Club
NARA: National Archives and Records Administration: Atlantic Region
NGS: National Genealogical Society
SAR: Sons of the American Revolution