May 6, 2020 2 min read

While its doors remain temporarily closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Senator John Heinz History Center and its Detre Library and Archives will host two virtual genealogy workshops during the month of May.

Benefitting beginners and seasoned genealogists alike, these in-depth virtual workshops will feature live presentations from renowned genealogists and examine a multitude of historic records and electronic resources.

On May 16, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., the museum will host an African American genealogy workshop that will explore the family histories of African and Native American peoples with genealogical expert Angela Walton-Raji and Alaina Roberts, assistant professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh.

Walton-Raji will discuss methods of searching for your joint ancestry while Roberts will address her work focusing on Native land in Indian Territory in which Indian freedpeople (the former enslaved people of members of the Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek, Seminole and Choctaw Nations) and black Americans were able to obtain land, build communities, and enjoy certain rights and freedoms.

Registration for this program is $10 per person and $5 for members of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogy Society. Registration is free to University of Pittsburgh-affiliated students, faculty, and staff. The program will be conducted virtually via Zoom.

To register online, visit www.heinzhistorycenter.org/events.

On May 31, from 1 to 5 p.m., the museum will host its first-ever Scottish genealogy workshop with internationally-renowned genealogist Paul Milner.

Presented in partnership with St. Andrew’s Society of Pittsburgh, the program will feature live presentations to help advance Scottish genealogy research, Q&A sessions, and interactive networking opportunities.

Archivists Jenny Barr and Sonia Prescott from the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, Pa., will provide an overview of church records in its holdings that document Scottish Americans in Western Pennsylvania.

Representatives from the History Center’s Detre Library & Archives and St. Andrew’s Society of Pittsburgh will also share insights with workshop attendees.

Registration for this program is $20 per person and $15 for History Center and St. Andrew’s Society of Pittsburgh members. It will be conducted virtually via Zoom.

To register online,visit www.heinzhistorycenter.org/events.