Research in Pittsburgh: The Detre Library & Archives

The Thomas & Katherine Detre Library & Archives, founded in 1879, is located in the Senator John Heinz History Center. It offers a non-circulating collection of materials documenting life in Western Pennsylvania. The Library & Archives preserves the rich history of Western Pennsylvania and makes its collections accessible to researchers, students, and the general public.

Photo courtesy of the Senator John Heinz History Center

The Library & Archives collection includes:

·         700,000 photographs, prints, and negatives

·         40,000 books, pamphlets, and monographs

·         3,500 individual archival collections of families, organizations, businesses, and industries

·         600 periodical titles

·         500 maps and atlases

The Digital Collection at the Library & Archives includes photographs from the H. J. Heinz Company, Allegheny Conference on Community Development, General Postcard Collection, Pittsburgh Floods, Buhl Foundation’s Chatham Village Photographs, and correspondence, photographs, reports, scrapbooks, minutes, curriculum materials, and business records documenting 90 schools in the Pittsburgh Public Schools District.

Photo courtesy of the Senator John Heinz History Center

Also available at the Library & Archives is the Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives, which was founded in 1989 to collect, preserve, and make accessible the documentary history of Jews and Jewish communities of Western Pennsylvania.  These collections document the lives of individuals and families and the histories of congregations, organizations, institutions, and businesses. Correspondence, memoirs, diaries, ledgers, minutes, scrapbooks, ephemera, photographs, audio tapes, and moving images are housed in archival containers and stored in a monitored, secure, and climate-controlled environment.

Programs sponsored by the Library & Archives include Finding Your Family History, Preserving Your Family Treasures, Italian Genealogy, Irish Genealogy, Personal Digital Archiving, and programs to celebrate Family History Month in October. 

Learn more about Western Pennsylvania, a region of cultural and ethnic diversity and unsurpassed significance in the history of industrialization and economic development. Search their online catalog for books, archival collections, periodicals, and more at http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/detre-library-archives/search-collection 

The Heinz History Center is a short walk from the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Access to the Detre Library & Archives is free for all visitors; however, if you wish to see the museum exhibits, then paid admission is required.

Hours of the Library & Archives are Wed.-Sat., 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Other times available by appointment.  Contact by phone at 412-454-6364 or e-mail library@heinzhistorycenter.org  You can complete an Online Form to have materials ready for you to review when you come to visit.

 - guest post by Rebecca Kichta Miller, President Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society

This is the first in a series of posts about research opportunities in the Pittsburgh area.

FGSCruise2015: Featured Speaker David Rencher

The Federation of Genealogical Societies has been in the conference education arena for over three decades. In 2015, FGS extends this tradition by offering its first opportunity to combine a terrific educational opportunity while aboard an Alaskan cruise.


I am honored to join my colleagues, Elizabeth Shown Mills, Judy Russell and D. Joshua Taylor in presenting this exceptional program to those who join us on this first-ever cruise offered by FGS. There is still time for you to sail with us for this exciting event and I hope that you will bring your toughest genealogical problems with you to apply a number of creative solutions to them from some of the top instructors in the genealogical field today!

--David Rencher

David will be delivering six lectures and workshops during the cruise:

• Documenting a Nation’s History Using the Resources of FamilySearch
• Framing the Problem for Overseas Research
• Tracing Immigrant Origins for Irish Ancestors
• Reconstructing the Neighborhood for Rural Dwellers in Ireland
• Reconstructing the Neighborhood for City Dwellers in Ireland
• How Will Our Society Survive?

David E. Rencher, AG, CG, FIGRS, FUGA, is employed by the Family History Department in Salt Lake City as the Chief Genealogical Officer for FamilySearch. A professional genealogist since 1977, he is an Accredited GenealogistCM with ICAPGenSM in Ireland research and a Certified GenealogistSM with the Board for Certification of Genealogists®. He is the Irish course coordinator and instructor for the Samford University Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research (IGHR) in Birmingham, Alabama. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1980 with a BA in Family and Local History.

David is a past-president of the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) 1997-2000, a national genealogical society umbrella organization, a past-president of the Utah Genealogical Association (UGA) 1993-1995 and a Fellow of that organization. He is a fellow of the Irish Genealogical Research Society, London and is a vice-president of the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU). He is currently serving as the Chair of the joint Federation of Genealogical Societies and National Genealogical Society committee for Record Preservation and Access and serves as the Secretary for the Federation of Genealogical Societies, and as trustee for the Umpstead, Jr. and Elizabeth Jemima Philpott Rencher and the Winslow Farr, Sr. Family Organizations.

FGSCruise2015: Featured Speaker Elizabeth Shown Mills

Strategies are the key to solving most genealogical dilemmas. Sure, we love to find new records, more records, unique records. But the reality is that really tough problems aren’t solved by a lucky find and, even when we find a record that makes an assertion about an identity or kinship, it might be wrong.

Elizabeth Shown Mills

What we need most are strategies for testing assertions. We need strategies for teasing out the identities of wives and mothers when no record gives us her name. We need strategies for proving name changes when illegitimacies, informal adoptions, and other “off-record” situations create a broken limb on a family tree.

In five sessions this week, I will teach you enough strategies to see you through a lifetime of successful research:

• Finding Females: Wives, Mothers, Daughters, Sisters & Paramours 
• Okay, I Got the Neighbors: Now What do I Do with Them?
• Margaret’s Baby’s Father & the Lessons He Taught Me: Illegitimacy, Name Changes & More
• Smith & Jones: Problem-Solving with Families of Common Name
• Using Evidence Creatively: How to Spot Clues and Demand Answers from Run-of-the Mill Records

--Elizabeth Shown Mills


Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA is a historical researcher and writer who has spent her life studying American culture and the relationships between people. A popular lecturer and author, she has represented genealogy in the media on three continents—including ABC, BBC, CNN, PBS, and featured roles in BBC’s 20th Anniversary and 30th Anniversary specials on Alex Haley’s Roots. She has been widely cited as “The person who has had the most impact on family history in the post-Roots era.”

Across her career, Elizabeth spent sixteen years as editor of the peer-reviewed National Genealogical Society Quarterly, blogged for the New York Times, and been interviewed by Time, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and other major print media. She served as president of both the American Society of Genealogists and the Board for Certification of Genealogists, and created the groundbreaking Advanced Research Methodology track at Samford University Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research.

As an educator and writer, Elizabeth focuses on research methodology and social history. She is the author, editor, or translator of fourteen books and over 500 journal and magazine articles. Of all her publications, her favorite work is her 2004 reality-based historical novel, Isle of Canes. As a genealogist, she is best known for two essential reference works: Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers & Librarians and Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace.

The FGS 2015 Alaskan Cruise will offer a full genealogy conference during sea days that does not encroach on time to enjoy mainland excursions.  Register for the cruise at https://www.fgsconference.org/cruise/.

5 Reads Friday: Skeletons, German research resources, & more!

Here is our quick roundup of interesting tidbits from the genealogy community that trended this week on social media — a smattering of this and a smattering of that. Get in the know for the weekend with these 5 reads from FGS: 

1. Apparently, when one case closes, another one opens and another "skeleton" emerges. At least it did for Richard III and his DNA results. The Legal Genealogist  explains it all in Case Closed ... and Another Opened.
2. If you are researching your Irish Roman Catholic roots, the National Library of Ireland confirmed it will be digitizing and making available Irish Roman Catholic registers online. Get all the details from Claire Santry on Irish Genealogy News.
3. If you have German roots, you'll want to check out the German Genealogy Group's website which is full of all sorts of research resources and tips for the family historian. Not only did our tweet about them this week do very well on Twitter, we highlighted them on our Facebook Page today for #FollowFriday.
4. Planning to do some research at the Family History Library when you attend FGS 2015 in Salt Lake City in February? Tonia gives you her tips for visiting the library which holds the largest collection of genealogy materials in the world.
5. On Facebook this week, we shared a very helpful guide that is perfect for societies with members who are reluctant to use technology. It's definitely a common problem and this guide gives some great ideas to help society leaders overcome it. (WildApricot.com)

Access untapped resources for finding your ancestors. Find a society in FGS Society Hall today.