Join us for HSP Ancestry Day, a day to discover and celebrate your family history. This full day of workshops will help you start or hone your genealogical skills. Learn tips and tricks for navigating Ancestry.com, the world’s largest family history website. Find out more about the genealogical holdings at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, one of the largest archives in the United States. Space is limited, so reserve your spot today!

Workshops will include:

• Getting the Most from Ancestry.com
• Pennsylvania Vital Records: HSP’s Collection on Ancestry.com
• Collecting Since 1824: Genealogy Resources at HSP
• 7 Strategies for Searching Ancestry.com

Get ready to take your research further than ever before. Break through brick walls or plan a course of action with the help of professional researchers. Speakers include Lisa Arnold, Senior Records Analyst at Ancestry.com.

All attendees will be entered in a raffle to win U.S. Discovery and World Explorer subscriptions to Ancestry.com and a one-year Friends of HSP membership to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Registration fees are refundable before February 3. After that date, all sales are final. Workshops and presenters are subject to change.

Presenters

Lisa Parry Arnold, Senior Records Analyst on the Global Content Team at Ancestry.com, has been with Ancestry for 6+ years. Her responsibilities at Ancestry.com include providing expert research on records and collections. She is a graduate of Brigham Young University (‘06), has provided research for the hosts of the Today Show and Good Morning America, and was part of the research team for the 2009 launch of the mega hit TV show on NBC called, “Who Do You Think You Are?”

Lisa is a frequent presenter at national genealogy conferences, most notably at NGS and FGS 2011 and is a guest lecturer at the Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research (IGHR) at Samford University.  She has been a presenter for numerous Ancestry Days held at a variety of locations around the United State from Alaska to Florida.

In addition to being a popular speaker, Lisa teaches family history classes and is the former Director of the Family History Center in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. She is a descendant of several lines of Quaker ancestors from Wales and England and was raised as a Quaker in Philadelphia.  She is a (joyful) mother and grandmother and has written a book on researching Quaker Ancestors.

Juliana Smith has been an editor of Ancestry.com newsletters for more than thirteen years and is the current editor of the Ancestry Weekly Discovery. She has contributed articles to genealogical periodicals and magazines and wrote the "Computers and Technology" chapter in The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy, rev. 3rd edition.

Shamele Jordon is a genealogical researcher, lecturer, writer and podcaster (Genealogy On Demand). Her biographical highlights include: researcher for the PBS series Oprah’s Roots: An African American Lives Special and African American Lives II; former president of the African American Genealogy Group in Philadelphia, PA.; faculty at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research in Birmingham, AL.; board member of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania; grant recipient documenting the lives of over 100 African American Civil War soldiers and sailors buried in Lawnside, NJ; workshop volunteer at the Family History Center in Cherry Hill, NJ.

Schedule

8-9 a.m. – Registration

9 a.m. – Welcome from Kim Sajet, President and CEO of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania

9:15-10:30 a.m. – Getting the Most from Ancestry.com

Want to know how to get the most from your subscription to Ancestry.com? Learn tips and tricks from an insider! Sometimes just listening to someone discuss and demonstrate the best search techniques is all it takes to turn you into a pro.

10:30-10:45 a.m. - Break

10:45-11:30 a.m. – Pennsylvania Vital Records: HSP's Collection on Ancestry.com

An estimated 7 million vital records from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, including church, cemetery, and undertaker records, have recently been posted to Ancestry.com, along with almost 100,000 individual index cards. Learn about these invaluable Pennsylvania vital records and how to use them to find information that will help you with your family history search.

11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. – Lunch

No food or drink is permitted in the lecture hall, as per Pennsylvania Convention Center regulations. There are many restaurants located in and around the Convention Center, including Reading Terminal Market, an historic market with dozens of restaurants at 12th and Arch Streets.

1 p.m. - Raffle for U.S. membership to Ancestry.com and one-year Friends of HSP membership to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania

1-2 p.m. – Collecting Since 1824: Genealogy Resources at HSP

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is one of the the largest genealogy centers in the Mid-Atlantic region, with records from every state east of the Mississippi River. Learn more about the expansive resources available, including a collection of family histories, deeds, probate records, church records, ship passenger lists, and newspapers. You’ll also learn which records and images are available online on HSP’s website.

2-2:15 p.m. - Break

2:15–3:15 p.m. – 7 Strategies for Searching Ancestry.com

Take your family tree from zero to "search success" with 7 strategies that will maximize the effectiveness of your searches in the billions of historical records on Ancestry.com.

3:15–3:30 p.m. – Raffle for World Deluxe subscription to Ancestry.com

Directions & Parking

The Pennsylvania Convention Center is located in the heart of Center City Philadelphia at 1101 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. HSP Ancestry Day will be held in Terrace Ballroom 2. Attendees should enter the Convention Center from Broad Street and follow signs to the ballroom. For directions to the Convention Center and locations of nearby parking garages, visit the Convention Center’s website.

Hotels & Visitor Information

HSP has reserved a number of rooms for Friday and Saturday night at The Hampton Inn at 1301 Race Street just minutes away from the Convention Center. Please call 1-215-665-9100 for reservations. Be sure to mention you will be attending the Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s Ancestry event to receive the special room rate of $139 a night.

There are many hotels located in close proximity to the Pennsylvania Convention Center. For a map of nearby hotels, visit the Convention Center's website.

For more information about Philadelphia, including hotels, restaurants, things to do, nightlife, and shopping, visit the official visitor website.