A vast number of immigrants came to America from Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Border changes, language differences, political considerations, and exotic-sounding surnames often complicate the search for Austrian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Rusyn, Slovak, Ukrainian, and other Eastern European ancestors. Traditional methods and online resources for tracking ancestors both in the United States and the old country will be discussed, as well as techniques for overcoming some of the most common obstacles and problems faced during the research process.  Part three in our series of genealogy workshops.

Speaker's Bio: Lisa Alzo, M.F.A., grew up in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, and currently resides in Ithaca, New York. She has been working on her genealogy for 20 years and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Pittsburgh in 1997. Lisa is the author of: Three Slovak Women (Gateway Press), Baba's Kitchen: Slovak & Rusyn Family Recipes & Traditions (Gateway Press), Finding Your Slovak Ancestors and Writing Your Family History Book (Heritage Productions), Pittsburgh's Immigrants, Slovak Pittsburgh, Sports Memories of Western Pennsylvania, Cleveland Czechs and Cleveland Slovaks (Arcadia Publishing), as well as numerous magazine articles. She is a frequently invited speaker for national conferences, genealogical and historical societies.