This year's Family History Days brings together professional genealogists and family historians from around the world to help beginner & seasoned researchers alike find their story. In the weeks leading up to Family History Days on March 18 & 19, we'll be spotlighting several of the event's featured speakers.

Want to register for Family History Days? Click here or visit hsp.org/FHD

Sandra M. Hewlett, CG © , is a professional genealogist experienced with projects in eastern Pennsylvania, the mid-Atlantic states, England, and Northern Ireland.

For over 30 years, a passionate interest in genealogy and family history has inspired Sandi’s research at repositories in southeast Pennsylvania, especially Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, the State Archives, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; as well as expertise in New Jersey, Delaware, the New England states, Quebec, Illinois, Missouri, England and Ireland records. Ms. Hewlett [She]often visits the Family History Library in Salt Lake City for client research, and on frequent trips to England she studies at London-area repositories: the National Archives, the Society of Genealogists and the London Metropolitan Archives. Extensive research has been accomplished in the counties of Suffolk and Yorkshire where her ancestors lived before emigrating to Quebec in the 1830s.


Ms. Hewlett achieved certification by the Board for Certification of Genealogists in 2001. Currently she is a board member for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Previously she enjoyed 10-years of service as board member and as vice president of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1992-2002. Memberships include the Association of Professional Genealogists, National Genealogical Society (board member 1996-2004), Society of Genealogists (London) and Ulster Historical Foundation (Belfast).

Her business outreach includes consultations on research problems, establishing research goals, and outlining methodology to solve proverbial brickwall issues.

At this year's Family History Days, Sandi will present Resources for Family History in Greater Philadelphia (read the full description here).

Sandi has been workng closely with HSP since 1987, when she began volunteering with the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, indexing names found in the Philadelphia Public Ledger. Soon after, she began volunteering at the HSP library, assisting patrons with genealogy research questions. Sandi’s interest in genealogy began in the late 1970s after the death of a family member who had been compiling a family history. She inherited his research papers, leading her to years of New England and Quebec research before traveling to England and Ireland to continue her research. Three-quarters of her ancestry are New Englanders, most arriving there in the 1630s. Her Irish ancestors immigrated to Quebec and Philadelphia in the 1830s, and her paternal Northern Ireland ancestor made Chicago his home in 1860.

In addition to her work with HSP, she is involved with the Greater Philadelphia Area Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogist (APG) serving as a genealogy mentor for the monthly research consultations at HSP. Other volunteer activities with the National Genealogical Society and the New England Historic Genealogical Society keep her abreast of genealogy on the national front.

Photo credit: Ron Tarver, Philadelphia Inquirer photographer