18 September 2021

VIRTUAL MEETING

Speaker: Lisa A. Alzo
Topic: No Easy Button: Using Immersion Genealogy to Understand Your Ancestors

Description: Family history is so much more than just names, dates, and places, or boxes, lines, and charts. For 21st century genealogists, it is easy to limit our research to the documents or other facts we find online, or to what others tell us to be true. Learn how to take your research a step further to understand your ancestors’ lives through “immersion genealogy”—the process of discovering where they lived, worked, and worshipped, and experiencing those customs and traditions they passed down through the generations. Key resources, methodology, and tips for reaching out to relatives and repositories, and how to make the most out of a trip to your ancestor’s hometown (whether in North America or across the pond) will be discussed.

Presenter: Lisa grew up in Duquesne , Pennsylvania , and currently resides in Ithaca , New York. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1987 and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Pittsburgh in 1997. Lisa began writing creatively in the fourth grade with an assignment entitled, “All About Me,” and went on to win several English/Writing awards in high school and college. Lisa has published articles in Ancestry Magazine, Discovering Family History Magazine, Family Chronicle , Family Tree Magazine , Genealogical Computing, Reunions Magazine, NGSNews Magazine, Reunions Magazine, Western Pennsylvania History Magazine, FEEFHS Journal and Rocenka: Journal of the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International, The Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly. An avid genealogist for 26 years, Lisa currently teaches online genealogy courses for Family Tree University and the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. She is the recipient of the 2002 Mary Zirin Prize given by the Association for Women in Slavic Studies to recognize the achievements of independent scholars, and is a frequently invited speaker for national conferences, genealogical and historical societies. She is the author of ten books