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Virtual events
Virtual SIG: GSP Member Gathering
Monday, June 15, 2026
It’s time to join us again for the Member Gathering on the 15th! This month after we cover what is new at GSP and in the world of genealogy, we will have longer breakouts, by popular demand. GSP members can choose one of the following breakout rooms:
-General Genealogy Discussion & Beginners
-Scots-Irish
-Methodology: Research Strategy
-PA Maps
- TIME: 7 p.m. ET
- COST: Free for GSP members only
- LOCATION: Zoom
Where will you gather?
Join our interactive virtual discussion group to share and/or learn genealogy research tips on one of these subjects. All skill levels are welcome! The event is FREE and only for all GSP members.
Webinar: Tracing Black Life Across Time: Matching Households Across the 1838 and 1847 Black Censuses of Philadelphia
Thursday, June 18, 2026
Dr. Kirsten Lee, Academic Director of 1838 Black Metropolis, will discuss a collaborative research project conducted with the Swarthmore Friends Historical Library examining the Pennsylvania Abolition Society censuses of the Black population of Philadelphia in 1838 and 1847.
The talk will focus on the research process used to identify households that appeared across both census years. The project began with algorithmic matching developed by James Truitt of the Swarthmore Friends Historical Library, who created a phonetic matching system capable of identifying potential household matches despite spelling inconsistencies in nineteenth-century records.
Building on this work, Cheyney University senior Mwihaki (“Haki”) Kiiru conducted detailed manual review and verification of the records, confirming nearly 400 household matches. These matches provide new opportunities to study continuity, movement, family structure, and changes in Black life in Philadelphia across nearly a decade. The project also led to additional findings related to Black mental health in 1847 through research conducted by Kiiru under the guidance of Dr. Lee, demonstrating how these records help surface dimensions of Black life often difficult to trace in historical archives.
matching project: https://www.1838blackmetropolis.com/1847matching
mission: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_4Ca0w3QTUGBvjDj0qxuQpHK1q_tZJUc/view
- PRESENTER: 1838 Black Metropolis
- TIME: 7 p.m. ET
- COST: FREE to all
- LOCATION: Zoom
- The recording will be available for GSP members until Aug. 17, 2026
About 1838 Black Metropolis: https://www.1838blackmetropolis.com/about
Virtual: Tech SIG (Special Interest Group)
friday, June 26, 2026
Do you love using Technology or do you have problems with it? Do you think Technology could help with your genealogy research, but you don’t know where to start? Are you confused when people talk about files, uploading vs downloading, organizational tools, bookmarks, new software programs, genealogy software, AI, scanning, or anything else techy in nature?
Are you ready to dig deeper into the wide world of technology. Are you ready to take your use of Technology to a new level?
Well, GSP has a solution for you!
It’s our new Tech SIG and, because it’s virtual, you can attend no matter where you live. Come join us!
- TIME: 7:00 p.m. ET
- COST: Free and open to GSP members only
- LOCATION: Zoom
This NEW Tech SIG occurs on the fourth Friday of every month. It is open to GSP members only.
In-Person Special Interest Groups
Genealogists Helping Genealogists
- DATE: Saturday, June 13, 2026; Saturday, July 11, 2026
- In-person round table discussion group
- TIME: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- COST: GSP members- free; Non-members- $5
- LOCATION: GSP 2100 Byberry Rd., Suite 111, Philadelphia
- Space is limited. Email info@genpa.org to reserve.
This SIG has a roundtable format, starting with a “tip of the month” (a 5- to 10-minute presentation on an investigative tool), after which the meeting then will be opened for discussion on individual genealogical questions.
All skill levels are welcome. This is an in-person only meeting with the aim of furthering individual research. If you have any genealogy research questions; looking for help trying to break through your brick wall; or just want to meet up with fellow genealogists, come join us.
Genealogy Small Talk
- DATE: Tuesday, June 23, 2026, Tuesday, July 28, 2026
- In-person round table discussion group
- TIME: 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.
- COST: Free to GSP members; $5 for non-members
- LOCATION: GSP 2100 Byberry Rd., Suite 111, Philadelphia PA 19116
- Space is limited. Email info@genpa.org to reserve.
Enhance your genealogy research knowledge! Join our roundtable discussion group in-person on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Everyone will have the opportunity to express new ideas, ask questions, learn new techniques with time to research. This is a friendly atmosphere for all.
GSP Member Tours
Philadelphia City Archives Tour and Research
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
The City Archives is a repository for many of Philadelphia’s municipal, genealogical, and audiovisual records. The team at the City Archives helps to maintain, and provide stewardship of, one of the best collections of municipal records in the country. Since its establishment as part of the home rule charter of 1951, the City Archives has helped preserve millions of records which document the City’s history from the 1700s to the present.
Join GSP for a tour of the City Archives where archivists will provide an overview of its holdings, its preservation processes, and a behind-the-scenes look at how materials are housed. The tour will include a peak at some of the Archives’ treasures, such as Al Capone’s criminal docket case, Marian Anderson’s birth record, William Penn’s signed charter of the City of Philadelphia, historical maps and photographs.
- DATE: Wed. June 24, 2026
- TOUR TIME: 10:00 a.m.
- After the tour you are welcome to stay and research or break for lunch and return to research until closing at 4 p.m.
- COST: GSP Members: $10; Non-members: $12
- LOCATION: Philadelphia City Archives
- 548 Spring Garden St, Philadelphia, PA 19123
- View on the map
- PARKING OPTIONS: Target Parking Lot on N. 6 th St.
- Metered Parking on 6 th St.
- 2 Hr. Parking on Spring Garden St.
- Note: If taking Septa, the City Archives is located a few blocks away from the Market Frankford Line.
There will be no on-site sales. Tickets must be purchased online in advance. Please make sure you are a current GSP member to pay the membership price.
The Mercer Museum Research Library Tour for July 29, 2026 is SOLD OUT. You may email us to get on the waitlist at membership(AT)genpa(DOT)com.
Upcoming 2026 GSP webinars
- 16 Jul – “An Archivist’s Guide to Genealogical Research at the Heinz History Center” with Sierra Green
- 20 Aug – “Navigating the Records From The War of 1812” with Brian Rhinehart
- 17 Sep – “19th Century Naturalizations” with Jefferson Moak
- 15 Oct – “Genealogy at the Moravian Archives” with Thomas J. McCullough
- 19 Nov – “Using Google Earth Pro, Griffith’s Valuation & Irish Townlands, to Map and Visit the Land of Your Ancestors” with Joe Hunter
- 17 Dec – “Timelines: A Path to Your Next Research Steps” with Annette Burke Lyttle
Webinar Recordings
Hidden Gems in German and Polish Archives
Zoom event with Ute Brandenburg
May 21, 2026
View the recorded presentation. This recording is for GSP members until July 20, 2026
How DNA Solved the Idaho Multiple-Murder Case but Raised Ethical Issues
Zoom event with Michael Ramage, JD, CG
April 16, 2026
View the recorded presentation. This recording is for GSP members until June 15, 2026.
Confidence in Collaboration: Mentoring New Genealogists & Building Inclusive Genealogy Communities
Zoom event with Sheena Yap Chan
April 18, 2026
View the recorded presentation. This recording is for GSP members until June 17, 2026.
The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania Annual Business Meeting 2026
See a review of GSP’s last 12 months, what’s in store for 2026 and the election of officers and directors.
Saturday, April 18, 2026
View the annual meeting recording. This recording is available to GSP members.
339 Quaker Manumissions and Beyond Project
Zoom event with the 339 Manumissions and Beyond Project
Thursday, February 20, 2025
View the recorded presentation. It is available to all.
This is a Members Only Area
Visiting the GSP Office?
Directions: Coming from the Roosevelt Blvd we are the first driveway on the left, after WaWa, GSP is listed on the property sign on the bottom row. The entrance is across from the Gazebo and you ring the bell to the right of Gen of PA to be buzzed in.
