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Hi! I'm Denyse Allen, Founder of PA Ancestors

I help genealogists research their ancestors in Pennsylvania through books, workshops, and a membership community.

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Colonial Pennsylvania Genealogy Research hit #1— thank you!!

PAancestors.com #1 in Amazon New Releases! Hello Reader! I can't believe what just happened. Colonial Pennsylvania Genealogy Research hit #1 in New Releases on Amazon. That’s because of you. Every purchase, every share with a research buddy, every message telling me this was the book you’d been waiting for — that’s what put it there. Thank you!!! One reader wrote back after my first email: “I’ve learned so much from your podcasts and was finally able to blast through a brick wall I’ve been...

PAancestors.com New Book for the 250th of America Hello Reader! I hope you make it to a historic site today for Pennsylvania's Charter Day. If you get to the Charter, that's a special moment. 345 years of PA history🎉 I told you in my first email that something was coming. Here it is. I’ve spent the last several months deep in Pennsylvania’s archives organizing everything I know about Colonial and Revolutionary Era records into one resource. The result is Colonial Pennsylvania Genealogy...

PAancestors.com Happy 345th Birthday PA!🎂 Hello Reader! I hope you had a chance to look around PAancestors.com since my last email. If not, no worries, it's not going away. I’m writing today because this Sunday, March 8, is Charter Day - Pennsylvania’s 345th birthday.🎉 And if you’re anywhere near a Pennsylvania Trails of History site, it's a great time to go. Here’s why: Every year on Charter Day, PHMC opens its historic sites for free admission. Ephrata Cloister, Brandywine Battlefield,...

PAancestors.com Updates from PA Ancestors Hello Reader! I know it’s been a few months since you heard from me. I went quiet to focus on something big for Pennsylvania genealogists. But I’m back, and I want to reconnect with the PA genealogy researchers I care about most. I’m Denyse Allen — you may know me from Pennsylvania Vital Records Research or Archives in Pennsylvania for Genealogy Research or my podcast Your Pennsylvania Ancestors. Since 2019, I’ve been helping researchers like you find...

PAancestors.com Free June Webinar, Plus a New Course for You Hello Reader! This month, I'm thrilled to showcase a new product for you and offering a repeat of an extremely popular webinar just for you! Webinar: Unlock Pennsylvania Records with the FamilySearch Catalog Last Month's Webinar was so popular, let's do it again! – Friday June 6th, 3pm eastern — 87 people attended last month and loved it! I’ll show you what's new and improved with the FamilySearch Catalog, and how to use it to...

PAancestors.com Free May Webinar, Plus a Call for Your Stories Hello Reader! I'm about to attend and speak at the Ohio Genealogical Society's spring conference, and looking forward to a great event! If you are there, please say 'hi'! This month, I'm thrilled to be offering another free webinar for newsletter subscribers. Unlock Pennsylvania Records with the FamilySearch Catalog Free Webinar – Friday May 16th, 1pm eastern If you've ever struggled to find the right records for your Pennsylvania...

Hello Reader! Happy spring! I hope the tulips and daffodils will be showing soon where you live. While the PA Ancestors podcast is on hiatus, I want to get back to sharing how to effectively research in Pennsylvania records. And I've also included links on some interesting programs in Pennsylvania this month. Free Webinar: Local History Records for Genealogy Research This Friday - Discover the hidden treasures in Pennsylvania’s local archives In this free 30-minute webinar, I will walk you...

Hello Reader! I'm writing this newsletter from the Salt Lake City airport (and interrupting your regularly scheduled Pennsylvania genealogy news) to get you the freshest news from RootsTech and free download of my presentation. An estimated 15,000 attended in-person—up from 12,000 last year, and several million viewed sessions online. There was (as is—see more below) something for everyone. I had the great fun of meeting 6 subscribers to this newsletter and it felt like I was meeting old...

Hello Reader! Happy RootsTech week! Amazon is having a Kindle Countdown Sale with 48% off my two books: Pennsylvania Vital Records Research Archives in Pennsylvania for Genealogy Research, 2nd edition Sale lasts until 11:59pm Wednesday, March 5th. (And if you want to read them for free, both titles are a part of Kindle Unlimited until March 10th.) And I created 5 videos just for you on getting the most out of RootsTech: Here's to a great RootsTech week!

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PAancestors.com March 2025 March 2025 PA Genealogy News Hello Reader! March is the busiest month in the genealogy year, so let's jump right in: Join Me for a YouTube LiveStream: Let’s Talk RootsTech! 🎥 Date: Friday, February 28th 🕠 Time: 6:30 PM ET 📍 Where: My YouTube Channel I’m testing livestreaming on YouTube, and I want you to be part of it! Let’s chat about all things RootsTech, and I’ll also show how I use AI to summarize and enhance my notes from the conference sessions. Just open this...