Kate Townsend, Genealogist

11/14/2025

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Mary S. Biesecker Public Library in Somerset, PA. I shared tips on avoiding common genealogical mistakes by using the Genealogical Proof Standard (while sharing some mistakes I made in my youth).

11/10/2025

I will be at the Fairfax Genealogical Society in person this Saturday, for a workshop: Immigrant Ancestor Roundup. If you live in the area and are curious what records might exist for your immigrant ancestors, I would love to see you there.

https://www.fxgs.org/content.aspx?page_id=4091&club_id=912730&item_id=2689403

09/10/2025

In case you missed it, my lecture, as well as the lightning talks on "Blue Collar Ancestry: Researching Your Steelworker Ancestor," at the Heinz History Center, is now available online!

Take a deep dive into the lives of your steelworker ancestors with the Detre Library & Archives. The first session focused on Western Pennsylvania steelworke...

08/11/2025

I am so excited and proud that the lecture series "Blue Collar Ancestry" that I am involved in at the Heinz History Center was featured in Pittsburgh Magazine. The kick-off lecture, "Tracing Your Steelworker Roots," is tomorrow night at 6:30 PM both in-person and online. A recording will also be available following the lecture.

The Heinz History Center is giving you the opportunity to find out more about your Pittsburgh ancestors, with the first of many workshops in a new genealogy series on blue-collar industries deep in the city’s lineage.

07/17/2025

My last day giving lectures at GRIP Genealogy Institute was today! I had an amazing time connecting with students and faculty this week.

In between my lectures, I stopped by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh to look at a microfilm reel film for a client project. I had to document the fact that I was wearing a dress to do work in an archive (usually I’m not due to dust!).

07/16/2025

I really love my job, and today was no exception! This morning and early afternoon, I was at the Heinz History Center for my class at the GRIP Genealogy Institute. Later this afternoon, I was downtown looking at tax liens and criminal records for a client.