Putting a Spark into Starting (or Restarting) Your Family Tree

PCGS is pleased to announce a new workshop: Charge! Putting a Spark into Starting or Restarting Your Family Tree, featuring members of our Board of Directors.

This beginner's workshop is limited to 30 participants. Our seasoned genealogists will cover these topics:

• Documents to gather and search
• Chart basics and genealogy tools
• Moving from paper to digital
• What and where to document

Our instructors have a combined 95+ years of experience.


Barbara Salyer

• 45+ years genealogical research, instructor, speaker & author
• Certified Genealogist for 25 years
• Member of the National Genealogy Society (NGS) and the Federation of Genealogy Societies (FGS)
• Member of D.A.R. (Tucson Chapter) & Daughters of Colonial Wars
• Received Lifetime Achievement Award, 2008, from Arizona State Genealogical Society

Jodi Lynn Strait

• Doing genealogical research for over 20 years
• Member of the National Genealogy Society (NGS); completed NGS home study course.
• Boston University Genealogical Research Program certificate holder
• Member of Chinkchewunska (NJ) chapter of the D.A.R.

Amy Urman

• Researching her family roots for over 30 years
• Member of the National Genealogy Society (NGS), Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), and Federation of Genealogy Societies (FGS)
• Boston University Genealogical Research Program certificate holder
• Graduate of ProGen 28, SLIG Law, and SLIG Land

The workshop will be held on Saturday, June 3, 2017 from 9:30AM to 12 Noon in Rooms 2500 E & F at Banner-University Medical Center, 1501 N. Campbell Road, Tucson, AZ. The cost to attend is $15 for PCGS members and $20 for non-members. 

To register, visit our website at https://azpimagensoc.org/cpage.php?pt=33 and pay on-line at the PCGS Marketplace (Members must sign in before registering to get the discounted rate) or print the form and mail to us along with your check. But hurry, registration and payment deadline is Saturday, May 27.

A New Place, GenSmarts, and Jewish Genealogy this Saturday

Come join us for a special meeting this Saturday, April 15, 2017.

Amy Urman

The meeting will begin with a short presentation Amy Urman on When Your GenSmarts Are Working. Amy is a private investigator licensed in the state of Arizona. She has been a genealogical researcher for over 25 years and serves as President for Pima County Genealogy Society. Amy is always informative and entertaining, making her a favorite lecturer in the society.

Heb. Pub. Co., 1901 [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons.

Following a break and door-prizes, Denni Ann Gershaw-Smith will present Adventures in Jewish Genealogy. Denni Ann has been vigorously researching her roots since 1981. The majority of her ancestors hail from Eastern Europe, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Belarus and Slovakia. In 2016, Denni Ann completed the Boston University Genealogical Research Certificate Program. In addition to having her own calligraphy business, she has been conducting genealogy research for clients since 1989. Her specialty is in Judaic genealogy. Denni Ann is also a PCGS member and serves on the Steering Committee.

Not only are we featuring two great speakers this Saturday, but we are meeting at a new location! We are returning to Banner-University Medical Center, 1501 N. Campbell Rd., Tucson. But we are meeting in a different room than before: Duval Auditorium, Room 2600. The Duval Auditorium is located at the first hallway to the right as you come into the main entrance of the hospital. Walk along the front windows to your right and look for the sign for Duval Auditorium on your left.

This change in venue allows us to renew our pre-meeting luncheon in the cafeteria. Most arrive between 11:30 and 12 noon. We sit together to eat our lunch and socialize. The menu at the cafeteria has something for everyone, but pizza seems to be a favorite with our group.

Remember, if you are not a PCGS member yet, you can attend up to two meetings as a non-member at no charge! And everyone is eligible to win the door-prizes.

Handouts are available to PCGS members under Secure Download in the Members Only section of our website (https://azpimagensoc.org/).

Monthly meeting this Saturday and Family Tree Maker SIG

Don't forget our meeting is coming up this Saturday, June 21st.  We will be meeing in our normal room 2117 in the Medical College which is located at the University Medical Center, 1501 N Campbell.  New members are encouraged to contact Beth at 820-4488 for help finding our meeting location. 

As usual some of our members will be meeting in the cafeteria for lunch prior to the meeting.  Folks usually arrive for lunch around 11:30 to 12.   

 Amy Urman will be presenting a class on Death Customs: Mourning and Morbid
 Mementos
 Leslie Carney will be presenting a program on Family & Taxes, Oh My!

FTM SIG meeting this Saturday, 3:00-5:00pm (immediately following PCGS meeting) in UMC Rooms 2500 C&D

Meeting this Saturday November 16th at University Medical Center

Our next meeting is this Saturday, November 16th, at 1:00 pm. UMC, University of Arizona, College of Medicine, Room 2117 

1:15 - 1:45 pm - WPA Records - Amy Urman

2:00 - 3:00 pm - DNA Panel - Moderator: Dr. Paul Duffey

Please join us for lunch in the cafeteria before the meeting. If this is your first meeting or you need assistance to find the meeting room please call Beth at 820-4488.

We look forward to seeing you!

Location map: UMC Hospital

PCGS Members at the NGS Conference in Vegas

NGS Conference PCGS attendees (not pictured Jodi Strait) Michelle Launi, Amy Urman, Leslie Carney, Barbara Ball, Jo Clark, Betty Bengtson at the "dock of Ellis Island"  back drop and picture provided by FamilySearch Indexing.

The Cox Collection and The Paper Trail of Death - September 15th Meeting

The Cox Collection and The Paper Trail of Death - September 15th Meeting

We have two wonderful programs for you this Saturday.  The first program will be a presentation by Barbara Sayler.  She will discuss what wonderful items can be found in the Cox Collection stored at the Family History Center right here in Tucson.  Our second presentation will be about the types of documents that are generated when our dearly beloveds departed this world.  Amy Urman will be our presenter for the second session. 

As always, some of our members will be meeting for lunch at 11:30 am in the cafeteria.  Please join us for some pre-meeting genealogy social time.

WhenSat, September 15, 1:00pm – 3:30pm

WhereUniversity of Arizona, College of Medicine, Room 2117 (map)

DescriptionMeeting host Ken Castle 1:15 to 2:00 p.m. The Cox Collection - Barbara Salyer 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. The Paper Trail of Death - Amy Urman

PCGS August Meeting August 18th

We have two wonderful presentations for you this Saturday. They are "Tips and Tricks to Using Google Successfully" and "Using Newspapers to Find Information". Handouts for the presentations have been emailed to members. If you are a member and did not receive an email with the handouts, please contact us at pimacountygenealogysociety@gmail.com.

Some members will be meeting for lunch prior to the meeting at the UMC cafeteria. Members usually begin to arrive for lunch between 11:30 and 12:00. Please join us and tell us about your summer genealogy finds or research.


Meeting host Barara Salyer 1:15 to 2:00 p.m. Tips and Tricks to Using Google Successfully - Amy Urman 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Using Newspapers to Find Information - Jean Banowit

Hope you had a wonderful summer!