Individual Genealogy Consultations

Researching your genealogy and getting stuck? HSP's in-house professional genealogist is available to discuss your research and get you moving. These one-on-one conversations are designed for beginner and more experienced genealogists alike: schedule a sixty-minute consultation to help get the advice you need and develop a research plan to break through that brick wall genealogy problem! Not limited to families with Pennsylvania ancestry!

These consultations are held either virtually over the Zoom platform or in person at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania at 1300 Locust Street in Philadelphia. You will be given the option at checkout to choose which format you prefer. Monday consultations are available on ZOOM ONLY.

Please note that consultations do not include research by the genealogist. They are intended to be Q&A sessions. If you would like to hire a genealogist to do research on your behalf, please visit our website at https://portal.hsp.org/past-made-personal.

As part of the registration process, you'll be asked to answer a series of questions related to your research. Please complete this form at least 48 hours prior to your consultation. The genealogist will use this to prepare in order to ensure the best service at your consultation. You will receive a link to the form in your order confirmation.

While we make every effort to hold the consultation at the scheduled time, factors occasionally will cause us to reschedule. This may include instances where intake information regarding goals was not provided with sufficient notice ahead of the consultation. If so, we will reschedule for a time most convenient for you.

One-on-one consultations are a wonderful gift for friends or family interested in learning more about their ancestors! We can process gift consultations in two ways.

If you know what date or time the recipient is available for a consultation, please complete the purchase online, then contact Katy Bodenhorn Barnes (info below).

If you don't know when the recipient is available, please skip the online registration form, contact Katy Bodenhorn Barnes ([email protected]) and we will process the purchase offline.

Please do not complete the research questionnaire for gift consultations. We'll ask the recipient to do that instead.

If you have any questions, please contact Katy Bodenhorn Barnes at [email protected].

Host or Publisher Historical Society of Pennsylvania