Monthly meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month, September through June, at 7 pm. We do not meet in July or August and we only meet via Zoom in December, January and February. Each monthly meeting includes an informative presentation. Attending meetings via Zoom is a membership benefit. Zoom sessions are not open to non-members. However, non-members may attend meetings at St. Mary’s PNCC as a guest.
2026 Presentations
- January 6, 2026 (Zoom Only): Polish Genealogy 101 by Ben Kman
- February 3, 2026 (Zoom Only): Locating Vital Records from Poland Online by Julie Roberts Szczepankiewicz
- March 3, 2026: Forged in Work: Polish Immigrants in Cleveland’s Mills, Factories and Neighborhood Businesses by Thomas Kaschalk
- April 7, 2026: Family Search: AI Supercharges Genealogy by Alan Jones
- May 5, 2026: Cleveland Public Library’s New Cleveland Press Database by Terry Metter
- June 2, 2026: Poland Then and Now: The 1990’s vs. the 2020’s by Ben Kman
- September 1, 2026: Trip to Sibiri Museum in Blalystok Poland by Irene Mechail
- October 6, 2026: It Wasn’t Always Slavic Village by Glenn Sobola
- November 3, 2026: Cemeteries in Poland by Aleksandra Kacprzak
- December 1, 2026 (Zoom Only): Babcia’s Breakthroughs: Panel Discussion on Members’ Brick Walls led by Ben Kman
2025 Presentations
- January 7, 2025: Polish Genealogy 101 by Ben Kman
- February 4, 2025: Overview of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese Archives and Their Use for Polish Genealogy by Emily Ahlin
- March 4, 2025: Using AI for Genealogical Translations by Claude Flandro
- April 1, 2025: Ohio History by Lucia Dominak
- May 6, 2025: Cousin Baiting by Christine Cohen
- June 3, 2025: Our Galician Ancestors by Donna Gawell
- September 2, 2025: Saving Your Research for Future Generations To Enjoy by Gail Berzins
- October 7, 2025: Cleveland Neighborhood Taverns: A Pub Crawl Through History by Thomas Kaschalk
- November 4, 2025: A History of Fleet Avenue by Glenn Sobola
- December 2, 2025: Overview of Cleveland Public Library’s Genealogical Resources by Terry Metter
2024 Presentations
- January 9, 2024 – Polish Genealogy 101 by Ben Kman
- February 6, 2024 – The Allen County Library: Researching Your Polish Ancestors by Kate McKenzie
- March 5, 2024 – TBD by Trina Galauner
- April 2, 2024 – Cuyahoga County Archives Research Resources by Thomas Kaschalk
- May 7, 2024 – Cultural Memory by Todd Morris
- June 4, 2024 – Annual Party: FOOD, FOOD, FOOD
- July and August-No Meetings
- September 3, 2024 – U.S. Records by Kim Demor
- October 1, 2024 – Forensic Genealogy by Katherine O’Connell
- November 5, 2024 – Szulajwarchiwach Tutorial by Ben Kman
- December 3, 2024- TBD
2023 Presentations
- January 4, 2023 – A video presentation on the “History of Prussia”
- February 7, 2023 – Don Demor presents a look into the Polish Churches of Northeast Ohio
- March 7, 2023 – Captured in Liberation: Andrew Bajda discusses his book on a son’s discovery of his father’s long-hidden story coming alive before it is gone and lost forever. A true story personalized with vintage photographs and documents that continues to unlock secrets that further bind the family from both the past and the present.
- April 4, 2023 – Polish Genealogy Hacks
- May 2, 2023 – Favorite Genealogy Discoveries-Member Participation
- June 6, 2023 – Records: Where They Are and How To Find Them
- July and August-No Meetings
- September 5, 2023 – Sanborn Fire Maps Presented by Don Demor
- October 3, 2023 – Polish Trip Highlights by Ben Kman
- November 7, 2023 – DNA for Dummies: Practical, Non-Technical Tips for Dealing with DNA Matches Presented by Ben Kman
- December 5, 2023 – St. Adalbert’s 150th Anniversary Presented by Dennis Kushlak
2022 Presentations
- January 4, 2022 – Ben Kman will present: Location, Location, Location. Documenting village locations in an ever-changing Poland.
- February 1, 2022 – Ben Kman will present: Cadastral Maps of Galicja: Come and discover these beautiful and potentially helpful maps and where to find them
- March 1, 2022 – Scaling Brick Walls: Bring your geological brick wall and try to tear it down by crowd-sourcing with fellow members
- April 5, 2022 – Ben Kman will present: Searching Polish Cemeteries Online
- May 3, 2022 – Group Participation: How Did It Start: Share your story of how/why you started researching your family history
- June 7, 2022 – Guest Speaker, Sean Martin: Why Poland’s Jewish History Matters for Jews and Poles
- July and August Midsummer Break, No Meetings
- September 6, 2022 – Ben Kman presents: Website Roundup: Demos of some Polish genealogy websites
- October 4, 2022 – Guest Speaker Julie Szczepankiewicz: FAN Out! Using Cluster Research to Break Through Genealogical Brick Walls
- November 1, 2022 – We optimistically schedule: the Annual Holiday Party: Food, Food, Food
- December 6, 2022 – Member Participation: Old Family Photos and Heirlooms: Bring those old family pictures and memory-filled items to reminisce and share with the group
2021 Presentations
- September 7, 2021 – Navigating Autosomal DNA Results and Contacting Matches.
- Robert Sliwinski discusses ways to navigate match results for three companies and methods to contact matches.
- October 5, 2021 – Ethnic Germans in Russian Poland.
- Ben Kman will present the fascinating history and research resources for the ethnic Germans who lived in Russian Poland, aka Mitelpolen.
- November 2, 2021 – Show & Share.
- Bring your heirlooms & stories to share with the club.
- December 7, 2021 – The Historical Context for Polish Genealogical Research.
- Richard Szczepinski, PGSGC member, will explain how the history of Poland intertwines with our genealogical research.