About

headshot150Carla Cegielski is a full-time family history researcher specializing in Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia research. She has been providing professional research services to attorneys, historians, genealogists, hobbyists, and others since 2007.

Carla is past-president of both of the Great Lakes Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Lake County (OH) Genealogical Society. She has volunteered as a grader for the National Genealogical Society’s American Genealogy Home Study Course and as a coordinator for the ProGen Study Group. Carla also served as Vice President of the Great Lakes Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists.

After retiring from teaching at a local business college, Carla began lecturing on various genealogical topics. She is a frequent speaker at genealogical societies, libraries and conferences. Carla was the coordinator and instructor for the Reading, Transcribing, and Abstracting Old Documents course at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh in July 2021.

Education and Training

  • Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian Language and Literature from the University of Pittsburgh
  • Master of Science degree in Library Science from Simmons College in Boston
  • National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. Volunteer Field Genealogy (2008)
  • National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. Genealogy Consultant (2009)
  • ProGen Study Group (2010)
  • National Institute on Genealogical Research. (National Archives) (2011)
  • Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. Advanced Research Methods (2012)
  • National Genealogical Society. American Genealogy: Home Study Course (2013)
  • Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (Samford University). Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis (2013)
  • Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. Your Immigrant Ancestors’ Stories (2013)
  • Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (Samford University). Virginia: Her Records and Her Laws (2014)
  • Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. Law School for Genealogists (2014)
  • Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. Advanced Evidence Practicum (2015)
  • Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (Samford University). Writing & Publishing for Genealogists (2015)
  • Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (Samford University). Advanced Library Research: Law Libraries & Government Documents (2016)
  • Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. From Confusion to Conclusion: How to Write Proof Arguments (2016)
  • Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. Advanced Evidence Practicum. You be the Judge: A Practicum Using Standards to Evaluate Genealogical Work (2017)
  • Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (Georgia Genealogical Society, Athens, GA). Genetics for Genealogists: Beginning DNA (2017)
  • Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. The Pennsylvania German and Research in the Keystone State (2018)
  • Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. Metes and Bounds Land Platting (2019)
  • Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. Corpus Juris: Advanced Legal Concepts for Genealogy (2020)
  • Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. Mother Russia: Research in the Countries of the Former Russian Empire and USSR (2021)
  • Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. Principles of Genealogical Writing (2022)
  • New York State Research Fundamentals (2023)
  • Attends at least one national conference per year as well as many local and regional conferences.

Genealogical and Professional Society Memberships

  • African American Genealogical Society – Cleveland
  • Association of Professional Genealogists
  • Great Lakes Chapter, Association of Professional Genealogists
  • Lake County Genealogical Society
  • Maine Historical Society
  • National Genealogical Society
  • National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
  • Computer Assisted Genealogical Group – Cleveland Area
  • North Hills Genealogists

Publications

Carla writes the Tech Tips column in the quarterly NGS Magazine. She is also the author of the Reading Old Handwriting genealogy course published by the National Genealogical Society.