Historical Society of PA unearths family gems with genealogy project

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Historical Society of Pennsylvania's newest project is unearthing some family treasures.

The genealogical team dug deep into ABC's Tamron Hall's family history.

Katy Bodenhorn Barnes is the Director of Genealogy at HSP, and traced 6 generations back in Tamron Hall's family tree.

Essentially filling in the gaps that for many African Americans exist because of slavery.

While the nonprofit has been around for 200 years in Philadelphia, Barnes said the genealogy project is fairly new.

Barnes said not many people know that they provide this service.

"HSP is a very underrated resource in a city full of historic resources. We have a massive library and so much expertise in our walls," she said.

"Seeing how your ancestors fit into this historical events of their time, can help you understand how you fit in your time, form your family, community to politics," Barnes said.

HSP has over 21 million manuscripts, books and photos including the first two drafts of the constitution and the earliest surviving American photograph.

https://www.portal.hsp.org/for-genealogy