Currently accepting clients for...

• Family History Research
• Writing /Publishing

Erica Cousins Curtis specializes in pre-1850 brick walls, women, lineage societies, genealogical writing, and forensic genealogy. 

She earned her Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University, completed ProGen 66 and GenProof 77, and has attended numerous courses, conferences, and institutes including the Salt Lake City Institute of Genealogy and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. She is a board member and recording secretary for the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society and is the editor of its Quarterly journal. Her published works have appeared in the Utah Genealogical Association's Crossroads journal and the WPGS Quarterly.

She specializes in Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic, West Virginia, and Ohio research and  has experience researching in-person at most western Pennsylvania repositories. 

Geographic Specialities
Pennsylvania
Mid-Atlantic
New York 
West Virginia
Ohio

Specific counties I visit frequently:
Allegheny County, PA
Armstrong County, PA
Beaver County, PA
Butler County, PA
Clearfield County, PA
Crawford County, PA
Erie County, PA
Fayette County, PA
Greene County, PA
Indiana County, PA
Jefferson County, PA
Lawrence County, PA
Mercer County, PA
Venango County, PA
Washington County, PA
Westmoreland County, PA
Pennsylvania State Archives 
Courthouses and repositories in northern West Virginia and eastern Ohio. 

Publications/Media
June 2024- Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society's Quarterly "Resolving the Merged Identities of John Minor of Fayette County, Pennsylvania and Marshall County, West Virginia"
Fall 2023- Utah Genealogical Association's Crossroads "In Search of Lost Marriages: Marriage Laws and Elopement Destinations"
Fall 2022 - Utah Genealogical Association's Crossroads  "Outbreak: Using Conventional Record Sets and Special Collections to Fully Understand the Role of Epidemics in Our Ancestors' Lives

Lectures
Tips for Genealogical Writing

Repositories
I have experience researching in Pennsylvania Courthouses, archives and local repositories in the following counties: 
Allegheny County, PA
Armstrong County, PA
Beaver County, PA
Butler County, PA
Clearfield County, PA
Crawford County, PA
Erie County, PA
Fayette County, PA
Greene County, PA
Indiana County, PA
Jefferson County, PA
Lawrence County, PA
Mercer County, PA
Venango County, PA
Washington County, PA
Westmoreland County, PA
Pennsylvania State Archives 
Courthouses and repositories in northern West Virginia and eastern Ohio. 

Research Time Periods

• 21st Century
• 20th Century
• 19th Century
• 18th Century

Languages
French

Certificates
ProGen 66
Gen Proof 77 
Boston University Certificate in Genealogical Research 
Women and Children First: Research Methods for the Hidden Half of the Family (GRIP)
Advanced Evidence Analysis Practicum (SLIG)
Advanced Genealogical Methods (SLIG)
Walking in Penn's Woods (GRIP)

Affiliations
Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society, Board of Directors First Families of Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society, Editor, WPGS Quarterly 
First Families of Western Pennsylvania
Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, First Families of Pennsylvania, Colony and Commonwealth 1638-1790
New York Genealogical & Biographical Society
New England Historic Genealogical Society
Erie Society for Genealogical Research
Greene County, PA Cornerstone Genealogical Society
APG Forensic SIG
APG Writing SIG
APG Great Lakes Chapter

Degrees
Certificate in Genealogical Research - Boston University
MAT- Social Studies Education, Brown University
MA- French Studies, Columbia University
BA - History, Pennsylvania State University