Welcome to Shake the Tree - Discover Your Roots

My name is Rebecca Kichta Miller and I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, mostly on the South Side, and am the eldest of seven children.  I have been "doing genealogy" since 1971 when my mother gave me copies of two family trees: one that my mother’s brother created after a trip to Ireland and the other done by a distant cousin of my father's who was trying to document their maternal great grandmother’s family for the DAR. (Both of which were wrong!)

 In 1975, I moved away from Pittsburgh.  In the days before the internet, while my children were at school, I spent many hours scouring libraries and repositories for information to fill in the gaps on those family trees and many vacation days back in Pittsburgh collecting photos, stories, and memorabilia.  Once living in Northern Virginia and working in Washington, D.C., I discovered the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and the DAR Headquarters.  With the advent of the Internet, a trip to Ireland, many, many interviews with close family members, and numerous educational seminars, webinars, and conferences under my belt, I now consider herself a “Not-Certified Genealogist." 

Upon moving back to Pittsburgh in 2006, she was able to do hands-on research at local genealogical repositories. Rebecca is currently serving as the President of the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society and is the Editor of the Society’s newsletter, Jots from Western Pennsylvania. Each September, Rebecca organizes a genealogy booth at both the Pittsburgh Irish Festival and the Ligonier Highland Games, providing outreach and resources to anyone who has an interest in family history, whether they have Irish or Scottish ancestors or not. She is also an active member in numerous local, state, national, and international genealogical societies 

I have ten descendants:  three sons, four granddaughters, two grandsons, and one great grandson.  They are all aware of their diverse heritage and who their ancestors were.