Joining and Renewing Membership Questions

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Go to the Sign In page and click on Forgot Your Password? Or click on this link to reset it right now.

Enter in either the username or email associated with your account and an email will be sent to you containing a link to reset your password.

If a few minutes have passed and you have not received an email check your Junk or Spam filters. If you still do not see the email, contact website@wpgs.org with your membership details.

You do not need a PayPal account to pay by credit card. Instead, follow these steps to pay through PayPal as a guest:

Click on the Renew button and then select PayPal as your payment option and then click Renew Subscription button.

You will be directed to this screen:

Click on Pay with Debit or Credit Card.

Enter your email address and click on Continue to Payment. You will be brought to this screen:

Fill out this information and scroll down to the bottom of the page

Untoggle Save Info & create your PayPal account. Only then will you see the option to proceed as guest as shown below:

Then click Continue as Guest to complete your payment.

Once you have signed up for a joint membership, log in to your account and click on Account at the top right of the page (or click this link to go directly to the accounts page). Under the Membership tab, you will see the option to Manage Group.

On the next screen, write the email address of the second member in the Email(s) to invite box and then press Invite Members and enter in a Group Name (like a family name).

The secondary member will be sent an email where they can add their username and member details.

Note: As of June 2024 a security update has added an extra step to our renewal process. Please follow these steps to renew.

Sign into your account by clicking here. If your membership is within 60 days of expiration or has already expired, you will see the option to renew under the main navigation bar as seen here:

On the next page, first, click on your preferred payment method (by check or PayPal), then, click on Renew Subscription.

If paying by PayPal complete your transaction on the PayPal site.

Once that is completed you will be returned to your WPGS account page. You MUST click Complete Payment to finish your renewal.

If your membership status is listed as Pending and you do not see the “Confirm Payment” button, you can go back to your account page and select “Renew” again. Be sure to click “Confirm Payment” as soon as you return to your account page from PayPal.

Why did I receive an email titled “Your latest payment to Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society has failed,”?
If you do not press the “Confirm Payment” your account is marked as pending. After several days of pending the payment is marked as failed. If this happens to you, you can still view the renew button and renew at any time. Your PayPal account is NOT charged until you press “Confirm Payment.” If your account is marked as either Pending or Failed, your PayPal account has not yet been charged.

If you experience any issues or have any questions, please email: website@wpgs.org

If sending a check, please mail them to:

Membership
Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4007

If your joint membership is set to expire at the end of the membership year, you must log in to the “Primary” user account to renew your joint membership. Once you are logged in you should see the option to renew under the main site navigation or if you click on the Account page.

If you were a member using our previous website, but your membership had expired before 2021, you will need to Join again and reenter your membership details, by going to our “Join” page.

Once you have completed that step, email membership@wpgs.org so that we can associate your old member number with your new online account.

There are several reasons why you do not see the option to renew your account:

  • You already renewed your account for this membership year and it is not expired or within 60 days of expiring.
  • You set your account up to Auto-Renew last year and it will renew when your current membership expires (June 30th).
  • You are the secondary member on a Joint account. To renew a Joint Membership the primary person must log in and renew online.

If you have specific questions about navigating the website please email website@wpgs.org or your membership please contact membership@wpgs.org.

Login to your WPGS account and then click on this link: http://wpgs.org/membership/member/

On the Membership tab, scroll to the bottom, and it will say, “You are logged in as…” followed by your WPGS User Name.

Members paying by PayPal MUST click the “Confirm Payment” button to complete their membership purchase or renewal. You will be sent back to the registration page after completing payment information in PayPal. Click the button shown here to complete your purchase:


Shop Questions

The Online Book Store now makes these books accessible at reasonable prices and with FREE SHIPPING. Most used books will have library identification markings, but they were in a non-circulating library, so other than that, most offerings are in very good condition. If they are not, it will be noted in the description. See the List By Category for a comprehensive listing of the available volumes. Members receive a discount on all volumes priced over $15. If ordering by mail only, download and complete the Mail Order Form.

If you are a WPGS member, remember to log in as a member first to take advantage of all discounts. Ordering and payment for all WPGS Books can be done through the Book Store by credit card or bank account through PayPal, or if payment is to be made by check, choose Mail Order. This will remove the volumes from our inventory, and shipment will be made when payment is received, whether online or by mail. Shipping is now FREE on all book sales. If you are a Pennsylvania resident, the 7% PA sales tax will be added automatically, depending on your address. Do not forget to add the 7% sales tax if ordering by mail.

All transactions are processed on a first-come, first-served basis, based on the receipt of payment, then by the postmark date, and ALL SALES ARE FINAL. As this is an all-volunteer effort and we are using USPS Media Mail for shipping, please allow at least two (2) weeks for order fulfillment. Proceeds from the sale of all publications go to the General Fund to provide additional services to our members. Don’t forget to check the website often, as new books are added periodically to the bookstore.

WPGS PUBLICATIONS

In the days before internet online sharing, WPGS published 42 record indexes, compilations, documents, newspaper data, statistics, etc., that were relevant to the Western Pennsylvania region. WPGS is proud of these publications, which brought to light many lesser-known regional resources. From historic newspaper items to government records to maps, you’ll find a wealth of information in these record abstracts and finding aids. Over half of these publications are out of print and no longer available, but 19 are still in print and can be ordered online or by mail. Some are also available for digital download.

USED BOOKS

The WPGS Library is housed in the Pennsylvania Department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main Branch, in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The collection does not circulate. Our thousands of volumes focus on Western Pennsylvania records yet may extend to nearby Ohio and West Virginia areas. Plus, we get many donated items, most of which are irrelevant to the 26 counties of Western Pennsylvania. We sort through our collection each year and weed out duplicates, older editions of current publications, outdated items, and volumes not focused on Western Pennsylvania. Previously, we offered these volumes for sale at our annual meeting in June. However, this sale excluded many members and non-members who could not attend that in-person meeting. Hence, we established our online store.

DIGITAL PUBLICATIONS DOWNLOADS

There are now 24 WPGS-produced publications available for digital download. Go to Digital Materials, place your order with a credit card through PayPal, and then you can download your selected volume. No mail orders are accepted for digital downloads.

As a member, you can also download archived copies of the WPGS Quarterly publication listed under Research | WPGS Quarterlies. All volumes have indexes listed here by category, location, and date.

Visit our Library Research Services page to learn more about every service we offer.

The Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society is an all-volunteer organization, but we try our best to answer research questions and archives requests as promptly as possible. WPGS will research for members or non-members, but members do receive preferential treatment. Turnaround time for most requests is 2-4 weeks.

The WPGS Library is staffed by volunteers who are available to assist patrons with limited genealogical research within the scope of the WPGS collection and resources. Such research is intended to complement, but not replace, the services of a professional genealogist. It is intended to complement the research resources available through our colleagues at the Pennsylvania Department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

Digital downloads will be emailed to you immediately.

Yes, all items have a significant discount for members. Please sign in to see the member price. If you are not a member, you can join at any time and instantly receive our discounted price.

Shipping is now FREE on all Book Sale orders!

A 7% Pennsylvania sales tax is collected from Pennsylvania residents on all online transactions, recorded by your Pennsylvania zipcode. For mail orders, you must remit the 7% tax with your order.

Donations

WPGS is NOT an archive, and we do not have the resources to accept your entire collection. We have a non-circulating library within the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Main Branch, and we accept printed and sourced family histories that reference individuals and families that have resided in the 26 counties of Western Pennsylvania.

However, we cannot accept all related resources and documents used to compile these histories. Although our library accepts book donations relating to Western Pennsylvania research, whether individual books or entire collections, we ask that an inventory of your donation be submitted beforehand so that we can review that list and compare it with our needs and guidelines. We do accept books to be dispensed through the Used Book Store, but they must also be pre-approved.

Please refer to the WPGS Library Donation Policy and Library Donations Form and contact librarian@wpgs.org for additional information.

You can donate online by clicking here.