February 21, 2026
“Researching Cemetery and Funeral Home Records: Looking for the Dead! “
Deborah A. Abbott, PhD, is a professional genealogist specializing in genealogical methodology, manuscript collections, and African American family research. She is a member of the Cuyahoga County (OH) Archives Commission, the Lakeview Cemetery Community Outreach Committee (Cleveland, OH), past president of the African American Genealogical Society, Cleveland, Ohio, and a retired professor
of Counseling from Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. She holds both the BS and MEd degrees from Tuskegee University and the PhD degree from Kent State University.
Dr. Abbott is coordinator of the African American Track at both the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) in Athens, Georgia, and the GRIP Genealogy Institute of the National Genealogical Society. She teaches at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and the Texas Institute of Genealogical Research (TIGR).
Dr. Abbott has articles published in the Ohio Genealogy News and FamilyTree magazines. She can be found teaching African American genealogy in a segment entitled “Needles & Threads” on Ancestry Academy, an educational video course for Ancestry.com. Dr. Abbott also coordinates the “Genealogy and Family History Clinic” for the Cleveland Public Library.
She is a member of the National Genealogical Society (NGS), the Association of Professional Genealogist (APG) and the Genealogical Speakers Guild (GSG). A Cleveland, Ohio native, Dr. Abbott is a life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the Tuskegee University National Alumni Association, and Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland.