Meeting and Events

​
​ *** Note new meeting location!***
Monthly meetings are held in the Meeting Room of the new York County History Center facility at 121 N. Pershing Avenue, York, Pennsylvania, unless otherwise noted. Free parking available behind the building. Meetings are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.

The business portion of the meeting begins at 2:30 PM, followed by the program.

​To register for in-person attendance or Zoom registration, visit
 https://www.yorkhistorycenter.org/event/south-central-pennsylvania-genealogical-society
To attend via Facebook:   
Note: Facebook livestreaming of these meetings in no longer available. 
Use Zoom to watch the meetings live or watch later on the  SCPGS playlist of the YCHC You Tube channel.

​
​Our upcoming meetings are scheduled as follows ...

January 5, 2025, 2:30 p.m.
Show and Tell and Ask

Start the New Year with entertaining or enlightening our SCPGS audience by sharing an intriguing family find or story which has special meaning for you. Maybe it’s a memorable photo of an ancestor, or a trinket, or garment. Maybe it’s a request for assistance or a recent discovery that created a hole in your Brick Wall. On any account,  this relaxed and informal event has in the past led to some serendipity and mutual discoveries.

​​ February 2, 2025, 2:30 p.m. 
Veiled Chapters of The Hampton Plantation
by Neicy DeShields-Moulton

"Veiled Chapters of The Hampton Plantation" is more than just a presentation it is a history lesson; it is a journey of discovery, empathy, and reconciliation. By confronting the obscured narratives right in our backyards, Neicy seeks to deepen our understanding of the complexities of our shared heritage. She hopes to cultivate interest in genealogy among young people and communities, ensuring that these hidden chapters of history are finally brought to light.

About Neicy: Neicy DeShields-Moulton is a retired Computer Hardware Engineer with over 27 years of experience in genealogy. As a dedicated member of the African
American Historical Society of Lancaster, PA, she also serves as a valued board member at The York County History Center and Museum in York, PA. 

Beyond her professional achievements, Neicy is deeply passionate about genealogy and family history. She has delivered engaging presentations at various organizations and educational institutions across South Central Pennsylvania and Maryland. Neicy actively contributes to significant projects such as the "Emancipation Across Generations" initiative, where she is part of the heritage guide team. She has also collaborated with Hampton Plantation on the "Tracing Lives Through Slavery: Engaging Hallowed Ground" project and currently serves as a consultant on other related projects.

​​ March 2, 2025, 2:30 p.m. 
History and Genealogy of New Sweden
by Richard K. Konkel, Attorney
​
Pennsylvania has often been called the most non-English of the original 13 Colonies.  The first European settlers in what is now Pennsylvania, Delaware, and parts of New Jersey and Maryland were not English, but Swedes and Finns who established the Swedish Colony of New Sweden which existed from 1638 until 1655 when it was taken over by the Dutch, and then eventually the English.  This small settlement of Swedish pioneers remained and flourished in the lower Delaware River valley, leaving a large number of descendants in the mid-Atlantic region and beyond.

About the speaker: SCPGS Vice President Richard Konkel counts himself as a descendant of some of the original settlers of New Sweden.  Richard Konkel is a native of York and has been an attorney here for nearly thirty years.  He has been a member of the SCPGS for 40 years.  He does much research on ancestors in Germany and America.  He practices law at the CGA Law Firm and plays cello in the York Symphony Orchestra.  

​​ April 6, 2025, 2:30 p.m. 
Fairview State Hospital: Pennsylvania's Institution for the "Criminally Insane"
by Tyler Stump, Archivist at the Pennsylvania State Archives

Join archivist Tyler Stump in learning about this infamous institution and the records at the Pennsylvania State Archives that document the history of people who were incarcerated there. Fairview State Hospital was built in 1912 as an institution for Pennsylvania’s “criminally insane” residents. For nearly a century, the Wayne County facility was home to people from all over PA who were transferred there from other state prisons or hospitals or had been declared insane by the court system. Many people from South Central PA passed through its doors.

SAVE THE DATES FOR THESE FUTURE MEETINGS!
May 4, 2025
June 8, 2025
​

​PAST PROGRAMS ARCHIVE
​
November 2024 - Not Your Typical Cemetery - Local Native American Burials
​
October 2024 - Tour of the new PA State Archives

August 2024 - A Visit to YCHC’s New Reading & Research Room

May 2024 - A Visit to Conewago Chapel, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

April 2024 - Research at the New Pennsylvania State Archives Building

March 2024 - How to Find a Needle in a Haystack Without Even Looking
​
February 2024 - Tracking the Migration of Black Families

​January 2024 - Show & Tell

November 2023 - Catharine Ziegler and Her Defense after Being Accused of Witchcraft in 1829
in York County

​October 2023 - The 1863 Pennsylvania Campaign
​
August 2023 - Pennsylvania German Language Heritage

June 2023 - Unearthing Camp Security
​
​May 2023 - Tour of Saint Luke's Union Church Cemetery
​ 
April 2023 - Researching PA Civil War Draft Records

March 2023 - Pennsylvania Prison Records
​
February 2023 - African American Genealogy

January 2023  - Show & Tell & Ask
​
​November 2022  - Revisiting Online Research of German Ancestors

October 2022 - Indian Languages Influence in the Susquehanna Region
​
August 2022 - Using Online Deeds in Family History Research
​
June 2022 - Henry James Young Awards
​
May 2022 - Researching the History of Institutionalized People in Pennsylvania

​Apr 2022 - The Challenges Facing the Continental Congress in York

Mar 2022 - 18th Century Gunsmithing in Eastern PA
​
Feb 2022 - PA’s Celtic Language Heritage

​Jan 2022 - The Architecture of the Dempwolfs
​
Nov 2021 - The Churches and Chaplains of York County During the Civil War

​Oct 2021 - Genealogical Resources of the York County History Center’s Library and Archives

​Aug 2021 - Pennsylvania State Archives’ Online Resources

Jun 2021 -History of the Henry James Young Award

May 2021 - MA & PA Railroad  Heritage Village visit

​Apr 2021 - Cumberland County Records
​​
Mar 2021 - PA State Archives Moves Into the Future

Feb 2021 - York County Coroner's Office
​
Aug 2020 - Using Online Newspaper Collections in Research

Oct 2020 - Genealogical Adventures During the Pandemic

Nov 2020 - Using Oral History in Genealogical Research