Meeting and Events
Monthly meetings are held in the Meeting Hall of the York County History Center at 250 East Market Street, York, Pennsylvania, unless otherwise noted. The business portion of the meeting begins at 2:30 PM, followed by the program. IMPORTANT: COVID 19 Considerations The York County History Center reopened to the public on April 1, 2021, with limited reservations. In addition to limited in-person seating, our meetings will also be live-streamed online via Facebook and Zoom. To register for in-person attendance or Zoom registration, visit https://www.yorkhistorycenter.org/event/south-central-pennsylvania-genealogical-society To attend via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YorkCountyHistoryCenter/ Our upcoming meetings are scheduled as follows ... April 2, 2023
Researching Pennsylvania's Civil War Draft Records Presented by Jonathan R. Stayer, President, South Central Pennsylvania Genealogical Society Although thousands of men from Pennsylvania served in the Civil War, many others had no military service during that conflict. Some even purposely avoided service for religious or other reasons. Nevertheless, most males between the ages of 18 and 45 living in the Commonwealth between 1862-1865 were subject to conscription at some point. The resulting draft records can provide additional documentation of an ancestor’s life during that period. From a researcher who has been immersed in these records for almost forty years, learn about the implementation of the state and federal Civil War drafts and the records they produced. This program will review the available sources and provide suggestions for accessing them to uncover hidden details about your nineteenth-century ancestors. Retired from the Reference Section of the Pennsylvania State Archives, Jonathan Stayer is the president of the South Central Pennsylvania Genealogical Society, and he is a member of the boards of the York County History Center and of the Friends of Camp Security. A direct descendant of Civil War conscientious objector Adam Stayer of Bedford County, PA, he has been researching Pennsylvania’s Civil War conscientious objectors for almost forty years. In the spring of 2022, he received a Kreider Fellowship from the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College to study the questionable claim of the Brethren in Christ denomination that it registered as a Peace Church during the Civil War in response to the Union draft. More recently, the Sider Institute for Anabaptist, Pietist, Wesleyan Studies at Messiah University, Grantham, PA, awarded him a Sider Grant to continue his research on this topic. May 7, 2023
Tour of Saint Luke's Union Church Cemetery Presented by June Lloyd and Jean Robertson St. Luke Lutheran Church at New Bridgeville in Chanceford Township celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2022. As part of that celebration, Jean Robinson and June Lloyd put together a cemetery walk. The well-received tour is being repeated for the South Central Pennsylvania Genealogical Society. The tour focuses on the congregation’s long history and then looks into the lives of a sampling of the 125 Veterans known to be interred at St. Luke. The United States military service of these patriots spans eight wars, from the U.S. Revolution through Vietnam. Several of the stories are multi-generational. After 251 years, many present day people have ancestors that rest at St. Luke, on the tract named Icy Hill by the original land owner, Jacob Stehli. Please feel free to let your guides know about any you might have. Jean Glatfelter Robinson’s and June Burk Lloyd’s roots both go far back into the 18th century in York County. They both have been actively researching local and family history for many years. Jean is a long-time volunteer at the York County History Center Library and Archives and very active with the Casper Glattfelder Association. June is Librarian Emerita and current volunteer at the York County History Center Library and Archives and is involved with the William Henry and Margaret Eveler Burk Reunion. They got to know each other many years ago at a (What Else?) local history class and have been working together to help preserve and interpret our rich heritage ever since. |
PAST PROGRAMS ARCHIVE 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 |
June 4, 2023
Unearthing Camp Security
Presented by John Crawmer
Camp Security is America’s last surviving Revolutionary War prison camp. Its exact location was a
mystery until 2022 when archaeologists discovered the camp’s stockade. The presentation will cover the
importance of Camp Security, the techniques used by archaeologists to find the site, and recent
research.
John Crawmer is an archaeologist who has conducted research in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts,
Maryland, and Israel. He is the Lead Archaeologist of the Camp Security Archaeology Project in York, PA.
Unearthing Camp Security
Presented by John Crawmer
Camp Security is America’s last surviving Revolutionary War prison camp. Its exact location was a
mystery until 2022 when archaeologists discovered the camp’s stockade. The presentation will cover the
importance of Camp Security, the techniques used by archaeologists to find the site, and recent
research.
John Crawmer is an archaeologist who has conducted research in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts,
Maryland, and Israel. He is the Lead Archaeologist of the Camp Security Archaeology Project in York, PA.