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 ... December 2022
No meeting January 8, 2023
"Show & Tell & Ask" This meeting will provide an opportunity for “education and enlightenment” with a program of sharing research findings and seeking assistance with research roadblocks. Come ready to talk about your latest genealogical discoveries or about some new, exciting source of information upon which you stumbled. Bring your research questions and problems to see if anyone in the group can offer helpful suggestions. Possibly you have an old family photograph or treasured heirloom that has an unusual story associated with it. Share that story with us! We hope that you will join us for an interesting and entertaining afternoon! February 5, 2023
African American Genealogy - Strategies, Tips, and Resources Presented by Rodney Barnet This program will focus on the unique challenges that African American researchers face in their genealogical research. Many techniques are the same for all researchers, but there are many more obstacles presented to the African American researcher because of their unique and often painful place in American history. There are some topics that are difficult to talk about but must be addressed in order to successfully research this area of genealogy. Whether you are a beginner or a more advanced researcher, there will be something for everyone. This presentation will also go into some more in-depth topics including DNA analysis and software tools that are also available. Rodney Barnett has been researching his family for over 20 years. Born in Washington DC, he was raised in the Prince George's county, Maryland. Most of his research revolves around slavery in Virginia and Alabama. His travels include many trips to courthouses, cemeteries, family land, conferences, libraries, and other research facilities. Rodney has given many presentations of the subject of African American genealogy. March 5, 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. |
PAST PROGRAMS ARCHIVE 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 |
April 2, 2023
Pennsylvania Prison Records
Presented by Tyler Stump of the Pennsylvania State Archives
Details pending
Pennsylvania Prison Records
Presented by Tyler Stump of the Pennsylvania State Archives
Details pending
May 7, 2023
Tour of Saint Luke's Union Church Cemetery
Presented by June Lloyd and Jean Robertson
Details pending
Tour of Saint Luke's Union Church Cemetery
Presented by June Lloyd and Jean Robertson
Details pending
June 11, 2023
To be determined
To be determined