Meeting and Events

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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
Use Zoom to watch the meetings live or watch later on the  SCPGS playlist of the YCHC You Tube channel.
Note: Facebook livestreaming of these meetings in no longer available. 
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​Our upcoming meetings are scheduled as follows ...

January 4, 2026
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, informal event has in the past led to some serendipity and mutual discoveries. 
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February 1, 2026
Mt. Pisgah Cemetery – An African American Cemetery in Wrightsville
Speakers Becky Anstine and Tina Charles

When and why was it formed? What member of the 6888 Division of WW II is buried
there? Ambrose Shief was a ranking lawyer in Washington, DC—what is his
connection to Mt. Pisgah? The Bares and the Bartons—Civil War vets and workers on
the Tidewater Canal? Dr. Jamison’s family came from Lancaster County—why are his
daughter and a son buried in the Indian Mission cemetery in Delaware? Why are there so many connections to Lancaster County? Who is the oldest person buried in the cemetery? Who was the woman who helped runaway slaves, fought Indians, knew General Custer, and was in Wrightsville when the Confederates attacked? Learn the answers at our February meeting!

Becky Anstine is a York County native and librarian.  She has been actively involved with genealogy and local African American history.  Becky has served on the SCPGS board for many years.  She is also a Henry James Young Award recipient.

Tina Charles is a lifelong York County resident and passionate genealogist who loves uncovering forgotten stories. She is the creator of Carving Out History, a storytelling blog dedicated to bringing the past to life through research, writing, and community connection. Tina has authored a couple local books and continues to explore the people, places, and moments that time almost forgot.
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March 1, 2026
​Using Estate Administration Records in Genealogical Research
Speaker Richard Konkel

This presentation will examine researching Wills, Renunciations, Administration Bonds, Citations, Estate Inventories, Vendue Lists, Administration Accounts, and Orphans' Court records.  The information found in these records as well as where to find them in archives and online will be discussed.

Richard Konkel is the vice president of the SCPGS. He is a native of York and is an attorney at law with the CGA Law Firm in York.  He is also a cellist in the York Symphony Orchestra.

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SAVE THESE DATES FOR FUTURE PROGRAM MEETINGS

August 30, 2026
October 4, 2026
November 1, 2026
January 3, 2027
February 7, 2027
March 7, 2027
April 4, 2027
May 2, 2027
June 13, 2027

​PAST PROGRAMS ARCHIVE
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November 2025 - A Tour of the Quaker Meeting House

August 2025 - Carnival of Grief:  Lincoln Funeral Train

June 2025 - When Peach Bottom Welsh quarried slate to make roofs that seem to last forever
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April 2025 - Farview State Hospital: Pennsylvania's Institution for the "Criminally Insane"

March 2025 - History and Genealogy of New Sweden

February 2025 - Veiled Chapters of The Hampton Plantation
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January 2025 - Show & Tell & Ask
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November 2024 - Not Your Typical Cemetery - Local Native American Burials
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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
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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
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August 2023 - Pennsylvania German Language Heritage

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

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

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

October 2022 - Indian Languages Influence in the Susquehanna Region
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August 2022 - Using Online Deeds in Family History Research
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June 2022 - Henry James Young Awards
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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
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Feb 2022 - PA’s Celtic Language Heritage

​Jan 2022 - The Architecture of the Dempwolfs
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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
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Mar 2021 - PA State Archives Moves Into the Future

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

Oct 2020 - Genealogical Adventures During the Pandemic

Nov 2020 - Using Oral History in Genealogical Research