Genealogical Gems

I am so excited! The Lancaster Family History Conference is being held today, Friday 24 April and Saturday, 25 April in Lancaster County … and I am finally able to go!   Today I am attending an afternoon session: Behind the Scenes at the Genealogy Roadshow with D. Joshua Taylor. When the show came to Philly, I actually applied (yes, you have to apply to be on the show) but never heard from them. Of the various shows on television at the moment, I prefer this one because it is every day people, not stars who can manipulate the findings.   The two hour session, held at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, will cover the methodology used to verify or disprove family stories and claims. If I had been chosen, I had asked for help with my Still line.    My 4 th great grandmother, Margaret Still, has always been difficult. I was fortunate enough to become addicted to genealogy while my great Aunt Helen was still alive. She was – at that time –...

Today is Lancaster County's Extra Ordinary Give. This is a day on which area non-profits participate in a 24 hours online marathon giving marathon sponsored by the Lancaster County Community Foundation. Many historical societies and venues are included today! The Lancaster Historical Society (which now goes by LancasterHistory.org) focuses on the history of the entire county and maintains Wheatland, home of President James Buchanan. Buchanan is the only president from Pennsylvania and the only bachelor president. The Lititz Historical Foundation is also participating today. The Foundation focuses on the history of the Lititz area. The Foundation also maintains the Lititz Museum and the Johannes Mueller House. The Lititz area received her first settlers - the Moravians - as early as the 1740s.  The Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society preserves the culture of Anabaptist communities connected to Lancaster County. The Conestoga Area Historical Society aims t...

This April the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society (LMHS) will host the 35th Annual Family History Conference . The Keynote Address this year is titled "Family History Through Photographs Daguerreotypes to Digital." Seminars this year includes: Identifying and Dating Photographs —Maureen Taylor Finding Your Ancestors Through DNA - Which Test is Beset for Me? —Darvin L. Martin Getting the Most from Ancestry.com —Sabrina Petersen, Ancestry.com Beginner's Luck - A Primer for the Beginning Genealogist —James C. Landis Genealogical CLues in Nineteenth Century Photographs —Maureen Taylor What DNA Can Reveal about Our Health —Darvin L. Martin How to Find the Unfindable —Sabrina Petersen, Ancestrycom Philadelphia Research: Repositories and Records —James M. Beidler House History: Researching a Historic Home at the Lancaster County Archives —John F. Bennawit, jr. The Last Muster: The Revolutiona...

The Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society (LMHS) will hold an auction of rare and used books next Friday, 12 April. Six times a year the LMHS auctions consigned or donated rare, out-of-print and used books. The books are on display several weeks before each sale at the Society.  Catalogs appear free on the Society's website . They are also available in hard copy for a small subscription fee. Online bids and credit cards are accepted. Call 717- 393-9745 or e-mail usedbooks@lmhs.​org. The Society is located on Route 30 (Lincoln Highway), just east of Lancaster. It is across the street from Tanger Outlets. Future auctions are scheduled for 14 June, 13 September, 11 October and 13 December. All the dates are Fridays. All the auctions are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.