Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society is one of Pennsylvania's best genealogical libraries. Because many people—both Mennonite and non-Mennonite—have Pennsylvania connections, the library and archives are used by researchers across the U.S and Canada.

Trace your family history through 3,000 published genealogies, 2,500 cemetery transcriptions, Lancaster County court and tax records, access to Ancestry.com, a one-of-a-kind card file with data on hundreds of thousands of families and unique online databases containing more than 190,000 additional names.

Deep Roots—Using DNA to Unlock
Your Family’s Ancient Past
Dig into your family history at the 33rd annual Lancaster Family History Conference, Saturday, April 21, 8:30 AM–4:30 PM at the Lancaster Host Resort and Conference Center. Keynote address by scientist Darvin L. Martin; more than a dozen seminars by leading researchers; plus additional classes, field trips and research opportunities. Registration due April 15.

All of the Society's obituary scrapbooks are now accessible online. Thanks to our diligent volunteers, scrapbooks from 1902 to 2005 are open to LMHS members.

The Society has added two large family history databases to its online resources for members.

•  The Varden Leasa Genealogical Database contains more than 100,000 names compiled by Kenneth Varden Leasa, a former Society researcher and Pennsylvania German dialect instructor. Includes many Lancaster County Mennonite families.

•  The LMHS Genealogical Database contains an additional 93,000 names culled from obituaries in Lancaster newspapers and genealogical articles in the Society’s Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage magazine.

If you are a member and would like access to online resources, please send an email to Peggy Erb: . To become a member, call (717) 393-9745.

Ancestry.com is the world’s largest online family history collection. Access is restricted to persons at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. 

• Census & Voter Lists
• Birth, Marriage & Death Certificates
• Military Records
• Immigration & Travel Documents
• Family Trees 
• Newspapers & Publications 
• Schools, Directories & Church Histories 
• Stories, Memoirs & Personal Histories 
• Tax, Criminal and Land Records and Wills
• Reference Books, Dictionaries & Almanacs 
• Pictures 
• Maps, Atlases & Gazetteers

In response to Darvin Martin's recent article in Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage, an online forum has been set up for the discussion of DNA research as it relates to Mennonite family history. Our hope is that this discussion forum will become a place to discuss many topics of interest to the Historical Society and our constituents but for the present the discussions will be limited to the subject of DNA research.

When you first visit the discussion board, you likely will see a message warning that there is a problem with the website's security certificate. Please be assured that you can safely continue to the website. To avoid the problem we recommend using Mozilla Firefox as your browser. Please contact with any concerns or problems you may encounter.

Volunteers John Kraft and Jean Weaver (above) discovered two rare public notices in a collection of Society founder Ira D. Landis that his children donated earlier this year. One is the only surviving German & English version of a 1797 plea by Edward Hand for Lancaster residents to send food to alleviate a yellow-fever epidemic in Philadelphia. The other is a unique appeal for Lancaster County's Plain sects to vote against Democratic-Republican candidate Thomas Jefferson in the 1800 presidential election. Both documents are reproduced and transcribed in the October issue of Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage magazine. Click here to read the complete article in the Lancaster news.

The Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies announces a call for papers for a June 2012 study conference to commemorate the 300th birthday of Alexander Mack, Jr., an important Brethren leader. Proposals, now due February 17, should include a title for the paper, a one-page abstract of 200-300 words, and a one-page resume of the presenter. E-mail Jeff Bach, Director of the Young Center, at bachjetown.edu.

Remember Valentine Metzler's arrival in the New World in 1738. June 14 & 15, 2013, Metzler Mennonite Church and Jacob Metzler homestead, Lancaster, Pa. Send genealogical information to . For additional information or to assist with this event, contact .

In July 2010, news anchor Kim Lemon discovered her family history in this three-part series on WGAL Channel 8. It remains an inspiring introduction to Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society and Lancaster Roots.

Saturday, February 4, 7 PM
Neffsville Mennonite Church

Join celebrated Chicago singer-songwriter Chuck Neufeld, folk musician Frances Miller, the Men’s Ensemble from Mennonite Heritage Chorale and Vietnamese Mennonite Choir (Philadelphia) for an inspiring evening of diverse music. Tickets $20 in advance. Call (717) 393-9745 or e-mail lmhslmhs.org.

Friday, February 10, 6:30–8:30 PM

The Historical Society hosts six auctions per year of consigned or donated rare, out-of-print and used books, usually from 6:30–8:30 PM on the second Friday evening of alternating months. Books are displayed at the Society several weeks before each sale. Catalogs are available for download here or by mail for a small subscription fee. Online bids and credit cards are accepted. For complete guidelines, click here.

Lancaster Roots is the combined programming of Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society and the 1719 Hans Herr House & Museum. For a complete list of events, go to www.LancasterRoots.org

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