Deep Roots: Using DNA to Unlock Your Family’s Ancient Past

Saturday, April 21, 2012, 8:30 AM –4:30 PM
Lancaster Host Resort & Conference Center

DNA—Deoxyribonucleic Acid—is a chemical found in the cells of every living organism on earth. It acts like a chemical blueprint, telling those cells how to reproduce. Human DNA is 99.9% identical from person to person. But, after testing hundreds of thousands of individuals, scientists can trace tiny variations in human DNA to particular places and people groups around the world. Now there’s no need to give up on your family history when the paper trail ends. The record is inside your body!

For over thirty years, the Lancaster Family History Conference has been a touchstone for genealogists and family historians. This year's event includes a keynote address by scientist Darvin L. Martin and more than a dozen seminars from leading researchers:

• What is DNA and Why Is It Useful for Family History?—Darvin L. Martin
• Genealogical Resources at the Pennsylvania State Archives—Jonathan R. Stayer
• Count Me In! Using the U.S. Federal Census—James C. Landis
• Pennsylvania’s Early Church Registers—John T. Humphrey
• Comparing Your DNA to Publicly Available Genetic Databases—Darvin L. Martin
• Beginning the Genealogical Research—Jane L. S. Davidson
• Star-Spangled Ancestors: Looking for Patriots from the War of 1812—James C. Landis
• Sources for German Resources that Are Underutilized, Underappreciated and Underused—John T. Humphrey
• Deep Ancestry: Walk With Your Ancestors Back Through Time—Darvin L. Martin
• The Ferree & LeFevre Families: The Early Years—Dr. Charles Heisterkamp III
• Your Ancestors’ Germany: Microstates and Microbreweries—James M. Beidler
• Making Sense out of Scots-Irish Genealogy—Peter S. Seibert
• Amish and Old Order Mennonite Genetics—Dr. Eric Puffenberger
• The Huguenot Diaspora—Dr. Charles Heisterkamp III
• Duplicate Documents that Are Not the Same—James M. Beidler
• Hispanic Genealogy for Beginners—Charles Fourquet

$95 LMHS members; $110 for nonmembers. More than half a dozen field trips, roundtable discussions and research opportunities precede the conference. For more information, download the full Lancaster Family History Conference brochure below, or request a print copy at (717) 393-9745 or .

To register

Return the registration form in the Lancaster Family History Conference brochure by April 15. Download the full brochure below, or request a print copy at (717) 393-9745 or .

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