Don Yoder - Religion and Genealogy: What You Need to Know about the Churches Your Emigrant Ancestors Belonged to. 

Dr. Don Yoder is Professor Emeritus of Folklife Studies and American Religion at the University of Pennsylvania.  He has, in his lengthy teaching career, produced many books, articles, and reviews analyzing the Pennsylvania Dutch culture.  He is a co-founder of the Pennsylvania Folklife Society and longtime editor of Pennsylvania Folklife.  His genealogical publications include Pennsylvania German Immigrants, 1709-1786 and Rhineland Emigrants.

The Pennsylvania Dutch country has always been a “crazy quilt” of diverse religious patterns — churches, sects, even monastic institutions like the Ephrata Cloister and the Harmony Society.  The address will survey the religious patterns resulting from the Protestant Reformation in Europe and how these were planted and also changed in America.  Resources available for tracing your families to these European traditions will be presented pointing to European and American archives, research libraries, historical societies, and private collections. 

Rosalind Beiler - Purchasing Property in Pennsylvania: The Challenge of Securing Land for German-speaking Immigrants. 

Dr. Rosalind J. Beiler is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of History at the University of Central Florida.  She is the author of Immigrant and Entrepreneur: The Atlantic World of Caspar Wistar, 1650-1750 and other articles about the world of seventeenth and eighteenth-century German-speaking immigrants to the British colonies.

German-speaking immigrants faced a series of challenges in their attempts to purchase property in eighteenth-century Pennsylvania.  From their legal status in the British Empire, to the contest for land between the Delaware Indians, Pennsylvania’s proprietors and Marylanders, to high prices — the new comers struggled to secure their legacies for their children.  This presentation explores such issues as what land was available in Pennsylvania, the process for purchasing it, and the steps needed to secure legal title for passing it on to their children.

Cynthia Falk  - Material Culture as a Key to Identity: What Objects Can Tell Us about Ourselves and Our Ancestors. 

Dr. Cynthia G. Falk is an Associate Professor at the Cooperstown Graduate Program, a master’s degree program in museum studies jointly sponsored by the State University of New York at Oneonta and the New York Historical Association.  Dr. Falk is the author of Architecture and Artifacts of the Pennsylvania Germans: Constructing Identity in Early America.

Focusing on the eighteenth century, Dr. Falk’s presentation will address the various meanings attached to houses and household goods by their owners and others.  She will discuss the types of buildings and objects associated specifically with people of German descent.  She will also consider the roles of wealth, social standing, and religious affiliation in the decisions eighteenth century Pennsylvania Germans made about their residences and furnishings.  This well-illustrated talk will demonstrate how, at the time of the country’s founding, people used everyday objects to convey messages about themselves, their backgrounds, and their hopes for the future.