The Lycoming County Genealogical Society and the Lycoming County Historical Society were pleased to present John P. Deeben, of the National Archives, on Saturday, May 19. A native of Sunbury, John is a Genealogy Archives Specialist with the Research Support Branch (RC-DC) at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. He has lectured widely and has written a number of finding aids and magazine articles outlining the potential usefulness of the records of the National Archives for amateur and professional genealogists. He has spoken at conferences of the National Genealogical Society, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the National Institute on Genealogical Research, and the National War of 1812 symposium.
Genealogy is, of course, one of the most popular past-times with websites such as ancestry.com and familysearch.org spurring the interest. The National Archives has recently released the 1940 Federal Census. In relation to the release of the Census, the Foundation for the National Archives will be publishing the Genealogy Tool Kit: Getting Started on Your Family History at the National Archives, written by John Deeben.