Hopewell, NJ — April 5, 2020 — Having difficulty filling in some of the branches of your family tree? Are there some especially elusive ancestors? Joseph Klett, Executive Director of the New Jersey State Archives and President of the Hopewell Museum, might be able to help guide your research. On April 24, 2019, at 7:00 PM, Klett will discuss how DNA results from Ancestry.com have enabled him to trace challenging lineages and identify hitherto unknown ancestors. Klett will draw from case studies to show how DNA matches guided and redirected his own research into 18th- and 19th-century New Jersey families, leading to the discovery of new documentary sources. This deep dive into genealogical research will take place on Wednesday, April 24, 2019, at 7:00 PM, in the Hill Gallery at the Hopewell Museum, located at 28 East Broad Street, Hopewell, NJ 08525. 

Speaker Joseph Klett is exceptionally qualified to talk about utilizing cutting edge methods in genealogical searches. A genealogist since adolescence, he has traced direct ancestry in nearly all of New Jersey’s counties. He has served on the board of trustees of the Genealogical Society of New Jersey since 1987 and is a past editor of both its newsletter and journal. In 2015, he received the Donald Lines Jacobus Award of the American Society of Genealogists for his monograph, “Understanding New Jersey’s Geography in the Proprietary Period.” This was published as a special issue of The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey to commemorate New Jersey’s 350^th anniversary in 2014.

This program is free, but seating is limited and will be first come, first served. Please note that Route 518 is closed for bridge construction between Aunt Molly Road and King’s Path in Hopewell. Please find alternative travel routes and allow extra time for the trip.