John T. Humphrey, born 16 April 1948 in Penn Argyl, Pennsylvania, died on 12 August 2012 in Washington, D.C. John Humphrey’s most recognized contribution to the field was his Pennsylvania Births series of books that transcribed birth and baptism records from more than a dozen Pennsylvania counties. But more significantly, John had a passion for sharing his knowledge with others in the community. The evidence is his work as the education manager for the National Genealogical Society, his many lectures and articles, and the many years he served as a board member and president of the Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society.
John excelled also at sharing his extensive knowledge through his speaking engagements. He attended his first NGS conference in 1990 in Arlington, Virginia, and in just three short years he became a presenter at the 1993 NGS Baltimore conference, teaching others skills to improve their research. John quickly was in demand as a speaker on German and Pennsylvania topics at local, state, national, and international venues. He became an expert in reading old German script, in part by traveling to Germany and taking a course to improve his skills.
John served as president of the Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society and as vice president of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. In 2008, the German Embassy asked him to give the keynote address on Germans and their contributions to America at the 400th Anniversary Celebration in Williamsburg, Virginia. This was the same year he became a BCG associate as a Certified Genealogist ® (CG). Two years later, he was honored to be invited to Germany to give a presentation on researching Germans in America. In 2011 he received rave reviews when he taught the first-ever German course at Samford’s Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research.
Whether doing the grunt work of compiling his multivolume Pennsylvania Births series; or making sense of the details in his Understanding and Using Baptismal Records; or unearthing the ancestor charts of Nazi SS officers from Captured German Records housed in the National Archives—John T. Humphrey was up to the challenge of performing research and interpretation to genealogical standards. All who heard his lectures, read his books and articles, or participated in the NGS activities John initiated benefited from his genealogical knowledge and skills.