The Colorado Chapter of Palatines to America is pleased that Michael Lapoco, DMV, has accepted our invitation to be our Fall seminar speaker, 7 October 2023. This hybrid seminar will be in-person at Hampden Hall
Englewood Civic Center
1000 Englewood Pkwy • 2nd Floor
Englewood, CO 80110
The Seminar will also be on Zoom.
Registration begins Aug. 1.
Mike will present four programs of interest to people researching their German families:
9:30 am -- set up program and attendees check in
10 - 11 am -- The German Immigrant Experience in the 18th Century.
11 - 11:15 -- break
11:15 - 12:15 -- How to Overcome Brick Wall, 19th and 20th Centuries.
12:15 - 1:30 lunch
1:30 - 2:30 -- Methods for Identifying the German Origins of American Immigrants.
2:30 - 2:45 break
2:45 - 3:45 -- Finding and Using German Church Records.
3:45 - 4 - wrap up, door prizes, and questions
Registration is $40.00 for PALAM/COPALAM members; $50.00 for non-members.
Early Bird discount of $5.00 for all registrations through August 31, 2023.
About Michael Lacopo
Dr. Michael D. Lacopo was born and raised in northern Indiana surrounded by extended family always willing to tell tall tales. Intrigued by his maternal family’s claim to be kinfolk of Abraham Lincoln, and his paternal family’s stories of murder and mayhem, he took to genealogical research in 1980 to substantiate these family stories.
Genealogical research as a hobby was in its infancy in the 1980s. Combing libraries, archives, cemeteries and courthouses as a teenager, Michael gained the skills needed to become a keen researcher. His first major challenge in the world of research was tackled by finding his adopted mother’s birthparents in 1982. You can read about this adventure at his blog at
Roots4U.blogspot.com with some engaging storytelling, plot twists and new findings!
Although a budding genealogist in the 1980s, Michael completed his doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1991, while still spending time honing his research skills. As befitting a doctor, Michael treats his genealogical research as he would medicine – carefully, methodically, and completely. Several genealogical journal articles and publications appeared along the way. In 2013, Michael retired from his medical career to pursue genealogical research full-time as a profession.
He has contributed to numerous periodicals and has helped numerous people in their quests to locate their relatives – living and dead. He appeared in USA Today in 2000 discussing genealogy and the proposed destruction of the federal census tabulated in that year. His national lecturing began in Sacramento, CA, at the National Genealogical Society’s national conference in 2004, and has continued with several local, state, national, and international conference speaking engagements to this present day.
Michael's interests and strengths include Mennonite research, German and Swiss research, especially as it pertains to the 18th century immigration to America, among many other topics. He makes many trips throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states chasing ancestors in primary repositories, and also devotes a considerable amount of time to European research, being proficient in reading German script. Having ancestors from many geographic locales as well as immigrants spanning the 17th century to the 20th century, Michael has a wide variety of proficiencies. He believes that as genealogists we should tell the tales of our ancestors and is a vocal proponent for learning the social history that interweaves our ancestors into the fabric of the past.
