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Welcome!
Since 1959, the Maryland Genealogical Society has been promoting genealogical study and research. Through our publications, programs, resources, and outreach, the Society can help you explore your family history.
And we hope that you'll follow us on Facebook for timely news and information.
2024 MGS Fall Seminar
 Location, Location, Location: The Value of Place-Based Research
Join us in person or online for four great presentations on place-based research. If you can join us in person, we’ll have a continental breakfast, buffet lunch, snacks and drinks, genealogy book sales, door prizes, and great genealogy friends.
If you can’t join us in person, you can register and view the presentations on Zoom. As in the past, we plan to make the presentations available to all registrants for a time after the event.
When: Saturday, November 2, 2024
Time: Registration and Continental Breakfast at 8:30 am, program at 9:15 am. Ends at 3:30 pm.
Where: Maritime Conference Center
692 Maritme Boulevard
Linthicum Heights, MD 21090
(in-person session in Deck A, Building 2, South Hotel Tower)
The focus will be on researching the places where your ancestors lived, worked and maybe fought. Great resources to learn more information about your ancestors and their lives, and how to incorporate them into your family history. Summaries of the presentations are below.
Cost:
Members In-Person: $60 Non-members In-Person: $70
Members Online: $40 Non-members Online: $50
Registration Info
Members: First be sure you log in as a member. Then click here to login and register at the member price.
Nonmembers: Register online using PayPal or a credit card, click on the "Add to Cart" button below.
Here are the summaries for the Fall Sessions. All of them include something for genealogists at every level:
Place-Based Research - Sandy Quick - Refresh your investigative approach, break through those brick walls, and defeat writer's block by using "Place" as the focus of your research, instead of "Person." We'll discuss planning, fieldwork, technology, and many on-line resources, as well as an overview of the "One-Place Study" approach.
Genealogy Gems in the Monuments, Memorials, and National Parks of Maryland - Sandy Quick - The National Park Service is the guardian of our Nation's history, preserved in Parks, Trails, Monuments, Memorials, and other Historic Sites. This presentation digs deep into the rich historical resources of the NPS - both at site and on-line.
Treasures from the National Register of Historic Places - Sandy Quick - The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) archives are a rich source of genealogical data, encompassing directories, photographs, maps, and correspondence involving residents. If you assume that your city, town, or building isn't a recognized historic landmark and thus lacks records, you may want to reconsider.
Using Maps and Geographic Tools for Genealogical Research - Heather O'Hara - Learn how the presenter uses maps to trace where ancestors lived, what was around them (including finding other relatives who lived nearby), where the place is today and what it looks like, and how to document the information for your family history.
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Join Us at the Next MGS Virtual Meetup!
 Our next virtual member meetup is happening via Zoom on Wednesday, November 13, from 7-9pm EST and our focus will be Research Help.
Board members will be leading breakout rooms answering general questions, doing lookups on subscription sites, providing help with German research and translation, leading a discussion on AI & genealogy, and assisting with brick wall brainstorming.
Meetups are free and only open to MGS members. To register, click here to sign in as a member, then go to the "MGS Virtual Meetup" link on the lefthand dropdown menu under Members Only.
We look forward to providing research support to our members, so we hope to see you there!
"Finding Your Roots: The Where and When" Webinars
 The Maryland Genealogical Society is pleased to once again partner with Maryland Public Television (MPT) to offer a new beginner-to-intermediate genealogy webinar series. Finding Your Roots: The Where and When will include four (4) two-hour sessions that offer a deep dive into online records that locate our ancestors in time and place. We’ll look at how to find and get the most out of vital records (birth, marriage, and death), census records, church and cemetery records, and directories and local histories. In addition, we’ll explore how to find substitute records when vital and census records don’t exist. Sessions will be held at 7:00pm ET on September 11, September 25, October 9, and October 23.
Sessions include:
- Finding and Using Vital Records—and What to do When They Don’t Exist
- Church and Cemetery Records—More Ways to Locate Our Ancestors’ Vitals
and Locations
- Finding and Using Federal, State, and Special Censuses—and What to do
When They Don’t Exist
- Directories and Local Histories—Even More Ways to Find Our Ancestors’ Vitals
and Locations
Registrants will also receive a one-year introductory membership to the Maryland Genealogical Society (not applicable to current MGS members) and a one-year MPT Passport membership or membership extension. You can register on the MPT registration page.
The cost of the series is $100.00. Each session will feature a combination of lecture, small and large group discussion, question and answer time, and a homework assignment relating to your family search. Handouts will be provided for each session. The webinars will be recorded.
The workshop series will be led by nationally known speaker Annette Burke Lyttle, who has been the presenter for several previous MGS/MPT workshop series. She holds the Certified Genealogist® credential and owns Heritage Detective, LLC, providing professional genealogical services in research, education, and writing. Her genealogical education has included the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh, the British Institute, the ProGen Study Group, and the National Genealogical Society Quarterly Study Group. She is a course coordinator for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG). She is past president of the Association of Professional Genealogists and is editor of The Florida Genealogist.
MGS Journal
In the most recent issue of the Journal, Ed Funk, who previously wrote about the dramatic and tragic story of his ancestor, Johannes Ziemer, now brings us another in-depth look at one of his forebears, Jakob Conrad Funk. The story takes place in the Federal Hill area of Baltimore, where the immigrant Jacob Funk and his family planted a garden that supplied the family as well as the neighborhood with fruits and vegetables. But trouble began when Thomas Chappell opened a fertilizer plant on an adjacent property. The fumes and fallout from the plant meant the end of the garden, and thus began a lengthy court battle between the two men. This may be one of our earliest documented cases of environmentalism versus industrialization.
In an article that clears up some misinformation, Dann Norton uses court records to distinguish between two Green families, one in St. Mary’s County and one in Charles County. He concludes that there were two Mary Greens and two Sarah Greens living at the same time. Vanessa Wood has tackled an equally confusing family in her article about Green Halsey of South Carolina and his descendants, who eventually moved to Maryland for better economic opportunities. Green was enslaved, but his son Solomon lived as a free man in South Carolina and later in Baltimore, and the family forged strong bonds and thrived in their new home. Dave Powell brings us the interesting but tragic story of his ancestor, David Bonsack. Using a family bible, court records, and newspaper accounts, the author relates that David’s mother left her husband and had an affair with one of his employees, which resulted in David’s birth. David served in the army in the Civil War, married, and became a minister, but he later ran off with one his parishioners—and a good sum of money. Sadly, there is no happy ending here. Finally, John Sinks describes two sets of records in the Montgomery County Court recorded in March 1778 that have been widely overlooked: returns of oaths of fidelity followed by the enumeration of free men over 18, commonly known as the 1778 Maryland Census. As always, we keep you informed about new genealogy publications with Allender Sybert’s reviews.
Webpage Spotlight: Online MD Birth Certificates
 Check out our new webpage on locating Maryland birth certificates online. Starting in 1875 in Baltimore City and in 1898 in the counties, birth certificates that are at least 100 years old are available on the Maryland State Archives website and the Internet Archive website. We've pulled together on one webpage the key links you'll need and tips for successful searching.
All Issues of the MGS Journal Online
 All issues of the Maryland Genealogical Society Journal, from 2008 to the present, are available online to MGS members! The Journal’s predecessor publication, the Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin, already was online, which means that members can access over 60 years of informative articles on Maryland families and genealogical records.
New issues of the Journal will be posted as they are published.
July 2024 MGS News
The July 2024 edition of MGS News is now available. If you are a MGS member, you should have received the issue by email. If you are a member and haven't provided us with your email, please contact us at info@mdgensoc.org so that you can begin to receive MGS News.
Archived copies of this issue and previous issues are available in the Member's Only area.
Used Genealogy Books For Sale
 MGS has an inventory of used genealogy-related books available for purchase on the For Sale page. MGS members receive a 12% discount on purchases. (Be sure to be signed in on the website as a member before ordering!) All prices already include shipping and handling. Sales are first come, first served!
In addition to books on Maryland, our current inventory includes the following topics: family histories; U.S., British, German, New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia research; photography, lineage societies, royalty and nobility, heraldry, and general interest. We will be adding books as they become available.
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