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.

 

 

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 deadines are October 29 to attend in person and October 31 to attend by Zoom.   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. 2024 Fall Seminar - non-member Non-member in-person $70.00 USDNon-member online (Zoom) $50.00 USD Name Email address   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.

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.

 

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.

 

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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.
 

MGS Members can read this newest issue online in the Members Only section. All are welcome to consult the full table of contents and the tables of contents of earlier issues. Earlier issues of the Journal are available for sale, and members receive a discounted price. We are actively seeking articles for the Journal, and encourage you to take a look at our submission guidelines. 

 

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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.

 

This page and a companion webpage on locating Maryland death certificates online are are among the Maryland genealogy research guidance highlighted on the MGS website.

 

 

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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. 

 

To access the issues, sign in as a member and select “MGS Bulletin & Journal” from the dropdown menu under "Members Only" on the left navigation bar. To learn what articles appear in each issue, you can consult the Journal cumulative table of contents and the Bulletin cumulative table of contents. Cumulative indexes for all volumes also are available for review.

 

New issues of the Journal will be posted as they are published.

 

 

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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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