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MGS Response to the Coronavirus
As part of the effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, the Maryland Historical Society building - where our office is located - is closed until the Fall. You can still reach us by email, but there will be some delays in processing new memberships and renewals received by postal mail and in filling orders for publications. We also temporarily have stopped accepting new orders for research. We regret the interruption in our services, and we thank you for your understanding and patience.
Due to the state of emergency regarding the coronavirus, MGS cancelled its Spring Luncheon that was scheduled for April 4. Refunds have been processed for those who registered. At this time, we do not know when our usual educational programming will recommence.
Everyone please continue to take care. I hope you stay well and can hole up at home and work on genealogy!
~ Dru Null, MGS President
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. 
The MGS Journal
The April 2020 issue of the Journal is available. Members receive their copies by mail. Limited quantities of the current and earlier issues of the Journal also are available for sale. Members receive a discounted price. Click here for information on prices and how to purchase. 
In this issue, Stephen Stec provides an in-depth look at the Henry Kent family, despite the fact that many of the related records were destroyed in the Calvert County courthouse fire. Kent Randell continues his series about the Rousby family of Susquehanna with a genealogical summary. Helen Hinchliff introduces us to another of the very interesting Baltimore women she has researched: Annie Legate Swindell, teacher and Wall Street investor. Anthony Nardo sorts out the story of two brothers, Jacob and William Kindley, who have sometimes been confused in the records. William Reynolds provides the names of ships’ captains who aided in transporting the Continental army and its ordnance. Jane Burgess, in addition to contributing the crossword puzzle, shows us how to use land records and tax assessments to improve our genealogical findings. Allender Sybert has provided a bibliography of church and cemetery records from the MGS Bulletin. Debra Hoffman transcribes an 1845 document describing an inquest. And as always, we have reviews of some interesting new books and genealogical materials.
For a look at the full table of contents, click here.
Baltimore City Online Marriage Index (1886-1914)
 MGS is pleased to announce the completion of its Baltimore City Marriage License Index for 1886-1914. This Members Only index is designed to help you find/identify ancestors who obtained Marriage Licenses in Baltimore City in the subject time period. The searchable electronic index contains names and dates from 157,551 records in the Maryland State Archives Record Series T2426. The original index cards are alphabetized by the name of the groom. This MGS index provides the first searchable index to the names of brides, as well as grooms!
The 1886-1914 Index is now 100 percent complete online.
To access the data, click on Members Only, then sign in and look for “Baltimore Marriage Index.”
MGS would like to thank the more than 30 dedicated volunteers who've spent several thousand hours completing this project. Many thanks also to Board Member John Siemon for his coordination of the project and to Board Member Dave Powell for his database expertise.
MGS has begun indexing Baltimore City Marriage records from 1851-1885. If you’d like to help and are a member, details are on the Members Only page for the index described above. If you are not a member and would like to help, send an email to baltohist7@verizon.net, subject “Marriage Index.” The more people indexing, the faster it will be done.
Will and Probate Indexes Available
 An index spreadsheet to Anne Arundel County probate records is now available. The Maryland State Archives is participating in a joint project with the Comptroller of the Treasury, the Registers of Wills, and FamilySearch to have the state's probate records from 1634 to 1940 indexed, scanned, and made available online. Volunteers are preparing the documents for scanning and indexing the records. The indexed information eventually will be available in an online FamilySearch database. In the meantime, as county indexes are completed, the Maryland State Archives is making the spreadsheets available for researcher use.
Many thanks to MGS Board Member Tom McCarriar - who is participating as a volunteer on the project - for providing us with the Anne Arundel County spreadsheet. Click here to see the index spreadsheets currently available - Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Caroline, and Carroll Counties. Visit the Maryland State Archives web site for more information about volunteering for this or other projects.
Digital Issues of the MGS Bulletin
MGS Members can read 48 years (1960 to 2007) of the Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin in the Members Only portion of the web site.
Access is available to MGS members as an exclusive member benefit. After signing in as a member, look for the "MGS Bulletin Archive" link under Members Only on the lefthand navigation bar.
The Bulletin is packed with family genealogies and transcriptions from source records, including bible records, church records, tombstones, court records, etc. You can consult the cumulative table of contents to learn what articles appear in each issue. The issues are PDFs that are full-text searchable.
Leave No Stone Unturned
“Leave No Stone Unturned” is a series of occasional articles in MGS News and its predecessor, the MGS Newsletter, by Board Member Robert Barnes. Bob has had over 50 years’ experience tracing Maryland families. He is the author of many source books, compiled family histories, and guides, and has taught many courses in genealogical research and lectured at genealogical conferences.
We have assembled an archive of his articles - 28 to date - which is available to MGS members in the Members Only section of the web site. MGS thanks Bob for sharing these articles on a variety of Maryland genealogy topics.
We're Looking for Your Photos!
Would you like to see images of your ancestors included on the MGS Web site? Members are encouraged to submit photos for inclusion in the gallery of images at the top of the page that rotate and change each time visitors go to a new page on the Web site. (Each has a caption that you can read by hovering your cursor over the image.) For more information about submitting images, click here.
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