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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.
"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.
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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