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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.
Take Our Member Survey
 What types of events do you think MGS should be hosting? What topics would you like to learn more about? What MGS membership services are important to you? Take our five-minute member survey in the Member's Only section of the website to give us your answers to these and other questions.
We value your feedback, which will help us in planning future MGS activities. We ask that you please reply by October 25. As always, thank you!
2023 Fall Seminar
 Researching Maryland Records
An in-person and online event.
Saturday, October 28, 8:30 am to 3:30 pm
(Registration & continental breakfast at 8:30 am, program at 9:15 am)
Location:
DoubleTree by Hilton (ample free parking)
15101 Sweitzer Lane
Laurel, MD 20707
Join us for our first live seminar since the pandemic. Good food, great presentations, and a chance to be with other genealogists. If you can’t join us onsite, join us on Zoom.
Recordings of the presentations will be available for later viewing for 60 days.
In our MGS/MPT webinars in September and October, you can learn some great information about wills, the general probate process, and land records. Our Fall Seminar will show how to specifically find those Maryland records (plus colonial and religious records).
Presentations:
Tom McCarriar -- Finding Maryland Probate Records
Debra A. Hoffman, PLCGS – Colonial Research in Maryland
Bridget M. Sunderlin, CG -- Finding Maryland Land Records on mdlandrec.net
Debra A. Hoffman, PLCGS – Religious Records in Maryland
In-person cost: Online (Zoom) cost:
$70 – Members $40 -- Members
$80 – Non-members $50 -- Non-members
In-person price includes continental breakfast, hot buffet lunch and refreshments during breaks.
Pre-registration deadline: October 21, 2023 (Walk-in registration is an additional $5.)
Registration Info
Nonmembers: Register online using PayPal or a credit card, click on the "Add to Cart" button below.
To register by mail, click here for a registration form to fill in and mail.
Save the Date - Holiday Luncheon
Be sure to save the date for the MGS Holiday Luncheon, which will be held on Saturday, December 9, from 12:00pm – 3:00pm, at Libations Restaurant in Millersville.
The luncheon speaker will be Cecilia Wright, President of the Irish Railroad Workers Museum. Registration will open later this fall. Hope you can join us!
Finding Your Roots Through Records Webinars
 The Maryland Genealogical Society is pleased to once again partner with Maryland Public Television (MPT) to offer a new beginner-to-intermediate genealogy workshop series. Finding Your Roots Through Records consists of four (4) two-hour sessions focused on the public records you can use while researching in order to find more information about your ancestors. Sessions will be held September 14, September 26, October 12, and October 24 from 7:00pm-9:00pm Eastern Time.
Session titles include: Researching Newspapers; Federal and State Land Records; Wills and Probate Records; and Military Records. Each session will feature a combination of lecture, small and large group discussion, question and answer time, and a homework assignment relating to the different record types. Handouts will be provided for each session.
Those who register also will 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. The cost of the series is $100.00. You can register on the MPT registration page.
The workshop series will be led by nationally known speaker Annette Burke Lyttle, who was the presenter at our spring workshop series on research practices. Her company, Heritage Detective, LLC, provides professional genealogical services in research, education, and writing. She is coordinator of the Virtual Intermediate Foundations course for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and leads Best Practices Study Groups for a number of organizations. She is president of the Association of Professional Genealogists and editor of The Florida Genealogist.
July 2023 MGS News
The July 2023 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.
New Webinar on Baltimore Market Records
 A new Maryland Minutes webinar has been posted! Debra Hoffman presents “Off to the Market! Researching Baltimore City Market Houses.” If you watched our last video by Malissa Ruffner, you learned about the collections held at the Baltimore City Archives. In this new video, Debra does a detailed overview of one of those holdings, Baltimore’s market records. She covers the history of 11 city markets and walks us through specific information contained in the record groups and how to access them. You’d be surprised about the information in these documents, which can be very valuable for genealogy researchers! This webinar is available to members in the Members Only section.
MGS Journal
Volume 63, Number 3, the December 2022 issue of the Journal, is now available. Members receive their copies by mail. Earlier issues of the Journal are available for sale, and members receive a discounted price. Click here for information on prices and how to purchase.
 In this issue, Pam Pracser Anderson brings us the story of the Washington Monument—the one in Washington County, Maryland, not the more famous ones—and one of its builders, Isaac C. Lutz. She follows his path and that of his family from Maryland to Indiana and Missouri and documents his contributions as a mason. Carleton Weidemeyer relates the tale of his ancestor Adam Weidemeyer, an immigrant from Hesse Cassel in Germany who came to Baltimore and established his business as a cabinet maker and an undertaker. Sadly, his undertaking business boomed during the Civil War with the increased demand for coffins, but he also established himself as a well-respected craftsman whose products were praised in obituaries of the day. Helen Hinchliff continues the saga of Job Davidson, a cooper who lived in Baltimore. Here she reconstructs his military service by reviewing documents about the company he served in and using letters, memoirs, and other accounts written by or about his militia compatriots to try to imagine Job’s experiences. As always, this author not only relates an interesting narrative but also points researchers in new directions to help uncover stories to be pieced together. The fascinating tale of Mary Rouxelin Sheild, the “mother of York County, Virginia,” is told by a group of authors—Sandi Ferguson-Smith, Elizabeth Forrest, George Quigley, Mike Sapp, and Kimberly Watkins—who met online as collaborating researchers. The story of Mary, who was married five times, had seven children, and who is related to both George Washington and King Charles III, is a good read!
Sandy Quick brings us the second part of her series on using GPS for genealogical purposes. Part 1 of this series described what GPS is and explored why GPS coordinates are essential elements in our genealogical records. Part 2 describes how to capture this valuable data. And Allender Sybert reviews current books and genealogical resources in our review section.
For a look at the full table of contents, click here.
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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