Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society, Inc.

WMGS March 5 Monthly Meeting: Deconstructing Obituaries
2025-03-05 18:00 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | Online
At our March 2025 meeting, we’ll welcome back Susan M. O’Connor, who will present “Deconstructing Obituaries.”
Obituaries are treasure troves of genealogical information, offering insights into family and social relationships, community ties, and even historical events. In this presentation, we’ll explore the wealth of details obituaries can provide, from vital records to clues about extended family and friends. Learn where to find obituaries — both online and offline — and discover techniques for analyzing the information
within them to piece together a fuller picture of your ancestors’ lives. Whether you’re just starting your family history journey or looking to enhance your research skills, this talk will equip you with practical tools to uncover hidden stories and connections.

WMGS April Monthly Meeting: Dark as a Dungeon - Researching Mining Records
2025-04-02 18:00 - 19:30
From mining iron ore in the colonial period to searching for copper, iron, tin, coal and precious metals, many of our ancestors were miners. Do you have ancestors who participated in the Gold Rush? Or immigrant ancestors who worked in coal mines or perhaps Native American ancestors who worked in the mineral mines out West?
At our April 2 monthly meeting, Peggy Clemens Lauritzen will present “Dark as a Dungeon: Researching Mining Records.” As Peggy says, “This is the real Minecraft. As the song goes, it truly was ‘dark as a dungeon’ in just about any mine. Fortunately, there are records that may have been kept on your mining ancestors.”
Peggy adds, “Mining is hard work. Starting from the children that worked in mines up to the adults of today, mining records may provide a clue to your ancestors’ lives.”

WMGS May Monthly Meeting: "Creating an Ancestor Sketch"
2025-05-07 18:00 - 19:30
We’re excited that Tom MacEntee will be joining us again in May to present another useful feature: “Creating an Ancestor Sketch.” Tom will describe the essential elements
of an ancestor biography sketch and explain different sketch formats. He’ll also tell us how to incorporate genealogy facts and family research information, and he’ll provide other tips, tricks, and tools to make the process easy.
“Face it: Most genealogists never get around to publishing that family history book based on their genealogy research,” Tom says in his program description. “How about a different approach — producing short 3 to 5 page ‘sketches’ about an ancestor? You’ll learn how to include a cover, photos, facts, family stories, source citations, and more! And guess what, once you get a few of these ancestor sketches done, you can compile
them together for one big book!”

WMGS June Monthly Meeting: Think Like an Archivist - Finding Genealogy Records in Libraries & Archives
2025-06-04 18:00 - 19:30
While many of us rely on the databases of popular genealogy companies and large organizations to research our ancestors, we may be overlooking a wealth of information available in libraries and archives. For those with limited experience searching these resources, navigating their systems can sometimes be frustrating or less productive than we’d hoped.
At our June 4 monthly meeting, Nancy E. Loe will return to WMGS to present “Think Like an Archivist: Finding Genealogy Records in Libraries & Archives.”
At this presentation, we’ll learn how to locate genealogy records housed in archives across the United States and around the world, using online archival portals and digital finding aids. We’ll gain insights into how archivists work to make these collections accessible. And we’ll learn how to craft effective search terms, with specific URLs provided for regional, state, national, and global archival resources.

WMGS July Monthly Meeting: Roots and Ridges - Families' Journeys Through Western Massachusetts Hilltowns
2025-07-09 18:00 - 19:30
For many current residents of Western Massachusetts, it isn’t easy to imagine that the hilltowns of Becket, Blandford, Chester, Granville, Huntington, and Middlefield were once vibrant and larger. They were deforested mainly during the 19th century to support their traditional agricultural economy. At our July 2025 monthly meeting, John Putnam will present “Roots and Ridges: Families’ Journeys Through Western Massachusetts Hilltowns.”
John will share his research into several family branches that lived in these towns during the 19th century, whose whole world was impacted by many historical forces over which they had little control. He’ll integrate three primary genealogical sources into his story — traditional genealogy databases and records, local historical events, and social history — to understand better the undercurrents his ancestors underwent during their 19th and early 20th century lifetimes. In addition, he will weave newspaper data, family memorabilia, and AI information to enrich the stories of the families that once lived there. Finally, he will identify specific themes that impacted his ancestors and yours.
Note: To make this more interactive, John will share a couple of specific stories he has written as a handout, incorporating all this information, both as a template for your stories and as a conversation about how these towns differ today from the 19th century.

WMGS August Monthly Meeting: More than a Will - Using Probate Records
2025-08-06 18:00 - 19:30
Probate records can be a gold mine for genealogical research! They often contain wills, estate inventories, guardianship records, and other legal proceedings related to a deceased person’s assets. What types of information can be uncovered? Names and relationships, residences and property details, occupations, financial status, community connections, and countless more valuable genealogical clues!
At our August 6 monthly meeting, Ed Strickland will be with us to present More than a Will: Using Probate Records. The bulk of the work of a probate court is the settlement of an estate. After examining the three record formats used by the court, we will look at the types of documents generated and the clues they provide. We will then turn to other matters which may be handled by the court, such as guardianships and minor trusts, mental competence, adoptions, separations, divorces, and insolvent estates.

WMGS September Monthly Meeting: Born to be Filed - Delayed Birth Records in the U.S.
2025-09-03 18:00 - 19:30
Have you struggled to locate a birth record for one of your ancestors or discovered a birth record created long after the birth itself? If your relative was born at home or in a rural area with slow registration practices, they may be listed in a delayed birth record. These records often hold rich genealogical clues waiting to be uncovered.
To start off our 2025-2026 membership year, Sunny Morton will join us to present Born to be Filed: Delayed Birth Records in the U.S. She’ll explain why these records were created, what kinds of details they contain, and where you can find them.

WMGS October Monthly Meeting: Alienation of Affection - Divorce in the United States
2025-10-01 18:00 - 19:30
Many of us have encountered ancestors who mysteriously disappeared from records, only to discover they were divorced. Or we’ve found information that suggests another
marriage or separation. Uncovering the official documentation behind those earlier marriages or separations can be a challenge.
Join us at our October monthly meeting as Christine Cohen returns to present “Alienation of Affection: Divorce in the United States.”
As Christine explains in her presentation description, “[Divorce] case files can include marriage date and place, names and ages of children, current and former residences,
and affidavits by the spouses about their marriage and reason for divorce. Clues are in the census, city directories, military pensions, county histories, county courthouses, and especially in newspapers. This could be the reason for a ‘lost spouse.’”

WMGS November Monthly Meeting: Finding Aids and the National Archives
2025-11-05 18:00 - 19:30
We’re delighted to welcome nationally known genealogist Craig R. Scott to present Finding Aids and the National Archives on November 5.
Craig will guide us through the structure of our National Archives. He’ll also explain how to use finding aids — guides, indexes, catalogs, and more — to navigate its vast
collections.
Craig describes his talk this way: “The National Archives of the United States documents American history from the time of the First Continental Congress. That is a lot of paper, pictures, and other things, so much in fact that it requires organization.”
“Organization means that there are rules about how things will be filed and how they can be located once they are stored,” Craig says. “Finding aids is a term that describes the various publications, such as guides and indexes, microfilm catalogs, reference information papers, inventories, preliminary inventories, special lists, checklists, descriptive pamphlets, and other tools that have been created to assist either the researcher or the archivist in locating records.”

WMGS December Monthly Meeting: 10 Genealogical Brick Walls You Will Face (and How to Demolish Them)
2025-12-03 18:00 - 19:30
At our December monthly meeting, genealogist Robert Cameron Weir will present “10 Genealogical Brick Walls You Will Face (and How to Demolish Them).”
“In genealogy, a brick wall is an ancestor who seemingly refuses, despite repeated attempts, to reveal their origins,” Rob explains. “No matter how hard you try, you are unable to connect them to your family tree. They remain the stubborn puzzle piece who refuses to fit in.”
Rob will survey the most common kinds of brick walls and teach us some tricks for tearing them down. We’ll learn about brick walls related to immigrants, paupers, sojourners, pioneers, name shifters, and people with hushed-up family secrets.
Whether you’re just beginning your genealogy research or have been doing it for a long time, we’ll all benefit from this presentation.
“The beginner will learn about some brick walls they will eventually face; the intermediate researcher will learn how to tackle some that they are already facing; and the more advanced genealogist will learn a different way to think about what they are probably already doing,” Rob says.

WMGS January Monthly Meeting: Who Needed It Anyway? Getting Around the Missing 1890 Census
2026-01-07 18:00 - 19:30
The 1890 census was uniquely detailed, including household relationships, occupations, literacy, housing conditions, and special schedules for Union Civil War
veterans and widows. Nearly the entire 1890 census was destroyed in a 1921 fire and subsequent water damage at the Commerce Department. Only fragments covering about 6,000 individuals survived out of over 62 million enumerated.
At our January monthly meeting, genealogist Sara Cochran will present “Who Needed It Anyway? Getting Around the Missing 1890 Census” and tell us some of the resources that may be available to address this gap.
As Sara describes her presentation, “The loss of the 1890 Federal census is a source of great frustration for American genealogists, but all hope is not lost! Learn strategies and gather tips for success in locating your family in other records between the 1880 and 1900 Federal censuses.”
Sara will present a follow-up presentation to explore even more resources and complete a case study at our April 1 monthly meeting.

WMGS February Monthly Meeting: Ancestors on the Move: Migration from Farms to Cities, 1870-1920
2026-02-04 18:00 - 19:30
We’re delighted that nationally-known genealogist, Annette Burke-Lyttle will join us again to present Ancestors on the Move: Migration from Farms to Cities, 1870–1920.
Between the Civil War and World War I, Americans faced dramatic changes that shaped where and how they lived. Push and pull factors, financial panics, the reality of daily life
in rural areas, and the rise of manufacturing were some of the factors that led to decisions to move from farms to cities.
Annette will guide us through the records that capture thosemovements — from census schedules and land deeds to city directories, newspapers, military files, and other sources. We’ll learn what factors influenced our ancestors’ choices and discover practical strategies to locate the documents that bring their journeys to life.

WMGS March 2026 Monthly Meeting: Eddie Wench - The Case of a Little Lost Boy
2026-03-04 18:00 - 19:30
A good genealogist needs the instincts of a detective —our research often unfolds like a compelling mystery. But how much can we trust the records and sources we find? When the facts don’t line up, what might be hiding beneath the surface? Can documents or titles simply be wrong?
At our March 4 monthly meeting, Julie Miller presents “Eddie Wenck: The Case of a Little Lost Boy.” Eddie Wenck was a forgotten child. His story was a mystery
for many years until research exposed an error made over 20 years ago and uncovered the hidden past of a well-known landmark. This lecture is about the importance of using original records and historical context and about following our instincts when things don’t seem right.

WMGS April Monthly Meeting: Why We Still Don't Miss 1890. Much.
2026-04-01 18:00 - 19:30
We’re pleased to welcome Sara Cochran back to WMGS on April 1, when she will present Why We Still Don’t Miss 1890. Much. This talk is a sequel to her January
presentation about the 1890 census.
Finding ancestors that lived in the U.S. between 1880 and 1890 can be a challenge. In 1921, nearly the entire 1890 census was destroyed by fire and subsequent water
damage. Only fragments covering about 6,000 individuals survived out of over 62 million people enumerated.
In January, Sara provided resources to bridge the ten-year gap caused by the loss of that census. In April, she’ll share even more research strategies and complete a case study she started in January.
Note: Sara’s January presentation was called Who Needed It Anyway? Getting
Around the Missing 1890 Census. If you missed it, you can find the recording and
handout in the Members Only section of our website until April 1.

WMGS May Monthly Meeting - Friend or Foe: Researching Colonial Ancestors During the American Revolution
2026-05-06 18:00 - 19:30
At our May 6 monthly meeting, noted genealogist David Allen Lambert will present Friend or Foe: Researching Colonial Ancestors During the American Revolution
to our society.
Nearly 250 years ago, America declared its independence from the British Empire, changing the course of history. While many took up the cause and supported revolution,
others remained loyal to the British government — turning friends into foes and pitting neighbor against neighbor. David will discuss how to research your colonial ancestors and determine if — and how — they may have served the cause of the American Revolution.
