NERGC Gathering Day #3
2021-04-17 10:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York)

WMGS Training Session: Our Ancestor's Clothing
2021-04-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Online
Professional costume designer, costume technologist, historian, educator, and museum curator, Howard Vincent Kurtz will be joining us for a training session on
Thursday, April 22nd.
Professor Kurtz has created costumes for Broadway, Hollywood films, and television during his career. A recipient of the Helen Hayes Outstanding Costume Design Award in Washington, D.C., he also carries the distinguished title of Professor Emeritus of Theater at George Mason University and is a Fellow of the Costume Society of America.
Professor Kurtz has offered to research a small selection of family photographs from those sent in by our members, analyzing the clothing worn to help identify the time and place the photos were taken. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about photo identification techniques based on clothing. We’re grateful that it’s been arranged for us by member Cara Seitchek.

WMGS Monthly Meeting - Don't Chop Off That Branch! A Genealogy Arborist's Handbook
2021-05-05 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
Thomas MacEntee will be presenting “Don’t Chop Off That Branch! A Genealogy Arborist’s Handbook.” Many of us will relate to this dilemma. You’re at a crossroads when it comes to years of genealogy research: should you delete an entire branch of your family tree due to faulty research? Or is there a better way to correct family
history research errors and salvage information that took years to find? Tom will address the problem of bad research, help you decide if your research is bad or just sloppy, help you map out a correction plan, and help you salvage that branch.

WMGS Board Meeting
2021-05-10 18:30 - 20:30, 2021-06-14 18:30 - 20:30, 2021-09-20 18:30 - 20:30, 2021-10-18 18:30 - 20:30, 2021-11-08 18:30 - 20:30, 2022-01-10 18:30 - 20:30, 2022-02-14 18:30 - 20:30 | Online

WMGS Training: Navigating the Records from The War of 1812
2021-05-20 19:00 - 20:30 | Online
From bounty land to pensions, there is no shortage of genealogical records for soldiers from the War of 1812. Learn how and why these records were created, how to make sense of them, and what those records can contain for your ancestors!
You’ll learn about different types of records and where to find them, including bounty land records, pension and military service records, and more.

WMGS Monthly Meeting: Backing Up Your Genealogy Data
2021-06-02 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
Have you ever experienced a data loss when it comes to your genealogy research? Not yet? Well, if not, have you prepared for what might happen if your hard drive fails? What if your laptop is lost or stolen? Learn the basics of backing up all your genealogy data including identifying data, common backup methods, and how to use free online programs to help you make sure your data will always be available!

WMGS Training: Was My Ancestor in the Civil War?
2021-06-17 19:00 - 20:30 | Online
Over ten percent of the US population fought in the Civil War in the 1860s. Was your ancestor one of them? Learn some tips on how to determine if your ancestor was in the Civil War, using (mostly) free resources.
This presentation is part one of a two-part series. The second presentation, titled “I Have a Civil War Ancestor… Now What?” will be offered in the fall.

MGC M.O.R.E. Presentation
2021-06-30 19:00 - 21:00 | Online
“An Evening with John D. (Jack) Warner, Ph.D. Archivist, Commonwealth of Massachusetts”
Register: https://www.massgencouncil.org/

WMGS Monthly Meeting: Peopling Colonial New England 1620-1787
2021-07-07 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
From several small coastal settlements in the early 17th century, the early settlers and their descendants, as well as new immigrants, migrated to other parts of the New England frontier over the next 150 years. Many reasons led to these migrations, which infilled the settlement of most areas of New England by the time that the new Republic was established in 1787. As this presentation will demonstrate, there were many ebbs and flows in this process over this time period. Why should this matter to genealogists? If you had ancestors in this region, this presentation will help you understand why your ancestors were part of this dynamic process, where and how to look for your ancestors in this area, and how the population pressures in colonial New England continually pushed the borders outward. If your ancestors lived elsewhere, this New England settlement model became a template for the future development of the rest of the country and fueled the settlement of many areas of the remaining U.S.

WMGS Training: That Scoundrel George
2021-07-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Online
We’re going to be trying something new this night. With permission from Legacy Family Tree Webinars, we’ll be rebroadcasting a webinar presentation called “That Scoundrel George” by nationally known genealogist Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL. After the presentation, we’ll have a short discussion about the topic.
Tracking a rascally ancestor through the records can be great fun and a great challenge. When every record he ever left appears to be a lie, where is the
truth to be found?”

WMGS Monthly Meeting: Warning Out and Settlement Law in Early New England
2021-08-04 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
Come find out about “strangers taken in” records, “warning out” records, and settlement law. Settlement law impacted all New Englanders whether rich or poor, transient or long-time resident. Discover what records were created as a result and why. You will be surprised at the level of detail you can find about your ancestors. Marian Pierre-Louis will take you into the depths of these rarely discussed New England records to reveal a wealth of information about your ancestors.

WMGS Training Session: Preserving Your Family Treasures - Choosing the Right Storage Solutions
2021-08-26 19:00 - 20:30 | Online
Buffered or unbuffered? What does acid-free really mean? What is the best way to preserve my family Bible? Abby Shaw from Hollinger Archival Products will answer these questions and more about the best storage solutions for your family papers, photos, and textiles. Please bring your questions about your treasures to the meeting and she can recommend the approved method of storage.
This will be a wonderful opportunity to get professional advice from Abby Shaw. After Abby’s presentation, we’ll have time to ask for advice on preserving our family heirlooms and treasures. We’re hoping that you can join us and share your items on camera for Abby’s evaluation. We’re letting you know early about this event, so you’ll have plenty of time to dig your items out of closets and other hiding spaces and prepare your list of questions!

WMGS Monthly Meeting - Navigating Naturalization Records
2021-09-01 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
We are kicking off our 2021-2022 membership year with a fantastic presentation by Lisa A. Alzo! Lisa will be presenting a lecture titled “Navigating Naturalization Records,” a difficult area of research for many of us. First papers, petitions, certificates, and registrations are some of the key documents for naturalization – the process of becoming an American citizen. Due to changing laws and an evolving process over time, locating the appropriate official paperwork can be a challenging task for family historians. Lisa will explain how to navigate naturalization records and what information they contain about your ancestors.

WMGS Training: I Have a Civil War Ancestor....Now What?
2021-09-16 19:00 - 20:30 | Online

WMGS Monthly Meeting: New Englanders Become Americans
2021-10-06 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
We’ve got another great presentation with John Putnam lined up for our October meeting. John will be presenting a lecture titled “New Englanders Become Americans.” This lecture is the 2nd part of John’s earlier presentation to us, “Untangling Your England Roots,” in July 2020. (If you missed it, it’s archived in the Members Only section of our website.)
John will discuss the genealogy and history of New England from the French and Indian War to the 1800s. Did you have ancestors living in New England immediately before, during, or after the American Revolution or in the early years of the new republic? Do you know their history and how they coped with the many historic disruptions during this time? Even though you may not share any roots from this geographical area, there are many factors that started here that still impact us all.
In many respects, New England was a catalyst of the revolution — very active in the formation of the new republic, the site of the start of the American industrial revolution. It was also the source of many people who emigrated west during this time. John will share the importance of understanding these events and the very stressful times in which our ancestors lived, helping to improve your chances of tackling New England brick walls. While records are important to prove your genealogical past, it is often difficult to know where to look for these records unless you know the area’s history, not to mention the formative activities that our ancestors undertook, which provide rich stories for your family histories. Certainly, events as disruptive as these can also disrupt the records, too.

WMGS Training Session: Railroads Around Amherst and Northampton, MA
2021-10-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Online
Ever wonder how our ancestors traveled in the 19th and 20th centuries? What railroad or trolleys were available in our area? Or perhaps your ancestor lived near enough to railroad tracks that they heard the whistle or rattle as they rumbled by?
Join us for a fascinating tale of the “Railroads Around Amherst and Northampton, MA” presented by WMGS member Philip E. Johnson, a railroad historian and author. Phil has put together a presentation about railroad and trolley lines that some of our
Hampshire County ancestors may have used.

WMGS Monthly Meeting: Misbegotten Children: Tracing the Family Lines of the Illegitimate
2021-11-03 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG, FOGS will be joining us again on November 3rd for another not-to-be-missed presentation! Her topic will be “Misbegotten Children; Tracing the Family Lines of the Illegitimate.” Nearly all families have children with seemingly missing fathers. Yet there may be clues and resources to help us determine their ancestry. Illegitimacy can be both a surprise and an embarrassment as we discover more and more about our family’s history. Treated with care and sensitivity, we can use many available resources to help us in our research.

WMGS Training Session: Our Ancestor's Clothing - Howard Vincent Kurtz
2021-11-18 19:00 - 21:00 | Online
We’re very excited that Howard Vincent Kurtz will be joining us at our November 18th training session for another presentation of Our Ancestors’ Clothing! If you participated in Professor Kurtz’s first visit to WMGS last April, you’ll know what a great opportunity he provided to our members.
As he did last time, Prof. Kurtz will review a selection of photographs sent in by our members, analyzing the clothing worn and other clues in them. His analysis may help you to identify the subjects, time, place, reason for the photo, and more.
If you have photographs of people that you can’t identify, want to know more about, or you think other members would find intriguing, we encourage you to submit them to us. We sent out an email notifying our members of this opportunity a few weeks ago, but if you haven’t submitted your scanned digital photographs yet, we’ve extended the deadline for submitting them until Monday, November 1st. There is a limit of 10 submissions per member.
Time permitting, Prof. Kurtz will analyze as many photographs as he can, selecting photographs that represent features that are useful for genealogical research. They might represent various time periods or have other clues that can help to identify our ancestors.
Note: If you submitted photos last time and a particular photograph that you hoped would be selected wasn’t analyzed, feel free to submit it again. Let us know which photograph you would like to prioritize for analysis.
Please send your scanned digital photogs to WMGS at: westmassgen@gmail.com. Again, the deadline is Monday, November 1st, so that Professor Kurtz has time for his analysis.
Whether you submit photographs or not, please join us for this session as we promise an enjoyable learning experience.

WMGS Holiday Zoom Party!
2021-11-26 08:00 - 17:00 | Online
It’s bring your own hot chocolate, hot mulled wine, hot cider, or something stronger if you’d like! Dress up in your holiday finery or your ugliest holiday sweater if you wish! Get in the holiday spirit!
We’re hosting a genealogy-focused holiday Zoom party for members on Thursday, December 9th at 7 p.m. We’d love to have our members send in holiday photos from their childhoods or family collections. Do you have a photo of you or an ancestor sitting on Santa’s lap? Or perhaps a photo of your family around the Christmas tree or enjoying a holiday gathering? Anything holiday related will be appreciated. We’ll create a slideshow of the photos in the form of a genealogy timeline for everyone to enjoy!
We’ll also have several holiday genealogy-related topics to get the conversation flowing. If you have a family recipe that you’d like to share, we encourage you to send it along so we can send it out in advance. (Wish we could send the actual cookies or treats through the mail, but we don’t have the resources to do that!)
We’ll talk about holiday traditions, favorite heirlooms, and cherished memories. And we’ll host a holiday genealogy trivia game. Do you know all the vital records details of our beloved holiday figures? We’ll see how many questions you can answer!
Send your photos or recipes to westmassgen@gmail.com. We hope that you’ll join us at this virtual event! We look forward to visiting with all of you!

An Evening with David Silverman: This Land Is Their Land
2021-11-30 19:00 - 20:30 | Online
See December Newsletter for details and how to register for this free event.

WMGS Monthly Meeting: "European Immigrant Ancestors: Why They Left and How They Got Here, 1865-1920"
2021-12-01 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
Have you wondered why your European ancestors decided to emigrate to the United States, beyond hearing they were told the streets were paved in gold?
Many factors pushed or pulled our European ancestors to emigrate to the United States. Genealogist Nancy E. Loe, MA, MLS will help us follow in the footsteps of ancestors who arrived between 1865 and 1920.
What did they experience when they decided to leave their homes and communities to sail to America? What was the voyage like? Discover essential and unusual resources for migration research for all United States ports.

WMGS Training: Topic To Be Determined
2022-01-20 19:00 - 20:30 | Online
Stay tuned. We have plans, but are still finalizing what the topic will be.

An Evening with Paul Joseph Fronczak: The Foundling, True Identity
2022-01-31 19:00 - 20:30 | Online
In 1964, a woman pretending to be a nurse kidnapped an infant boy named Paul Fronczak from a Chicago hospital. Two years later, police found a boy abandoned outside a variety store in New Jersey. The FBI tracked down Dora Fronczak, the kidnapped infant’s mother, and she identified the abandoned boy as her son. The family spent the next fifty years believing they were whole again—but Paul was always unsure about his true identity.
In 2012—spurred on by the birth of his first child, Emma Faith—Paul took a DNA test that disproved the story he’d been told about his identity–that he was “Baby Fronczak,” the infant who’d been kidnapped from a Chicago hospital in an infamous 1964 crime. In an instant, he became a man without a name, birthday or medical history–an “unidentified living person,” in official terminology. Since then Paul has searched for answers looking for the real Paul Fronczak. “I’m on a mission,” he says, “and I can’t stop until I find out what happened.”
Join us to learn how Paul uncovered his origins thanks to modern technology, the help of several experts, and the luck involved in matching relatives who had also submitted their DNA to genetic genealogy databases and were willing to help.
This presentation is free, but registration is required! For more information, go to www.massgencouncil.org/m-o-r-e

WMGS Monthly Meeting: Navigating Naturalization Records
2022-02-02 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
We’ll finally get a chance to welcome Lisa Alzo to WMGS! Lisa was originally scheduled to present at our September 2021 kickoff meeting, but the aftermath of Hurricane Ida interfered with those plans.
Lisa will be presenting a lecture titled “Navigating Naturalization Records,” a difficult area of research for many of us. First papers, petitions, certificates, and registrations are some of the key documents for naturalization – the process of becoming an American citizen. Due to changing laws and an evolving process over time, locating the appropriate official paperwork can be a challenging task for family historians. Lisa will explain how to navigate naturalization records and what information they contain about your ancestors.
