Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society, Inc.

Genealogy Research Clinic
2017-07-20 18:00 - 20:00, 2017-06-22 18:00 - 20:00, 2017-05-25 18:00 - 20:00, 2017-05-18 18:00 - 20:00, 2017-04-27 18:00 - 20:00, 2017-04-20 18:00 - 20:00, 2017-03-23 18:00 - 20:00, 2017-03-16 18:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) and 8 more dates | Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main Street, Agawam, MA, 01001, United States
Members have free use of our Ancestry Library subscription and other research sites while seeking assistance from WMGS members with family research experience. Non-members may participate for only $10 per session…or join for $25 per year!
Sessions are held on the third and fourth Thursdays of the month in the computer room of the Agawam Senior Center.

WMGS July Meeting
2017-07-05 18:00 - 20:00 | Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main Street, Agawam, MA, 01001, United States
Our July meeting will be a presentation entitled “Paleography – Reading Old Handwriting” by Edwin Strickland. Paleography is the study of ancient writing systems and, in genealogy, it is an essential skill to have in order to accurately read the cursive handwriting encountered in many of the older primary documents. Edwin presented on several topics at the recent NERGC conference in Springfield including a two-hour hands-on workshop on this topic.
Edwin is a self-taught genealogist with over 40 years’ experience. He is a Past President and a Governor of the Connecticut Society of Genealogists; charter member of the Descendants of the Founders of Ancient Windsor, having served as President and as Genealogist for nearly 30 years; charter member of the Connecticut Professional Genealogist Council where he is a consultant for the Ancestors Road Show and current Vice-President.

Genealogy Research Clinic
2017-06-15 18:00 - 20:00

June Monthly Meeting
2017-06-07 18:00 - 20:00 | Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main Street, Agawam, MA, 01001, United States
Be sure to sign up for the “Pot Luck Dinner” during our May meeting because for our June meeting we will host not only a Pot Luck Dinner but an “Open Mic” Session too. So, bring your favorite casserole or main dish, a side dish, or some sort of dessert, and socialize with fellow genealogists searching for their family tree. Who knows, you might even find a 5th – 9th cousin ‘X’ number of times removed; sort of like Dave Robison and Bruce Cortis (through Deacon Chapin of Springfield). After dinner, members will have an opportunity to speak and share during our Open Mic session. Members are welcome to share genealogy information including ideas, tips, suggestions, research experience, and genealogy projects. If you have a new website to share, a place to visit, or a research success story, please be sure to share it during our Open Mic session that’s how we all learn. Members are encouraged to bring a friend

WMGS May Meeting
2017-05-03 18:00 - 20:00 | Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main Street, Agawam, MA, 01001, United States
In May, we will be holding our 3rd Annual WMGS Panel of Experts! Have you ever had to pay a professional consultant? I can tell you first hand that it’s usually not an inexpensive proposition! Here’s another benefit of membership at Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society: You have free access to a number of pros and experienced researchers to help you break down your brick walls, answer your research questions, point you in the right direction and, in general, lend a hand with your family histories. From pedigree charts to on-line research to DNA, WMGS can help you re-energize your research.
In May, the regular monthly meeting of WMGS will be not one, and not two but three panelists who are willing to take your questions. Dave Robison will be joined by Fran Malone and Hillary Schau for this event. Put them on the spot! Responses won’t be limited to what the panelists can offer as members of the audience are welcome to join in the discussion. That’s what WMGS is all about, helping each other identify the goals and how to get there! So, bring your questions concerning problems you have or just a general question that you’ve been wondering what’s the answer.
Please come early and get a good seat. Our last panel discussion was very well attended and very productive! This will also be a virtual meeting available only to the membership.
Also at our May meeting, we will be having our annual election of officers. The Nominating Committee will present the slate of candidates at the meeting.

2017 New England Regional Genealogical Conference
2017-04-26 - 2017-04-29 | MassMutual Center, 1277 Main Street, Springfield, MA, 01103, United States
Using the Tools of Today & Tomorrow to Understand the Past
MASSMUTUAL CENTER SPRINGFIELD, MA
26-29 APRIL 2017
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Download the program brochure: NERGC Program Brochure
The brochure contains the full conference schedule, summaries of lectures, speaker biographies and information on available luncheons, banquets, research tour and special events. To register by postal mail, see the last page of the brochure.
Register On-Line: Register for NERCG On-Line
DISCOUNTED RATE
A reminder: To qualify for the “Early Bird” Full Conference rate of $120, your registration must be made online or postmarked by 28 February 2017. After that, the price goes up to $150.
Read more about NERGC: New England Regional Genealogical Conference
The Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society is proud to be a
Sponsoring Organization. We hope to see you there!

WMGS April Meeting
2017-04-05 18:00 - 20:00 | Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main Street, Agawam, MA, 01001, United States
Our meeting in April will be a presentation by Steve Hartwell entitled “Building a Custom Website for your Family History”
Pedigree charts may be an interesting way to share our genealogy, but what about the “rest of the story” – our family letters, photographs, heirlooms, tales, etc.? How can we share our ancestral stories online with everyone in our extended family? Learn how to bring your stories to life by using an easy building-block approach to create a custom website. You will see techniques and examples to give you ideas on how best to showcase your own family history.
Steve Hartwell lives in North Reading, Massachusetts, and has been researching his family for over 30 years. He retired from a long career at IBM in 2014 and has since become a professional genealogist specializing in both ancestral research, particularly in New England, and custom website design. Steve is a graduate of the Boston University Genealogical Research Certificate Program and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, and is a board member of the Society of Essex Genealogists. His website can be found at shartwell.com/services.

WMGS March Meeting
2017-03-01 18:00 - 20:00 | Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main Street, Agawam, MA, 01001, United States
Our March 2017 meeting features Ta Mara Conde, President of Historic Gravestone Services. Her extensive experience working with cemeteries in general and gravestones in particular. Her presentation will give us an insight into her work and passion for the historic preservation of the memorials to our ancestors.
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WMGS February Meeting
2017-02-01 18:00 - 20:00 | Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main Street, Agawam, MA, 01001, United States
Our meeting on February 1st will feature a team of speakers, Sara Campbell and Shari Strahan, with a presentation entitled “Did Gramma Have a Filling Station? Married Women’s Businesses.”
Shari and Sara have been research partners for a variety of projects in Western Mass since solidifying their common interest while working as census takers in 2010. They are relentless in finding the story behind the document and have brought many forgotten families to light with their research. Sara has been active in the Polish Genealogical Society of Mass, while Shari’s ethnic specialty is in French Canadian genealogy, as well as the families of Historic Deerfield, where she lives.
Sara Campbell is a lecturer and educator in Western Massachusetts where she has been active in the genealogical community for 25 years. Her background as a civil engineer sometimes gives her a unique perspective on her research, she blogs about history at http://rememberingancestors.blogspot.com/ and will be presenting this talk at the NERGC 2017 Conference in Springfield, MA.

WMGS January Meeting
2017-01-04 18:00 - 20:00 | Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main Street, Agawam, MA, 01001, United States
Who? What? When? Where? Are these the words of a genealogist researching his family tree or a forensic scientist solving a mystery? Maybe someone who is both!
Join us on January 4th for a presentation from Colleen Fitzpatrick entitled Forensic Genealogy – CSI Meets Roots. Colleen is featured as The DNA Detective in More Magazine, May 2010, is a former nuclear physicist who had designed equipment for NASA to use in its Jupiter projects. She has since turned her analytic skills and data loving drive to the field of genealogy, specifically forensic genealogy. She uses her skills to search for missing persons, living and dead.

WMGS December Meeting
2016-12-07 18:00 - 20:00 | Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main Street, Agawam, MA, 01001, United States
Join us for our annual Pot Luck Dinner and Show & Tell.
It’s the last meeting before the holidays! Come to our “Pot Luck” dinner and enjoy holiday music while you dine. After dinner, we will host an “Open Mic” session for members to share their genealogy tips, ideas, or projects.

Digital Scrapbooking for Genealogy
2016-11-10 12:30 - 14:30, 2016-11-03 12:30 - 14:30, 2016-10-27 12:30 - 14:30 | Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main Street, Agawam, MA, 01001, United States
New! Join us for Digital Scrapbooking for Genealogy. Thursdays from 12:30-2:30 p.m. (October 20, 27, November 3 and 10)
Do you have photos you would like to scrapbook? Are you interested in putting together a digital album to document your story or one of an ancestor? Join us for four weekly sessions and learn how to make a digital scrapbook. Completed albums make great gifts, and can be finished in time for the holidays.
Digital Scrapbooking for Genealogy will be held in the computer room of the Agawam Senior Center.
Genealogy Research Clinics are free to WMGS members. There is a $10 fee per session for non-members. Annual WMGS membership is just $25.

WMGS November Meeting
2016-11-02 18:00 - 20:00 | Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main Street, Agawam, MA, 01001, United States
Our meeting on November 2nd will be a treat with a return engagement of Melissa Barker, Archivist for the Houston County Tennessee Archives, who will speak about the exact opposite of Dave’s presentation, off-line research: “It’s Not All On-Line: Researching the Archives.”
Ms. Barker is a Certified Archives Manager and Professional Genealogist as well as the founder of Once Upon a Time Genealogy. With over 26 years of researching family histories and 6 years of experience working with archives, her talk will be full of useful suggestions for your next archive visit.
