Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society, Inc.

WMGS Monthly Meeting: "European Immigrant Ancestors: Why They Left and How They Got Here, 1865-1920"
2021-12-01 18:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | 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 Board Meeting
2022-01-10 18:30 - 20:30, 2022-02-14 18:30 - 20:30, 2022-03-14 18:30 - 20:30 | Online

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.

WMGS Training: Finding Your 19th Century Ancestors on Fold3 - Is There a Better Way?
2022-02-17 19:00 - 20:30 | Online
Ever get confused on Fold3? Learn what records are available for your 19th century military ancestors there and pick up some search strategies to narrow down what you’re looking for. Yes, there is a better way to search! Brian Rhinehart will be back with us to help us learn how to use Fold3 effectively.

WMGS Monthly Meeting: Marriages Here, There, and Nowhere: Finding Gretna Greens
2022-03-02 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
We’re thrilled that we’ll be joined by J. Mark Lowe for a presentation titled “Marriages Here, There, and Nowhere: Finding Gretna Greens” on March 2nd.
Throughout history, many couples chose to marry in a location away from their home. Often there were reasons why it was a more convenient location to tie the knot. Sometimes, this decision was based on a romantic location or a place that would allow them to marry quickly without a three-day waiting period. These locations are often referred to as Gretna Greens, named for the historic town in Scotland where thousands of English couples ran because of Scotland’s sympathetic marriage laws. We will consider the reasons for a different marriage location, alternate sources to determine the location, and a few of the towns known as “Gretna Greens” in the United States.

RootsTech Connect 2022
2022-03-03 - 2022-03-05 | Online

WMGS Monthly Meeting: "The 1950 U.S. Federal Census - Are You Ready?"
2022-03-24 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
Mark your calendars! We have rescheduled Tom MacEntee’s presentation titled
“The 1950 U.S. Federal Census: Are You Ready?” to Thursday, March 24th
at 6 p.m.
Unfortunately, Tom was unable to present to us at our January meeting because of
illness. We had more than 75 members signed up for his presentation, as we’re all
anxious to learn more about the 1950 census which will be released on April 1st.
We hope you’ll join us!
Many genealogists remember the excitement around the release of the 1940 U.S. census in April 2012. Following the “72 year rule” for records at the National Archives, the results of the 1950 U.S. census will be made public on Friday, April 1, 2022. It’s never too early to prepare for this valuable data related to U.S. genealogy research!
Tom will discuss the history of the 1950 U.S. census, the reasons why the 1950 U.S. census form is radically different from previous forms, and the ways that data will be accessed. In addition, he’ll cover what you can do NOW to prepare for the release of the 1950 U.S. census and talk about volunteer projects related to indexing and finding aids. Finally, he’ll cover how you can always get the latest information related to the release of the 1950 U.S. census data!

1950 U.S. Federal Census Release!
2022-04-01 | Online

WMGS Monthly Meeting: Bring Your Ancestors to Life: Connect via Social History
2022-04-06 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
We’ve all wished that we could go beyond the names and dates for the ancestors we’ve found through research. If only we had asked our most recent ancestors questions about their lives, we would know them better. But what about our more distant ancestors?
Lori Lynn Price, MAS, MLA will help us transform our ancestors from names and dates on a piece of paper to people who led full and interesting lives through social history. She will help us learn how to incorporate local history and other sources of social history—such as occupation, military service and war, daily life, and recreation—into our genealogical research to gain a great understanding of our ancestors.

WMGS Training Session: Unlocking Stories of Our Female Ancestors Through Effective Research Methodology
2022-04-21 19:00 - 20:30 | Online
Join us for a genealogy rap session on Thursday, April 21st at 7 p.m. when we’ll watch and review “Unlocking Stories of Our Female Ancestors Through Effective Research Methodology,” a webinar presented by Denyce Porter Peyton.
Denyce will describe how implementing standard research methodology may help us to learn about our female ancestors’ life stories. She’ll describe resources and present two case studies of females born in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The webinar will be presented live on April 20th at 2 p.m. on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website at www.familytreewebinars.com. We’ll show the webinar and have a chance to chat about it afterwards. If you are unable to join us, the webinar will be available for free on the Legacy Family Tree Webinars website until April 27th.

WMGS Monthly Meeting: Adoption Research in America: History, Genealogy, Legacy
2022-05-04 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
One of the most difficult challenges in genealogical research is the area of adoption. At our May 4th meeting, forensic genealogist Michael Brophy will be joining us to present “Adoption Research in America: History, Genealogy, Legacy.”
Adoption has been practiced in America since its founding. This presentation explores many aspects of adoption, including the history, genealogical research practices, current issues, and legislation. Join us as Michael describes methods that may help your research and move it beyond roadblocks.

WMGS Training Session: The Connecticut State Library Website
2022-05-19 19:00 - 20:30 | Online
Join us at our Thursday, May 19th training session when Mel E. Smith takes us on a tour of the Connecticut State Library website. The library has a gold mine of information for genealogists who have ancestral ties to Connecticut.

WMGS' 50th Anniversary Virtual Celebration
2022-06-01 18:00 - 19:30 | Online
It’s been 50 years since Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society, Inc. was founded!
We’re looking forward to celebrating the 50th anniversary of the formation of our society with our members. We are thankful for the work begun by our Founders and proud of all that WMGS has become through the efforts of those who followed. From the beginning, WMGS has been devoted to helping others discover their ancestors and preserve their stories. We can proudly say that we have stayed true to our mission for over 5 decades!
Our 50th anniversary committee will host a virtual celebration where we share the story of our society, from its humble beginnings to the present. As the field of genealogy has changed over the past 50 years, so has our society. We’ll share a timeline of how WMGS has developed over the decades to become the wonderful and well-respected organization it is today. We’ll be sharing photos, memorabilia, historical material, and more, as we tell the story of WMGS through the years.
Please join us on Wednesday, June 1st at 6 p.m., as we celebrate our 50th Anniversary and toast to the future of WMGS!

Share Your Ancestor's Story
2022-06-16 19:00 - 20:30 | Online
Our June training session will be a chance for members to share a story and research about an ancestor whose past was intriguing, criminal, or unusual.
Have you discovered a famous or infamous ancestor in your family? Or perhaps you’ve found an offbeat ancestor or someone with an unusual occupation. Have you been able to prove or disprove a family myth through your research? We’d love to hear about your discoveries!
Have you discovered that your ancestor was a cowboy, a madam (ahem…),or a criminal? Perhaps they were murdered? Or perhaps you’ve found an ancestor who was an inventor, a tycoon, a member of royalty, or a hero. We’ve all found an ancestor who’s surprised us!
Short (5 minutes or so) presentations about your ancestor and research will be combined with others from WMGS members for discussion and Q & A.
This will be an informal event, so it isn’t necessary to provide tons of background information, research documentation, or other material about your ancestor or your research. We’re planning for this event to be fun and interactive, so we hope you’ll consider telling us about your ancestor!
If you’d like to share photos, scanned documents, or other digital material along with your story, you can send the items to us at westmassgen@gmail.com and we’ll have them ready to share on the screen.

Independence Day
2022-07-04
Happy 4th of July!

WMGS July Meeting: Change and Industrialization in Antebellum New England
2022-07-06 18:00 - 19:30 | Online
Join us at our July 6th meeting, as perennial favorite John Putnam presents the next topic in his history of New England series: “Change and Industrialization in Antebellum New England.”
John’s presentation describes the incredible economic and social changes in New England from the Industrial Revolution to the start of the Civil War. New England was ideally suited for industrial growth with its many rivers and streams. Waterpower led to rapid change in New England as grist mills, sawmills, textile mills, firearm and shoes manufacturers, and more developed and expanded. Every person and family in New England were affected by the growth and expansion of industry.

WMGS August Meeting: No Stone Unturned: Getting the Most from the Graveyard
2022-08-03 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
Summer and fall are perfect for cemetery research! To help your research be successful, member Ed Strickland will present “No Stone Unturned: Getting the Most from the Graveyard” at our August 3rd meeting.
Starting with the evolution of the burial ground to memorial park, Ed’s presentation will cover a wide range of topics related to cemetery research. He’ll cover the history of gravestones, including materials used, symbolism, gravestone transcriptions, military graves, military and fraternal emblems, and cemetery, sexton, and funeral home records. He’ll also discuss how to clean and photograph graves and take us on a tour of some confusing or misleading gravestones.

WMGS September Meeting: "Apprentices, Indentured Servants and Redemptioners: White Servitude in America"
2022-09-07 18:00 - 19:30 | Online
We’re excited to kick off our new membership year in September with a presentation by Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG, FOGS, one of our favorite speakers.
Peggy will be presenting “Apprentices, Indentured Servants and Redemptioners: White Servitude in America.”
An estimated one-half of early immigrants came to America as indentured servants. People came to the colonies by various means; some desired to come, and some came against their will. This lecture will examine indentureship in early America and will follow a case study of the story behind Peggy’s own ancestors’ arrival.
Peggy has noted, “This is by no means a comparison of indentureship and slavery. Though they may have worked alongside each other, and even ran away and married each other, their lives were vastly different. One had hope of a piece of land, and perhaps money and implement. The other had no hope at all; their service was perpetual.”

WMGS Training Event: "Our Ancestor's Clothing"
2022-09-22 19:00 - 21:00 | Online
We’re very excited that Howard Vincent Kurtz will be joining us at our September 22nd training session for another presentation of Our Ancestors’ Clothing!
If you have participated in Professor Kurtz’s previous visits to WMGS, you’ll know what a great opportunity he provides our members.
As in his previous visits, Prof. Kurtz will review a selection of photographs sent in by our members, analyzing the clothing worn and other clues in them. Prof. Kurtz’s analysis may help to identify ancestors, solve family mysteries, and add details and context to family stories. In addition, his visits provide our members with an opportunity to gain skills in photograph analysis from an expert.

WMGS October Meeting: "I've Found It: Now What?"
2022-10-05 18:00 - 19:30 | Online
At our October 5th meeting, popular genealogist Michael John Neill will be returning for another visit to present “I’ve Found It: Now What?”
This lecture looks at a dozen or so documents found in actual research and sees what additional sources and methods are suggested by each individual document. Part of finding something is completely analyzing it.
After searching and finally finding a document, you certainly want to make the most of your discovery. If you’re familiar with Michael’s work, you know that he will provide information and tips that will help you analyze your discovery and more.

WMGS October Board Meeting
2022-10-17 18:30 - 20:30 | Online

WMGS' First Hybrid Event
2022-10-20 19:00 - 20:30 | Chicopee Public Library & Online, 449 Front Street, Chicopee, MA, 01013, United States
We’re very excited to be hosting our first hybrid session at the Chicopee Public Library on Thursday, October 20th. The library now has broadcasting equipment that will allow us to share a presentation with members in the room, as well as with those members who wish to join from home. We’ll be trying out the new technology and will be interested in your feedback on it. We hope to see many of you at this session, either live or virtually!
If you live within driving distance, we hope you’ll join us at the Chicopee Public Library. But, if you live at a distance or prefer to join us via Zoom, we hope you’ll attend this event as well.
We’ll be hosting a repeat presentation of WMGS’ 50th anniversary virtual celebration. We originally presented this video at our June meeting, but we promised to repeat it for members who might have missed it the first time or for those who want to view it again. Because of copyright regulations, we are unable to archive this video in the Members Only section of our website. So, if you didn’t see it the first time around, you won’t want
to miss it.
The WMGS 50th anniversary committee created a timeline of WMGS history through the past five decades, along with a timeline of events in the genealogy world as well. The presentation includes photos, memorabilia, historical material, and more to tell the story of WMGS (and the field of genealogy) through the years. It’s a fantastic walk down memory lane.

WMGS Monthly Meeting: Indirect Evidence: Putting the Pieces Together
2022-11-02 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
Do you need a new way to solve an old research problem? Are you stuck because the vital records you need can’t be found, don’t provide enough information, or perhaps don’t exist for that time period?
At our November 2nd monthly meeting, Pauline Merrick will present “Indirect Evidence: Putting the Pieces Together” and teach us strategies to help solve such problems by gathering evidence and clues to prove a conclusion.
In a Connecticut-based, indirect evidence case study of a woman whose maiden name is known, but whose parents haven’t been found, Pauline demonstrates that researching friends-family/associates/neighbors (FAN principle) can provide evidence to connect this woman back to her family. She’ll demonstrate how various types of records, such as deeds, probate, church, court, and census records, can provide enough clues to help you solve that problem.

WMGS November Board Meeting
2022-11-14 18:30 - 20:30 | Online

WMGS Training Session: Share Your Ancestor's Story
2022-11-17 19:00 - 21:00 | Online
Our first “Share Your Ancestor’s Story” session was such a success that we’re planning to do it again at our November 17th training session. We want to let you know about our plans now, so you’ll have time to prepare. Once again, we’re inviting WMGS members to share a story and research about an ancestor whose past was intriguing,
criminal, or unusual.
Have you discovered a famous or infamous ancestor in your family? Or perhaps you’ve found an offbeat ancestor or someone with an unusual occupation. Have you been able to prove or disprove a family myth through your research? We’d love to hear about your discoveries!
This will be an informal event, so it isn’t necessary to provide tons of background information, research documentation, or other material about your ancestor or your research. We’re planning for this event to be fun and interactive, so we hope you’ll consider telling us about your ancestor!
Short (5 minutes or so) presentations about your ancestor and research process will be combined with others from WMGS members for discussion and Q & A. If you’d like to share photos, documents, or digital material (limit of 10 scanned items/slides please) along with your story, you can send the items to us at westmassgen@gmail.com and we’ll have them ready to share on the screen.

Giving Tuesday
2022-11-29 | Online
Giving Tuesday is a worldwide campaign to celebrate generosity, share kindness, and help organizations and causes that need support.
Last year, WMGS participated in this campaign for the first time, and we were blessed with many tax-deductible contributions from our members. These funds have helped to support our programs and activities and have allowed us to continue our efforts to bring local, regional, and national speakers to our members.
Giving Tuesday takes place each year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This year, Giving Tuesday falls on November 29th.
We hope you will join us in celebrating this global tradition of generosity by contributing to our campaign. All contributions will help WMGS to continue its 50+ year mission to help others to research, document, and share their family ancestry and history.
WMGS is a 501(c)3 organization that is run entirely by volunteers and is funded entirely by membership fees and donations.
Here is a link to the donation page on our website: https://westmassgen.com/donate/
Thank you in advance for your contribution and support!
