|
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.
Finding Your Roots: German Genealogy
 The Maryland Genealogical Society (MGS) and Maryland Public Television (MPT) are partnering to offer another exciting two-hour webinar — Finding Your Roots: German Genealogy - From U.S. Clues to German Research. The webinar will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, October 28, from 7:00pm-9:00pm ET.
This webinar will discuss how to use online records to research your German roots. You'll learn about the most promising sources for identifying your ancestor's German town of origin and how to find German church and civil records online. The presentation will conclude with time for questions and answers.
Whether you've just discovered you have a German immigrant ancestor or want to hone your skills in German genealogical research, this two-hour session will provide lots of helpful guidance.
The cost is $40.00.
Our Speaker
Our speaker is Debra A. Hoffman, professional genealogist, author, and lecturer, who specializes in Maryland and German research. She has a certificate in Family History from Brigham Young University and a Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies (PLCGS)-German Records from the National Institute of Genealogical Studies. She coordinated the week-long course “Maryland: Researching in the Old Line State” at the 2020 Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and co-authored NGS’ Research in the States Series: Maryland. She currently serves as an MGS At-Large Board Member and is the Secretary for the Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society. She is the principal of Hoffman Genealogical Services and conducts research trips to Germany.
It's Not All Online: MCHC Library
.jpg) MGS and our partners at the Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC) invite you to learn about the genealogical resources available only onsite at MCHC's H. Furlong Baldwin Library.
Saturday, 7 November 2026
11:00am to 2:00pm ET
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21201
In addition to a discussion about the records, manuscripts, and other materials relevant to family history research, participants will explore the Library and have time for personalized genealogy research assistance from members of the MGS board.
Registration cost (which includes lunch) is $15.00. Spots are limited, so register soon!
Finding Your Roots: Death Is Only the Beginning
 The Maryland Genealogical Society is pleased to once again partner with Maryland Public Television (MPT) to offer a new beginner-to-intermediate genealogy webinar series. Finding Your Roots: Death is Only the Beginning will include four (4) two-hour sessions designed to help you use the many types of death-related records to learn not only about an ancestor but also about their families. Sessions will be held at 7:00pm ET on September 9, September 23, October 7, and October 21.
In order, the four sessions will include:
- Death Records as Doorways: What One Death Can Tell Us
- Last Words in Print: Obituaries, Death Notices, and Newspaper Accounts
- Buried, Mourned, and Remembered: Cemetery, Funeral, and Church Records
- After the Funeral: Probate Records and the Family Left Behind
Registrants will also 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.
Each session will feature a combination of lecture, small and large group discussion, and question and answer time. Handouts will be provided for each session. The webinars will be recorded. The cost of the series is $100.00. You can read more details and register on the MPT registration page.
Our Speaker
 The workshop series will be led by nationally known speaker Annette Burke Lyttle, who has been the presenter for several previous MGS/MPT workshop series. She holds the Certified Genealogist ® credential and owns Heritage Detective, LLC, providing professional genealogical services in research, education, and writing. Annette is a course coordinator for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and the British Institute. She is a published writer whose research interests include Quaker ancestors and ancestral migrations in the US. She is past president of the Association of Professional Genealogists and editor of The Florida Genealogist.
MGS Journal
This issue of the Journal is a special one: It contains some of the excellent articles we received as part of the 2025 MGS Journal Writing Competition. The first-, second-, and third-place winners as well as an honorable mention selection are included here along with two additional entries. More of these competition articles will be featured in upcoming issues. We hope that the research methods and storytelling demonstrated here will be useful to you in your own genealogy work and that these articles will inspire you to tell your own story.
The first-prize winner is Emalu Myer Simpson who has made use of land records to tell the story of Mary Covington, the widow of Phillip Covington of Somerset County. Although married women could not hold title to land without their husbands, they could purchase and inherit land, and widows had a “right of dower” to lands owned by their deceased husbands. Mary petitioned the general assembly to sell lands from her husband’s estate to satisfy his debts, and that petition contained a wealth of information, including her maiden name, information about her family, and many details of her early life.
Second prize went to Gene R. Major for his article tracing Clarissa Fox of Anne Arundel County. Using family bibles, Sons of the American Revolution applications, census records, and pension petitions, the author proves with indirect evidence that Clarissa was probably a daughter of Sgt. Anthony Fox, Revolutionary War soldier.
Our third-place winner is Annette Burke Lyttle, who documents the life of Jacob S. Perry, a carpenter, cabinet maker, and undertaker in Frederick County. Census records, newspaper articles, gravestones, and wills help to paint a picture of Jacob’s life and that of his family.
John Carter was given honorable mention for his article on the Wyatt family in Maryland and Delaware. Although the family of Noah Wyatt has previously been well documented, this article suggests that he had a second family with an enslaved woman who bore him six children.
Ross Gorman’s article connects the well-known Blakiston family of Maryland to a less-well-known branch of the family—the Blackstones of Ohio, tracing the families from their common origins in Durham, England.
And Mike Sapp uncovers a wealth of new information concerning the Curry and Fitzgerald families by examining the Loudon Park mausoleum records, which provided maps, names, and dates for the ancestors buried there.
As always, we keep you informed about recent publications in genealogy with reviews from Allender Sybert, including in this issue a guide to researching Catholic nuns.
We hope that reading this issue of the Journal will prompt you to write your own story. We are always looking for well written and well researched articles to include in the Journal. Articles are posted on the MGS website on publication, so that all members have access to them.
July 2026 MGS News
The July 2026 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 Members Only area.
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.
|
|
