WELCOME 
The Morris Area Genealogy Society (MAGS) provides a lively forum for resource sharing, mutual assistance, and instruction for those interested in family history and genealogy. Beginners as well as more experienced genealogists profit from monthly lectures on topics relating to genealogy. 
Starting in 2020, beginning genealogists may attend our Beginners and Beyond SIG without being a MAGS member.

Since our origin in 1988 at the Joint Free Public Library of Morristown and Morris Township, our Society has grown and we now meet at the Morris County Library*, 30 East Hanover Ave., Whippany, NJ on the first Tuesday evening of the month. Visitors are welcome at our monthly meetings. Refreshments are served at 6:30; the program begins at 7:00.

If a monthly meeting needs to be cancelled, every effort is made by the MAGS Board to notify the Morris County Library before 3 pm, with a cancellation notification posted on this page of this website. When in doubt, please call the Morris County Library directly.

​Among the benefits of membership are a subscription to the quarterly Morris Area Genealogy Society Newsletter and participation in our MAGS Special Interest Groups (SIGs). A MAGS SIG is a smaller group within the larger organization (MAGS) with a shared interest in a specific area; it focuses on particular challenges and topics such as research strategies in a smaller, less formal setting.  Go to our Special Interest Group page for more information.

2020 Change:  The SIG for Beginners and Beyond is now open to all - MAGS membership is not required.  If you think you might be interested in genealogy, come to our SIG meeting and try it out!

While the library is closed for meetings, the Morristown-Morris Township Library, North Jersey History and Genealogy Center librarians continue to provide genealogical research. Email the NJHGC at  james.lewis@mmt.mainlib.org .

Members are encouraged to volunteer their time and share their expertise by serving on committees.

*Directions to the Library. Telephone number: 973-285-6930.
Changes to Special Interest Groups - effective June 1, 2021: 
  • "Crossing The Pond" evening SIG, "Western Europe" morning SIG and "German and Eastern Europe" morning SIG have all been combined into ONE SIG named "Crossing The Pond."  It is holding Zoom meetings on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 10:00 am to noon.  If you were already a member of any of the three above-mentioned SIGs, you are automatically a member of this replacement SIG.  ​
​​While the Morris County Library meeting rooms are closed, the following meetings are being held ONLINE via ZOOM:
  • MONTHLY GENERAL MEETINGS
  •  BEGINNERS AND BEYOND SIG
  •  BRICK WALLS SIG 
  •  DNA SIG 
  • Combined CROSSING THE POND SIG
  •  COMPUTER GENEALOGY SIG and the COMPUTER GENEALOGY AND FAMILY HISTORY WRITING SIG will have combined meetings. 
SIG members should watch their email for ZOOM notices.   

If you are a MAGS member and are interested in joining a SIG, send an email to: 
               All-Members+owner@MAGS-Members.groups.io 
and advise what SIG(s) you wish to participate in.  ​

​MAGS - UPCOMING MEETING



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​7 Sep 2021
***  ONLINE VIA ZOOM  Meetings*** - Preregistration is required.
MAGS Members will receive the preregistration email two weeks before the meeting.
​If you are not a MAGS member and are interested in attending this meeting, please send an email one week before the meeting date to magsmemb@gmail.com .

Stories From Ellis Island - by Fred Voss
​Ellis Island opened on January 1, 1892 as the nation's first federal immigration entry point. During the next 32 years, it was by far the busiest US inspection station, processing 12.5 million people, each hoping for a chance at a new life. It is estimated that 40% of all Americans can trace their roots back to immigrants who came through Ellis Island.  Did you have relatives who came through Ellis Island? Did the inspectors detain them? Were they treated at the island's hospitals? Did your family names get changed by the inspectors?!  

Mr. Voss will provide an overview of the workings of the Island—how immigrants arrived, how they were processed through the different parts of the Island, and what might mean a long stay on the Island or a return-ticket home. He will also dive into those squiggles on the manifest and how to decipher them.

Fred Voss is a professional genealogist and a volunteer tour guide at Ellis Island National Park. He is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the International Society of Genetic Genealogists as well as various regional societies. He has been doing personal genealogy for over 25 years and is a Trustee and Education Chair for the  Genealogical Society of Bergen County.
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Website last updated: 2021 August 31 - Note SIG meeting changes August-December 2021; Added Mark White presentation info; updated list of meetings from beginning through May 2021.
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