Morris Area Genealogy Society meetings are held the first Tuesday of the month, from September through May, at the Morris County Library, 30 East Hanover Ave., Whippany, NJ. Refreshments are served at 6:30; the program begins at 7:00. (Directions to the Library)
A list of our past monthly programs, since the startup of MAGS in 1988 through 2013, can be found here.
In addition to its regular meetings, MAGS also sponsors Special Interest Groups.
A list of our past monthly programs, since the startup of MAGS in 1988 through 2013, can be found here.
In addition to its regular meetings, MAGS also sponsors Special Interest Groups.
2020 - 2021 MEETING SCHEDULE
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1 Sept 2020
Online via ZOOM.
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The Table, the Diary, and the Road to Discovery - by Michael Schwartz
Mike Schwartz will describe how acquiring an heirloom piece of furniture resulted in finding an old diary which in turn led to finding a family line previously unknown.
Mike Schwartz is a retired telecommunications engineer and executive who has been involved in studying his family history for over 14 years. He has leveraged his professional research and global presentation experiences in his genealogy work and has presented his techniques, results and accompanying family history stories to groups in NJ, PA, and Florida. He splits his time between northern NJ and Sarasota Florida, where he is an active golfer and softball player as well as an amateur genealogist.
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6 Oct 2020
Online via ZOOM.
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Tracing Your Immigrant Ancestors - by Catherine Casey Zahn
Sometimes your genealogical research gets stymied by lack of information or not knowing what record to use next-especially with your immigrant ancestors. Tracing Your Ancestors shows you how to move beyond census records and to examine passenger records as well as naturalization records to lead you across the ocean and into the village where your ancestor once lived.
Catherine “Casey” Zahn is a Norwich, CT native. A retired teacher of the Robbinsville [NJ] Board of Education Casey, and a former trustee of the Genealogical Society of NJ. In 2008 she was the national program chair for the FGS Conference in Philadelphia. Casey has written two teacher guides for the National Genealogical Society and had two articles published about teaching children genealogy which appeared in the November 2004 Heritage Quest Magazine. She served on the National Alumni Council for her college, Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, WV and was a 1997 recipient of the NJ Governor’s Teacher of the Year for her school district. She is an America History Fellow for the Nathanael Greene Liberty Foundation and often teaches adult genealogy classes throughout NJ. Currently Casey resides in Pennington, NJ with her husband and is actively completing articles for future genealogical publication.
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3 Nov 2020
Online via ZOOM.
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Family Tree Maker - by Russ Worthington
Russ Worthington started "collecting his ancestors" about 15 years ago when his youngest daughter gave him a a genealogy management software program (Family Tree Maker) as a gift to "give him something to do." Little did he know where this would lead him and the people he would meet. He enjoys helping others in their hunt and in building their family relationships. Russ served in the US Coast Guard and lived in Maryland, but has returned to his New Jersey roots and now resides in northwestern New Jersey. He has several blogs, including one devoted to Family Tree Maker at ftmuser.blogspot.com. |
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1 Dec 2020
Online via ZOOM.
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Annual Holiday Party. Members Only
Come share in the fun! We’ll hear stories from members and draw for turns at the gift exchange table. If you can, please bring a treat to eat/share and an item to give away at the “gift exchange.” Such items may be items potentially of interest to a genealogist— books that you’re finished with, genealogical periodicals, reference CDs, etc. |
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5 Jan 2021
Online via ZOOM. |
Connecting and Celebrating with your Cousins - by Mary-Jo Solomon
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2 Feb 2021
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Writing Your Family History - by Melissa Johnson
You’ve spent years researching – now what? Learn how to preserve your hard work for future generations by writing an interesting, compelling and well documented compiled genealogy, family narrative, biography, memoir or case study. Melissa Johnson is a Certified Genealogist® specializing in genealogical research on families from NJ, NY, PA and the British Isles; DNA testing for adoptees and unknown parentage; dual citizenship; lineage society research; and genealogical writing, editing, and publishing. She has a genealogy service company at johnsongenealogyservices.com. |
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2 Mar 2021
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Researching Irish Ancestors - by Rich Venezia
Discover the variety of Irish record sets available, where to find which records, and how to learn the stories of your Irish ancestors. (Postponed from November 2020) Rich Venezia is an expert in the research of 20th-century immigrant ancestors, especially in underutilized record sources and federal records. He is the go-to guy for assistance with dual citizenship applications for Italy and Ireland. Other main areas of focus include Italian, Irish, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and New Jersey research. He was a member of the research team of Genealogy Roadshow (PBS) for two seasons and also consulted on Follow Your Past (Travel Channel). He has researched family histories for private clients, TV shows, attorneys, and other genealogical research firms. He has been quoted in CNN, Washington Post, CBS News, Thrillist, and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. |
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6 Apr 2021
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10 Ways to Jumpstart Your Genealogy - by Thomas MacEntee
Learn how to energize your genealogy research and be ready to hit the ground running. Whether stuck in a rut with genealogy research for the past year or just wanting to expand the ways in which family history can be pursued, follow these 10 touchstones and you’ll be surprised at the results. Covering every aspect of genealogy and even those you never considered, your genealogy research will not just jump, it’ll leap!
Thomas MacEntee is a professional genealogist specializing in the use of technology and social media to improve genealogical research and as a means of interacting with others in the family history community. |
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4 May 2021
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An Italian Immigrant Midwife in New Jersey: Gracia Lipari - by Maureen Wlodarczyk
This talk relates to an award-winning article Ms. Wlodarczyk wrote for the NJ history magazine Garden State Legacy. It is the story of a young Italian woman and trained midwife who came to NJ and delivered nearly 500 babies between 1907 and the mid-1930s. Ms. Wlodarczyk tracked down several of the “babies” she delivered who were still alive and interviewed them for her article. Maureen Wlodarczyk (www.past-forward.com) is an author, columnist, genealogist, speaker and admitted history and genealogy addict. She was selected for 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2020 Excellence-in-Writing awards by the International Society of Family History Writers & Editors (ISFHWE). She is the author of 7 books, each having family history as a pivotal element, including: Scarlet Letter Lives, a National Indie Excellence Award finalist, Birthless: A Tale of Family Lost & Found and her newest, Impostor: A Tale of Identity Lost & Found. Maureen’s writing is informed and inspired by her work in rediscovering true stories of people and events lost to time through her work as a genealogist and history researcher. |
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There are generally no meetings in June, July and August.
© Morris Area Genealogy Society
