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PAST TIMES Massachusetts Society of Genealogists, Inc Monthly Newsletter

CONTENTS President’s Message – 2 Virtual NERGC 2021 – 2 Chapter Meetings – 3 NERGC Ancestors Road Show – 4 Kim’s Corner – 4 Reminders – 4 MSOG Member Benefit – 5 Election of Officers – 5 Officers and Board – 6

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President’s Message: As I write this in mid-December, I am hoping the new year brings brighter days for all of us. News of vaccines being delivered is a start, but

the structure for the next six months, or even a year, remains an unknown.

However, for MSOG, we can be a little more certain about the next few months. There will be chapter meetings, webinars, and board meetings throughout our organization. The spring will bring chapter elections and season ending celebrations.

The state board is meeting on Sunday, January 10, 2021, probably for most of the afternoon. While the agenda is not yet set, we know there are appointments, award criteria, our Policies & Procedures document, and more to be discussed. As always, you can request a link and join the meeting, if you wish.

Part of that January meeting, I hope, will include an open discussion on the future of MSOG. My four thought starters for that are:

• Where is help needed • What projects should we get into • How can we improve • What is our social media presence

I would love to hear your thoughts as well as those of your elected officers.

Even without answers to those thought starters, we already have quite a bit to work on in 2021. We’re currently finishing up the first round of our Officer and Volunteer Orientation. We’re still working to update our Policies & Procedures document. We have our

participation in Virtual NERGC 2021 to complete and an entire 2021/2022 season of meetings and webinars to plan.

Beyond all of that, there are options, all dependent upon how many hands and hearts there are to assist with things like:

• A review of Member Benefits • An Update to our Legacy Quick Guide • Populating our YouTube channel • Implementing more aspects of GSuite

(especially GMeet & Gmail) • Increasing our Publicity & Marketing • Assisting long-term volunteers who need a

reduction in their support of your organization

Are any of these areas in which you could assist MSOG, Inc.?

So, what genealogical goals do you have for 2021? I’m hoping to continue progress on my Swedish line and to prod more information from my mother about her known ancestors. I’m cutting back on my volunteer hours with a couple of organizations as well.

Beyond genealogy, I simply hope to attend meetings and gatherings with family and friends in 2021. Whether or not we can get close enough to hug, I want to see the smiling faces that mean so much to me – including yours!

Stay safe and ring in the new year with hope for a return to in person gatherings so we can be together this fall for our Annual Meeting – even if all we do is talk face-to-face with each other!

Best Wishes for a Safe & Healthy 2021,

Seema

16th New England Regional Genealogical Conference Virtual NERGC 2021 April 1 – May 31, 2021 More information at: https://nergc.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NERGC/

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On-Line Chapter Meetings

Worcester

Saturday, January 2

Meeting Opens: 10:30am Business Meeting: 10:45am

Presentation 11:00am

Pre-Registration Link: https://tinyurl.com/WRJan2021

Michael Strauss Presents

Influenza: The Twentieth Century’s Deadliest Pandemic

Middlesex Saturday, January 9

Presentation: 10:30am-12:00pm

Pre-Registration Link: https://tinyurl.com/MXJan2021

David Allen Lambert Presents

Adopting the Regiment: In Search

of Your Civil War Union Ancestors

WEBINAR Thursday, January 14

Presentation: 7:00-8:00pm

Pre-Registration Link: https://tinyurl.com/MSOGJan2021

Kathleen Kaldis Presents

Got Books? How to Organize Your

Genealogical Library & Connect with Others

Generations Book Club

Saturday, January 16

Meeting: 10:00-11:00am

Meeting Link:

https://tinyurl.com/BCJan2021

This month’s book:

Bill Griffeth Author of

Stranger in My Genes

Bristol Saturday, January 16

Members Only Meeting: 11:00am Public Presentation: 12:00 Noon

Pre-Registration Link: https://tinyurl.com/BristolJan2021

Denise Picard Lindgren Presents

Custom and Canon Law for Researching

Roman Catholic Ancestors

Merrimack Valley

Chapter Mtg. & DNA SIG

Saturday, January 23 Presentation: 10:00am

PLEASE NOTE: The meeting/presentation

has been moved to NEHGS’s Zoom account. The new link

will be available in early January on the MSOG website

and social media, and will also be emailed to members.

Melanie McComb Presents

Using DNA in Family History

Be sure to check “Recent Posts” on the MSOG website for updates and more information about these meetings and webinars: https://www.msoginc.org.

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Virtual NERGC 2021 Ancestors Road Show NERGC is looking for consultants for the Ancestors Road Show (ARS) at the Virtual NERGC 2021. Do you have an area of expertise that folks often ask about? Do you like to help folks solve their brick walls?

Volunteers are needed for the ARS on Tuesday, April 27; Friday, May 7; and Wednesday, May 26 for 20-minute, one-on-one, virtual sessions with NERGC registrants. If you are interested in being a consultant, please email Helen Shaw at HelenShawME@gmail.com, providing your full name and contact information, the area(s) of expertise you can consult on, and the days & times you are available. Please note which (US or Canadian) time zone you are in if not Eastern Standard Time.

If you are a member of a NERGC sponsoring society, the time you consult will count towards total volunteer hours of the society. If you do not belong to a sponsoring society, you may designate which society may have credit for your volunteer service.

Kim’s Corner In honor of our previous Past Times editor, we have been asking a question every issue. The idea is to get you thinking, to share tips and experiences with other genealogists, as well as to generate some content that can be shared on MSOG social media outlets. Please keep in mind that your response may be shared on MSOG’s Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/talkaboutgenealogy) and thus should not contain names and dates of living individuals. This month’s question is: What are your genealogy/family history research New Year’s resolutions for 2021? Please share your goals (remember no names of living people!). Please send your answer to pasttimes@msoginc.org.

Reminders: • All webinars are recorded and are available in the members-only section of the MSOG

website – log-in is required. • Did you know that MSOG is on Twitter and on Facebook in two places? • Be sure to check out MSOG's Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/msoginc

– to find out the latest MSOG news. • MSOG also has a Facebook Group –

https://www.facebook.com/groups/talkaboutgenealogy – answers to "Kim's Corner" questions are posted here, and it's a great place to ask questions, share information, and connect with MSOG members and other genealogists.

• MSOG tweets! Find us at https://twitter.com/MAGenealogists.

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MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY OF GENEALOGISTS, INC. P.O. Box 215, Ashland, MA 01721-0215

Statement of Purpose The Society’s mission is to promote and encourage Massachusetts genealogical research at all levels—beginner, amateur, and professional. The Society is a Massachusetts nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. The corporation was formed for the following reasons: • To bring together all persons interested in genealogy,

beginner, amateur, and professional; • To set standards of conduct; to ensure public access to

records; to provide education in genealogical research; • To act in whatever manner needed to promote genealogy

and family history; and • To bring together families both past and present.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 6 June 1975. Membership Information Members receive the Past Times newsletter, free issues of MASSOG, free queries, and access to webinars. Membership is from September 1 to August 31, with membership renewals due by July 1.

INDIVIDUAL dues are $25.00 per year. FAMILY dues are $30.00 per year. Membership applications received July 1st and thereafter will be applied to the following year’s membership. Membership choices are: • BR – Bristol • MV – Merrimack Valley • MX – Middlesex • WR – Worcester

Chapter affiliation is at the discretion of the member, regardless of residence. The membership application is on our website. Join online using PayPal or mail your application and check to the above address. Address any questions to president@msoginc.com or to the appropriate officer, committee chair, or delegate. E-mail addresses are listed on the last page of this publication

New MSOG Member Benefit: Legacy Tree Genealogists Discount

MSOG is pleased to announce that Legacy Tree Genealogists is offering a discount to active MSOG members. More information: https://www.legacytree.com/msoginc

Election of Officers for 2021-2022 The MSOG election of officers was conducted from October 13-20, 2020. The elected officers were announced and congratulated at the Annual Meeting in November: President - Seema-Jayne Kenney Vice President - Kelly A. Fox Treasurer - Diane Laferriere Recording Secretary - Elizabeth Pyle Handler Corresponding Secretary - Pat Stano-Carpenter Membership Director - David Kent Historian/Archivist - Wendy Rawson Sheppard

Thank you very much to everyone who voted. Many thanks to the 2020 Nominating Committee: Chair: Susan Dion (WR); Members: George C. Brown (MX), Dennis Hogan (MV), Kathleen Rubano (BR), and Nancy Souza (BR). Many thanks also to the 2020 Tellers Committee: Chair: Nancy A. Souza (BR); Members: Susan Dion (WR) and George C. Brown (MX).

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STATE OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS

President Seema-Jayne Kenney president@msoginc.org Vice President Kelly A. Fox vicepresident@msoginc.org

Treasurer Diane Laferriere treasurer@msoginc.org Corresponding Secretary Patricia Stano-Carpenter correspondingsecretary@msoginc.org

Recording Secretary Elizabeth Pyle Handler recordingsecretary@msoginc.org Membership Director David Kent membership@msoginc.org

Historian/Archivist Wendy Rawson Sheppard archivist@msoginc.org Bristol Chapter Yvonne Hickey, President bristol@msoginc.org

Merrimack Valley Chapter Diane Brooks-Sherry, President merrimackvalley@msoginc.org Middlesex Chapter Deborah Lee Stewart, President middlesex@msoginc.org Worcester Chapter Deborah Cardoni, President worcester@msoginc.org

MASSOG Editor George D. Martin massog@msoginc.org Past Times Editor Anne Swingle Borg & Deborah

Keyes pasttimes@msoginc.org

Webmaster Hope Tillman webmaster@msoginc.org

COMMITTEES & CHAIRS

Annual Meeting Kelly A. Fox annualmeeting@msoginc.org Audit Committee Robert Farmer auditor@msoginc.org

Research & Education Carol Gafford research@msoginc.org Technology Hope Tillman technology@msoginc.org

Writing Contest Editorial Board writingcontest@msoginc.org

DELEGATES

FGS (Federation of Genealogical Societies) Susie Haenish fgs@msoginc.org MGC (Mass. Genealogical Council) VACANT mgc@msoginc.org

NERGC (N. E. Reg’l Genealogical Consortium)

Dennis Hogan nergc@msoginc.org