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MSOG, Inc.
PO Box 215
Ashland, MA 01721-0215 |
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Thursday, December 11
Are you a Daughter or a Son of Quebec Royalty? (Webinar)
7:00 pm Virtual Only
Presented Virtually by Lisa Elvin-Staltari
Find your Lineage! Journey into the world of Les Filles du Roi, the 17th-century women who transformed a fragile colony into the vibrant society that became Quebec. This presentation explores their origins, their trans-Atlantic passage, their marriages, and the crucial role they played in population growth, community building, and cultural identity. Through vivid stories and real historical examples, we’ll look at how these women navigated hardship, opportunity, and new beginnings in New France. Attendees will also learn how to trace a Fille du Roi ancestor using church records, notarial documents, and essential genealogical resources.
Lisa Elvin-Staltari has over 20 years of experience as a teacher, sales consultant, trainer, public speaker, radio host, and writer. For the past 15 years, she has worked as a professional genealogist, focusing on French Canadian family history — a lifelong interest that began in childhood. Originally from Drummondville, Quebec, Lisa has both French and English Canadian roots. In 2013, she started her blog and website, Have Roots, Will Travel, which later expanded into a YouTube channel. She now produces weekly videos on French Canadian genealogy and has created more than 500 episodes. She currently is the Genealogy Specialist for the Orange County Library System in Ocoee, Florida
Lisa is the Membership Chair and a board member of La Société des Filles du Roi et Soldats du Carignan, where she also helps lead educational outreach. She works with individuals on genealogical projects and regularly speaks to genealogy groups across North America. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, National Genealogical Society, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American-Canadian Genealogical Society, and several state-level genealogical organizations.
You must be logged in as a Member to participate in the event. Log-in at https://msoginc.org/members.php. Go to "Event Registration" to register for the webinar.
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Saturday, December 13
French-Canadian Patriots (Middlesex)
10:15 am to 12:30 pm Virtual only via Zoom
Janine Penfield Presents French-Canadian Patriots
Janine will speak about several topics:
- French-Canadian migration to New England;
- A Short History of French-Canadian involvement in the American Revolution;
- How to join The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), especially focusing on your French-Canadian Patriot ancestor.
10:15 AM EST Business Meeting
10:30 AM EST Socializing
11:00 AM EST Presentation
Janine LaFleur Penfield is a genealogist and active DAR member. Janine graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. in Art History. She holds the Genealogical Research Certificate from the Boston University Genealogical Research Program. Janine has completed the DAR Genealogical Education Program, courses 1 through 8.
This program is free and open to the public.
For more information, please contact: mxvp@msoginc.org
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Saturday, December 20
Preserving and Passing Down Your Genealogical Legacy (Bristol)
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Attend in Person or Virtually via Zoom
Presented in-person by Kevin Desforges
This two-part presentation will cover two subjects closely related: Tools to Help Your Life's Genealogical Work Survive into the Future and Ancestor Photographs and Facial Recognition AI. After a lifetime of passionate research and compiling your family history, there comes a time when you consider who in the future will appreciate, benefit, and hopefully cherish your work and even build upon it. Let's consider a few tools to help your life's genealogical work survive into the future. The second part will be about how Facial Recognition AI offers a powerful tool to help identify your ancestors in other peoples' photographs.
Kevin Desforges brings together past experiences in programming, data science, database management, and dynamic web development. He worked as a professional programmer and data scientist in the military, in finance, and in health care for such notable organizations as the New York Stock Exchange (NYC), FINRA (NYC), Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA (Boston), and Research Triangle Institute (Cary, NC / Waltham, MA). He attended Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH), Bristol Community College (Fall River, MA), and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. He served four years as a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force (San Antonio, TX) and proceeded to earn a continuing Ed degree in Small Business Entrepreneurship from the Borough of Manhattan Community College (NYC).
In 2006, Kevin began to focus his technical skills in the area of genealogy and the preservation of family legacy by starting Visual Ancestor ( www.visualancestor.com), an elite online library of ancestor photographs, after having been inspired by the antique community in Warren, Rhode Island. In 2022, he co-founded a tech company called Echodify ( www.echodify.com) which specializes in passing on family legacies to future generations. Currently, he continues to pursue his passion for preserving ancestor photographs bringing the subject matter into the realm of modern, AI-driven technology such as facial recognition.
SOMERSET PUBLIC LIBRARY
1464 County Street
Somerset, MA 02726
Business Meeting 11:00-11:30 am
Member Sharing 11:30-11:55 am
Presentation Begins at Noon.
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
For more information contact: bristol@msoginc.org
Schedule of Events Available at: https://msoginc.org
Those who wish to attend virtually, can pre-register at https://tinyurl.com/BristolDec25 |
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Saturday, January 3, 2026
Navigating the Records From The War of 1812 (Worcester)
9:30 am to 11:30 am Worcester: Virtual
Brian Rhinehart presents;
Navigating the Records from The War of 1812
From bounty land to pensions, there are no shortage of genealogical records for soldiers from The War of 1812. Learn why these records were created, how to make sense of them, and what those records can contain for your ancestors.
About Brian Rhinehart:
Brian Rhinehart is an historian and genealogist who provides on site research and record retrieval at the National Archives in Washington DC, focusing primarily on 19th century military records (Civil War, War of 1812, Mexican War, Indian Wars, Spanish American War) and federal land records (bounty land, homestead land, etc). He is open to other projects aside from these, as long as the records can be accessed at the National Archives in Washington DC.
9:30 AM EST Socializing
9:45 AM EST Business meeting
10:00 AM EST Presentation
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
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Saturday, January 10, 2026
Land Ownership and Transfer in New England, 1600s-1850 (Middlesex)
10:00 am to 12:30 pm Virtual only via Zoom
Diane Gravel presents Land Ownership and Transfer in New England, 1600s-1850
Tracing land ownership is often the key to solving challenging genealogical problems. The laws and practices governing land distribution and transfer changed dramatically over the years and should be understood for an effective search. Explore
the proprietors of the earliest settlements to the evolution of dower rights, navigating the abundance of available records in the New England states.
Diane Florence Gravel, CG®, is the President of the NH Society of Genealogists. She currently serves on the Program Committee and chairs the Society's NERGC Committee. She also served as co-editor of New Hampshire Families in 1790. She has lectured at NGS, GRIP and SLIG. She previously served on APG’s Board of Directors, chaired its Chapter Review Committee, served as president of its New England Chapter, and was awarded APG’s Grahame T. Smallwood Jr. Award of Merit.
10:15 am ET Business Meeting
10:30 am ET Socializing
Presentation begins at 11:00 am ET
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
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Saturday, January 17, 2026
How to Use the FamilySearch Catalog (Bristol)
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Attend in Person or Virtually via Zoom
Presented Virtually by Cheri Hudson Passey
The FamilySearch Catalog is an underused resource by many genealogists. Learn tricks and tips on using this tool to its full potential for finding records within the collection.
Cheri Hudson Passey is a professional genealogist, instructor, writer, speaker, and owner of Carolina Girl Genealogy, LLC. She hosts the YouTube genealogy chat show GenFriends and is a genealogical researcher subcontracted by Eagle Investigative Services, Inc., for the US Army Past Conflict Repatriations Branch. She is involved in many genealogy societies and organizations and is on the National Genealogical Society board. For over ten years, Cheri has written the blog “Carolina Girl Genealogy,” sharing genealogy tips, methodologies, family stories, and her research adventures in South Carolina.
SOMERSET PUBLIC LIBRARY
1464 County Street
Somerset, MA 02726
Business Meeting 11:00-11:30 am
Member Sharing 11:30-11:55 am
Presentation Begins at Noon.
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
For more information contact: bristol@msoginc.org
Schedule of Events Available at: https://msoginc.org
Those who wish to attend virtually, can pre-register at https://tinyurl.com/BristolJan26 |
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Saturday, January 24, 2026
Why They Left, Where They Went, and What Their Journeys Can Reveal (Merrimack Valley)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm Hybrid - Via Zoom or in person at Georgetown Peabody Library
Why did our ancestors leave their homes? Why did they settle where they did? Using unexpected records, social history, the law, and more, we'll discover the secrets our ancestors’ migrations can reveal as we track them from place to place, across the ocean, across the country, even across town! This talk is about migration across the ocean, across the country, and across town, and although it does not focus on New England, the strategies and records are applicable to anyone studying the topic.
Pam Vestal is a professional genealogist and speaker who turned her focus to her longtime love of genealogy after a 20-year writing career. Her articles have appeared in the National Genealogical Society Magazine and the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly, and her lectures take her from coast to coast. Pam specializes in conducting genealogical research and then transforming that information into illustrated stories that even non-genealogists can enjoy.
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
For more information contact: merrimackvalley@msoginc.org
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Saturday, February 7, 2026
ChatGPT (Worcester)
9:30 am to 11:30 am Virtual
Worcester Chapter Meeting
Rob Weir Presents ChatGPT
9:30 AM EST Socializing
9:45 AM EST Business meeting
10:00 AM EST Presentation
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. |
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Saturday, February 21, 2026
10th Annual Ancestors Day (Bristol)
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Attend in Person or Virtually via Zoom
Presented by Bristol Chapter Members
Every year, several members from the “Bristol Chapter” volunteer to share interesting stories and research anecdotes about their family. Members will enlighten attendees with their triumphs, journeys, family stories and roadblocks in their quest to find their ancestors.
In an entertaining way, you will learn fascinating facts about our members and their families. Not all the research will result in a happy ending but nevertheless everyone will leave enlightened and energized to solve a family lore. Regardless of what you learn, the day will prove to be fun and educational.
SOMERSET PUBLIC LIBRARY
1464 County Street
Somerset, MA 02726
Business Meeting 11:00-11:30 am
Member Sharing 11:30-11:55 am
Presentation Begins at Noon.
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
For more information contact: bristol@msoginc.org
Schedule of Events Available at: https://msoginc.org
Those who wish to attend virtually, can pre-register at https://tinyurl.com/BristolFeb26 |
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Saturday, February 28, 2026
Identifying a Plantagenet King - Richard III (Merrimack Valley)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm Hybrid - Via Zoom or in person at Georgetown Peabody Library
In 2012, beneath a Leicester parking lot, archaeologists made one of England’s most astonishing discoveries—the lost remains of King Richard III. This presentation traces the journey from legend to discovery: the Richard III Society’s years of dedicated research and advocacy that spearheaded the search; the life and lineage of the last Plantagenet king; and the fatal wounds he sustained at the Battle of Bosworth Field that helped confirm his identity. Explore how the team located the medieval Greyfriars friary, how the University of Leicester combined archaeology, history, and DNA analysis to verify the remains, and how a long-lost monarch was finally reinterred with honor.
Bonnie Wade Mucia, AG® an Accredited Genealogist in the New England region and is the owner of Keeper of the Past Genealogy, LLC. She serves as Director of the Mayflower Families Silver Books Project for the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, concentrating on Mayflower passengers' descendants. She has published articles in respected genealogical journals, including the New England Historic Genealogical Society's Mayflower Descendant, the Rhode Island Roots Journal of the Rhode Island Genealogical Society, The Maine Genealogist, The Nova Scotia Genealogist, and Crossroads, among others. Bonnie is originally from Rhode Island but currently lives in South Carolina.
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
For more information contact: merrimackvalley@msoginc.org
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Saturday, March 7, 2026
Breakout Rooms Meeting (Worcester)
9:30 am to 11:30 am Virtual
Worcester Chapter Meeting
9:30 AM EST Socializing
9:45 AM EST Business meeting
10:00 AM EST Presentation
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
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Saturday, March 21, 2026
Creating an Ancestor Sketch (Rescheduled) (Bristol)
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Attend in Person or Virtually via Zoom
Presented Virtually by Thomas MacEntee
Face it: most genealogists never get around to publishing that family history book based on their genealogy research. How about a different approach: producing short 3-5 page “sketches” about an ancestor? You’ll learn how to include a cover, photos, facts, family stories, source citations and more! And guess what, once you get a few of these ancestor sketches done, you can compile them together for one big book!
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.
"This program has applied for support from the Somerset Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency."
SOMERSET PUBLIC LIBRARY
1464 County Street
Somerset, MA 02726
Business Meeting 11:00-11:30 am
Member Sharing 11:30-11:55 am
Presentation Begins at Noon.
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
For more information contact: bristol@msoginc.org
Schedule of Events Available at: https://msoginc.org
Those who wish to attend virtually, can pre-register at https://tinyurl.com/BristolMar2026 |
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Saturday, March 28, 2026
Digging Up Scandals: Tracing Black Sheep Ancestors in Canadian Genealogy (Merrimack Valley)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm Hybrid - Via Zoom or in person at Georgetown Peabody Library
Discover how to navigate the unique challenges and rewards of researching black sheep ancestors — those family members whose lives were marked by controversy, scandal, or crime. Using Canadian resources, attendees will learn strategies for uncovering records, interpreting data, and understanding the historical context of their ancestors' lives.
A native of Southwestern Ontario, Canada, Kathryn Lake Hogan, UE, PLCGS, is a professional genealogist and educator with deep roots in Canada through her five Loyalist ancestors. Since founding Looking4Ancestors in 2007, Kathryn has helped family history researchers uncover their Canadian ancestry, combining her expertise with an approachable and insightful teaching style. Kathryn graduated from ProGen 4 and the National Institute for Genealogical Studies, where she earned professional learning certificates in English and Canadian genealogy. Kathryn has written articles featuring Canadian genealogy for CrossRoads, Family Tree Magazine, The In-Depth Genealogist, and the APG Quarterly. Having held leadership roles within notable organizations such as Ontario Ancestors, the Association of Professional Genealogists, and the United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada, she continues to advocate for greater accessibility, inclusivity, and diversity in family history. Kathryn is a sought-after speaker who captivatingly engages audiences at genealogy society meetings and regional and national conferences. As a course coordinator and instructor of Canadian and Ontario courses at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), the National Genealogical Society GRIP, and the Applied Genealogy Institute (AppGen), she helps family history researchers sharpen their skills and dive deeper into their Canadian family history.
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
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Saturday, April 4, 2026
Genealogy in Ancient Times (Worcester)
9:30 am to 11:30 am TBA
In Person
Karin Wulf Presents: Geneaology in Ancient Times
In Person
9:30 AM EDT Socializing
9:45 AM EDT Business meeting
10:00 AM EDT Presentation
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
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Saturday, April 18, 2026
Military Pension Files. (Bristol)
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Attend in Person or Virtually via Zoom
Presented Virtually by Catherine (Casey) Zahn
SOMERSET PUBLIC LIBRARY
1464 County Street
Somerset, MA 02726
Business Meeting 11:00-11:30 am
Member Sharing 11:30-11:55 am
Presentation Begins at Noon.
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
For more information contact: bristol@msoginc.org
Schedule of Events Available at: https://msoginc.org
Those who wish to attend virtually, can pre-register at https://tinyurl.com/BristolApr2026 |
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Saturday, April 25, 2026
Dead Men Do Tell Tales: Recreating Life in a Community Using Death Certificates (Merrimack Valley)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm Hybrid - Via Zoom or in person at Georgetown Peabody Library
Death certificates can tell us a lot about how our ancestors lived and died. When looked at as a group they can also tell us about life and death in their communities. This presentation focuses on an analysis of death certificates from Attleboro, Massachusetts over a five-year period, and shows how they can provide us with a window into the lives of the people who lived there.
Karen A. Fortin has degrees in history and library and information sciences and a passion for research. She worked in a public library for 30 years before switching to providing genealogical and historical presentations in 2016. She is a member of various genealogical societies and loves to help people explore their family history so that they can better understand their ancestors and the world in which they lived.
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
For more information contact: merrimackvalley@msoginc.org
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Saturday, May 2, 2026
Holy Cross Library / Dinand Library (Worcester)
9:30 am to 11:30 am In Person
Lisa Villa Presents: Holy Cross Library / Dinand Library
9:30 AM EDT Socializing
9:45 AM EDT Business meeting
10:00 AM EDT Presentation
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
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Saturday, May 16, 2026
Field Trip (Bristol)
10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Boston Public Library
700 Boylston St.
Boston, MA 02116
Business Meeting 11:00-11:30 am
Member Sharing 11:30-11:55 am
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Saturday, June 6, 2026
Worcester Chapter Annual Luncheon Meeting (Worcester)
11:30 am to 2:00 pm TBA
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Saturday, June 20, 2026
Bristol Chapter Annual Meeting (Bristol)
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Attend in Person or Virtually via Zoom
Presented by TBA
Location TBA
Business Meeting 11:00-11:30 am
Member Sharing 11:30-11:55 am
Presentation Begins at Noon.
This program is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
For more information contact: bristol@msoginc.org
Schedule of Events Available at: https://msoginc.org
Those who wish to attend virtually, can pre-register at TBA |
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