Meetings

Past Programs

November 2, 2024 - Using Pinterest in Genealogy Research

Star Pelsue presented a program on how to use Pinterest in genealogy research. She explained the terminology and showed us examples of the types of genealogy topics that Pinterest offers. She also showed us how we can join and become pinners! It's good for finding information, but also for keeping your research organized through the use of boards.

October 5, 2024 - Add a Snapshot to Research: Adding Photos

Allyson Maughan gave a presentation on using photographs in your genealogy research. Often seen as enhancements, photographs hold answers to questions you have about your ancestors. Photos have faces on the front and writing on the back that tell stories. They provide new leads and solve family mysteries. You can find her sharing genealogy tips on her blog at rememberingrelatives.weebly.com.

September 7, 2024 - Goldie May

Gray Stabley gave a workshop on using Goldie May in genealogy research. Goldie May was developed by Richard Miller and is software that works alongside your genealogy databases and websites. It can help you stay organized and focused on your research.

June 1, 2024 - Genealogy Workshop

This meeting was about helping each other with our genealogy questions and the next steps in our research. 

May 4, 2024 - Newspaper Research

Kenneth R. Marks,  a genealogist from Sun City, AZ presented "How to Develop Online Newspaper Research Skills." Kenneth provided search strategies to be more successful in newspapers research. He has the website www.theancestorhunt.com to help people find free links to online genealogy collections and has written 3 genealogy reference books.

April 6, 2024 - Internet Archive

Genealogist, Thomas MacEntee, spoke about the Internet Archive, an online, digital library home to millions of free books,  movies, music, and more. It is also home to the "Wayback Machine," an archive of web pages to see how websites looked over time. 

March 2, 2024 - Probate

Kathleen Ayers, retired Kennebec County Register of Probate gave a presentation on probate records in Maine. She explained the types of proceedings that a register takes care of and where we can go to search for ancestral probate records. 

February 3, 2024 - DNA Webinar

The original presentation by Nancy Mason was changed to a video screening of a DNA class. We are hopeful that Nancy will present again later in the year.

January 6, 2024 - Vital Records by Stephen Pelsue

The presentation was a video on vital records in Massachusetts (and New England) from the Boston Public  Library, followed by a discussion about sources for vital records in Maine and beyond.  We all know how important vital records are as a primary source. This presentation highlighted ways to start a search for vital records as well as the different types of records and the information we expect to obtain.  From birth, marriage, and death records to divorce and probate records, all contain nuggets of information that help us build the story of our ancestors. 

November 4, 2023 - Census Records presented by Stephen Pelsue

Stephen presented a program on the importance of census records in genealogical research including a video from the National Archives on the "P8," the Indian census. The focus of the talk was on how much information can be gleaned from each census record. 

October 7, 2023 - Where Do I Start? presented by Stephen Pelsue

This presentation focused on tracking your research through different forms. As an interactive meeting, Lois Knight shared her method of using a research form and notebook, and Gray Stabley gave a short presentation on Airtable. The importance of interviewing older relatives was also stressed, so the group paired off practicing interview skills with each other. 

September 9, 2023 - My Business Journey and A Case Study of Indirect Evidence presented by Gray Stabley

Gray was a local television meteorologist who is now a long-haul truck driver and as of this year a professional genealogist. Gray discussed her journey from being a hobby genealogist to starting her own genealogy business. She also gave a case study proving the mother's identity of her 2nd great-grandmother even though there was not a single document that mentioned her.