Founded 1991
1500 Shenandoah Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22308
Telephone: (703) 768-4101 |
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Wednesday, April 1
CANCELLED. Census Day, April 1. Six classes on the U. S. Census for the family historian. (Training and Education)
10:30 am to 8:00 pm City of Fairfax Regional Library, 10360 North St., Fairfax, VA
These classes have been cancelled.
Presenter: Virginia Room Staff and Fairfax Genealogical Society member.
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Wednesday, April 1
Methodology SIG: Topic TBD (Special Interest Group)
1:30 pm to 3:30 pm MVGS Research Center, Hollin Hall, Room 214
Presenter: Charles S. "Chuck" Mason, Jr., CG
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Thursday, April 2
New England SIG: Early New England Research (Special Interest Group)
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm McLean Family History Center
Moderator: Linda MacLachlan.
Presented by: David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist
Description: Since its founding in 1630, the City of Boston has kept records pertaining to its citizens, including several unique resources. Join Chief Genealogist David Allen Lambert to learn what records exist for Boston, tips for using them in your research, and where to find them. Special attention will be given to records from the 17th through 19th centuries.
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Friday, April 3 through Saturday, April 4
Fairfax Genealogical Society Spring Conference, "Lines to Our Past" (Conference)
10:30 am to 3:45 pm Sheraton Reston Hotel
On Friday, 03 April 2020 there will be a keynote speaker and six tracks of four lectures each from 10:30 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. Registration begins at 9:00 A.M.
On Saturday, 4 April 2020 there will be six tracks, from 9:00 A.M. to 3:45 P.M., as well as luncheon speaker: Paul Milner, "The Messages Our Ancestors Leave Behind".
Registration is now available for the 2020 FxGS Spring Conference. For more information, visit Eventbrite.
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Monday, April 6
CANCELLED - Entering Information onto Find A Grave Workshop (Training and Education)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Hollin Hall room 214
Instructor: Linda MacLachlan.
For several reasons this workshop will be cancelled: HHSC will likely still be closed; no one has signed up yet; and the workshop will be held again in Sep and Oct. I hope this doesn't cause anyone any inconvenience.
Purpose of the workshop is to learn how to add information onto the Find A Grave website. Workshop is limited to 10 folks.
To enter info on Find A Grave, you will need a free account. Please set one up ahead of time and remember to bring the id and password with you to the workshop.
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Thursday, April 9
New England SIG: Early New England Research (Special Interest Group)
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm McLean Family History Center, 2034 Great Falls St., McLean, VA
Moderator: Linda MacLachlan.
Presented by: David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist
Description: Since its founding in 1630, the City of Boston has kept records pertaining to its citizens, including several unique resources. Join Chief Genealogist David Allen Lambert to learn what records exist for Boston, tips for using them in your research, and where to find them. Special attention will be given to records from the 17th through 19th centuries.
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Tuesday, April 14
Online Resources for Irish Genealogy (Training and Education)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm Room 217 HHSC
Instructor: Paul McFarland
As more Irish records, especially the Vital Records of birth, marriage, and death, as well as Roman Catholic sacramental records, become available via Irish sites on the Internet we need to understand what these sites contain, how to access them, and importantly, how to find elusive records regarding our ancestors. It might be just as important to know what is NOT on these sites. Discussion of census records and census-substitute records will also be included.
To register, please send an email with your name, phone number, class name and date to Amy Breedlove at albreedlove@comcast.net
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Saturday, April 18
“Cemeteries Tell No Lies: Finding Living Relatives in the Cemetery,” (Training and Education)
10:30 am to 12:00 pm City of Fairfax Regional Library, 10360 North St., Fairfax, VA
Presenter: Char McCargo Bah
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Monday, April 20
German SIG (Special Interest Group)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Pohick Regional Library
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Monday, April 20
Writing Family History SIG: (Special Interest Group)
2:00 pm to 3:30 pm Hollin Hall Room 214
Instructor: Paul Phelps
More information about this class may be obtained from the instructor, by clicking HERE.
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Tuesday, April 21
Arriving in America (General Meeting)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Hollin Hall Room 112
Presenter: Sharon Hodges, Past President, MVGS
Discussion: Millions of immigrants have come to call America home. For some the process was easy. For others it was more difficult and more restrictive, but none more so than New York City. Knowing what it was like to arrive in New York City gives an understanding of arrivals in other cities and the process for admitting aliens. This session is the culmination of immigration to this country. Each port maintained some sort of private or government-run immigration station, but none was as rigorous as Ellis Island. The initial reason for the opening of reception centers such as Castle Garden, Ellis Island, or Angel Island in California, was to protect and aid new arrivals to this country. This presentation covers arriving in New York City, pre-1855, through the Barge Office, Castle Garden, and Ellis Island, as it was more difficult for an alien to be admitted in this city than anywhere else. A good overview of what the process was like for an alien coming to America.
Sharon has been a professional genealogist, author, and teacher for about 30 years, having lectured in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. She is a past grader for the National Genealogical Society Home Study Course and a graduate of the National Institute for Genealogical Research. Sharon is a member of numerous local and national genealogical societies, past Secretary and Awards Chair of the Virginia Genealogical Society, and Past President of the Mount Vernon Genealogical Society.
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Thursday, April 23
CANCELLED - Introduction to Family Tree Maker [FTM] (Training and Education)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm Room 217 HHSC
Instructor: Charles Gearhart
Class has been cancelled and will not be rescheduled. For those ancestry enthusiasts who are tired of keeping their family trees on a yellow pad or spreadsheet, Family Tree Maker is an ancestry archival system that may be your answer. This will be a basic level presentation for members looking for a genealogy storage/archival application that will produce reports as well as interact with Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org. If you just purchased FTM and have it on your laptop bring it to class.
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Friday, April 24 through Saturday, April 25
Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society (MAGS) Spring Workshop & Conference (Conference)
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 15101 Sweitzer Ln, Laurel, MD 20707
Workshop (April 24th): Using DNA Tools at Ancestry DNA to Exploit Genetic Test Results in Family Research
Presenter: Andy Hochreiter
This workshop will be a hands-on experience to become familiar with the tools at AncestryDNA to analyze and use DNA test results. AncestryDNA offers many benefits including the largest database of all the DNA test companies. It contains over 15 million people who have tested at AncestryDNA, a fact that provides increased prospects to find matches, compare family trees, and identify common ancestors. But many people are stumped after they receive their DNA results and do not know how to apply them to their family research. This workshop will provide a survey of the AncestryDNA tools and offer exercises to use them in the classroom.
Conference (April 25th): German Family Research
Presenter: Dr. Roger P. Minert
Dr. Minert is a professor emeritus of family history at Brigham Young University (BYU) and a professional genealogist with accreditation from the Salt Lake Family History Library. He has a background in German language study, and has published reference books for genealogy work on German immigrants, and guides on performing German genealogy research. Starting in 1991, Dr. Minert worked as an independent professional genealogist with accreditation from the Salt Lake Family History Library for Germany (1992) and Austria (1993).
Please visit the MAGS website at www.magsgen.com to register for both the workshop and conference. |
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Monday, May 4
Using Familysearch.org Workshop (Training and Education)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm Hollin Hall room 214
Instructor: Linda MacLachlan.
Purpose of the workshop is to learn how to use the Familysearch.org website more effectively
Workshop is limited to 10 people.
To do anything on Familysearch.org you need a free account. If you don't already have one, please set one up ahead of time and remember to bring the id and password with you to the workshop.
To register, please send an email with your name and phone number, workshop name and date to Amy Breedlove at albreedlove@comast.net. |
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Monday, May 4
New England SIG: Early New England Research (Special Interest Group)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Hollin Hall, Room 214
Moderator: Linda MacLachlan.
Presented by: Trenton Carls and Anne Meringolo
Description: Libraries are teeming with published and unpublished resources about your ancestor’s life, localities, and family. But unlike genealogical databases, library catalogs do not provide an every-name search. Join experts from our Library Collection Services team to learn how to approach any library catalog you may be unfamiliar with. We will demonstrate best practices using the NEHGS online library catalog and discuss other online resources.
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Tuesday, May 19
Why Can’t I Find My Ancestor’s Vital Records? (General Meeting)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Hollin Hall Room 112
Presenter: Charles S. "Chuck" Mason, Jr., CG.
Discussion: Often beginning researchers encounter problems when they search for their ancestor’s vital records. Sometimes even more advanced researchers have problems finding or understanding their ancestor’s vital records. There are a number of reasons why researchers encounter these problems. This lecture will address a number of misconceptions researchers have about vital record. Often the main problem is a misunderstanding of vital records, how and why they were created, and where the records may be kept.
Charles S. “Chuck” Mason, Jr., CG SM is a Professional Genealogist SM, specializing in Southern New Jersey and 19th and 20th Century Death Records. He is a graduate of NGS’s American Genealogy: Home Study Course, (1994), is an instructor for the NGS course Beyond the Basics, a graduate of the National Institute for Genealogical Research (NIGR) at the National Archives (1996 & 2001), the Institute of Genealogy and History at Samford University (2010), and has attended numerous NGS conferences, state and local conferences in the Washington, DC area and in New Jersey. He was a certified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists from 1999 to 2019, at which time he decided not to renew his certification.
Chuck is a member of both the Fairfax and the Mt. Vernon Genealogical Societies, served in various positions on the board of both societies including President (MVGS 2000-2002 and FxGS 2008-2009). He is a past President (2004-2006) of NIGR Alumni Association, and was a Director of the Northern Virginia Association for History (1999-2006). Chuck is the host of Tracing Your Family Roots at Fairfax Cable Television Channel 10. Rebroadcasts of the show can be viewed at their website at tracingroots.nova.org.
Chuck teaches genealogy classes for the Fairfax County Adult and Community Education (ACE) program. He lectures at many of the genealogical societies in the Washington DC area, NIGR, and in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He has had articles published in National Genealogical Society’s magazine, the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, and a number of genealogical society newsletters. In 2017 he received the National Genealogical Society’s President’s Award. He received the Fairfax Genealogical Society’s President’s Award in 1996 and 2007. In 2013 Chuck received the Lifetime Sustained Meritorious Service Award from the Mount Vernon Genealogical Society.
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Thursday, May 21
Evaluating the Quality of Evidence (Training and Education)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm Room 201 HHSC
Instructor: Janell Blue
Class will be instruction and a case study on validating evidence and dealing with conflicting information.
To register, please send an email with your name, phone number, class name and date, to Amy Breedlove at albreedlove@comcast.net |
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Monday, June 1
Using Familysearch.org Workshop (Training and Education)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Hollin Hall room 214
Instructor: Linda MacLachlan.
Purpose of the workshop is to learn how to use the Familysearch.org website more effectively
Workshop is limited to 10 people.
To do anything on Familysearch.org you need a free account. If you don't already have one, please set one up ahead of time and remember to bring the id and password with you to the workshop.
To register, please send an email with your name and phone number, workshop name and date to Amy Breedlove at albreedlove@comast.net. |
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Thursday, June 4
New England SIG: Early New England Research (Special Interest Group)
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm McLean Family History Center, 2034 Great Falls St., McLean, VA
Moderator: Linda MacLachlan.
Presented by: Trenton Carls and Anne Meringolo
Description: Libraries are teeming with published and unpublished resources about your ancestor’s life, localities, and family. But unlike genealogical databases, library catalogs do not provide an every-name search. Join experts from our Library Collection Services team to learn how to approach any library catalog you may be unfamiliar with. We will demonstrate best practices using the NEHGS online library catalog and discuss other online resources.
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Tuesday, June 9
Tracing Jewish Roots (Training and Education)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm HHSC Room 217
Instructor: Mary-Jane Roth and Sheila Wexlers
Whether you identify as Jewish or not, you may be researching a Jewish famiy member, or a DNA test may indicate some Jewish ancestors. In this class, members of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Washington (JGSGW) will use slides and personal stories to describe what is unique about doing research on Jewish families. They will discuss cultural hints, languages, uses of and complications with DNA, and finding elusive records in archives and dedicated on-line sites. There will also be time for Q&A. JGSGW, with over 300 members, is one of the largest organizations in the U.S. with a focus on educating and enabling individuals to research their Jewish roots.
To register, please send an email with your name, phone number, and the name and date of the class to Amy Breedlove at albreedlove@comcast.net. |
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Tuesday, June 16
Topic to be Determined (General Meeting)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Hollin Hall Room 112
Presenter: Char McCargo Bah, Professional Genealogist
Char has been a genealogy researcher since 1981. She is CEO and founder of FindingThingsforU, LLC. She a historical investigator, lecturer, and freelance writer who has been featured in numerous TV programs and several newspapers. She is the author of a genealogical column called “Char’s Corner” and is a former board member of the Virginia Genealogical Society. Char has also completed a PBS documentary.
Two of her genealogical success stories were finding out that a German client was a relative and being selected for a documentary with the Ellis Island Foundation.
Char was the City of Alexandria’s genealogist on the Alexandria Freedmen and Contraband Cemetery and received the 2009 Alexandria Special History Award. She received the “Living Legend of Alexandria” award in 2014. She is the co-author of “ African Americans of Alexandria, VA: Beacons of Light in the 20th Century” and is currently working on her second book.
Her research specialties are: adoption; African Americans; civil war; federal records; historical sites; House Historian; land records; Library of Congress; migration; neighborhood reconstruction; forensic studies; and court records.
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Thursday, June 25
Google Photos (Training and Education)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm Room 217 HHSC
Instructor: Charles Gearhart
As ancestry enthusiasts we are data collectors and especially keepers of those old photos, marriage and birth certificates. We can store our media as scans on our computer, on a removable hard drive or use one of the now many "cloud" systems. Google Photos [GP] aims to be our one-stop shop for all our photos. Its capabilities allow one to store, search, enhance, create folders, share specific folders, and even add to existing folders, or allow others to collaborate and add their own photos to the folder you have invited them to. The price is also right. If you have Google Photos already on your laptop computer or cell phone, bring it to this class and follow along with the instructor as the class discusses individual techniques. If you just want to get an introduction to GP, that's fine.
To register, please send an email with your name and phone number, class name and date to Amy Breedlove at albreedlove@comcast.net
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Monday, July 6
Entering Information onto Family Search's Family Tree Workshop (Training and Education)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm Hollin Hall room 214
Instructor: Linda MacLachlan.
Purpose of the workshop is to learn how to use the Familysearch.org website more effectively
Workshop is limited to 10 people.
To do anything on Familysearch.org you need a free account. If you don't already have one, please set one up ahead of time and remember to bring the id and password with you to the workshop.
To register, please send an email with your name and phone number, workshop name and date to Amy Breedlove at albreedlove@comast.net. |
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Thursday, July 30
Shush! It is a Secret. Did your Ancestor Belong? (Training and Education)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm Room 201 HHSC
Instructor: Chuck Mason
The Freemasons was formed in 1717 in London and came to colonial America. Many other so called secret or fraternal organizations were formed in the 18th and 19th centuries. These societies were social, benevolent, service, ethnic, trade, religious, and political organizations. Did your ancestor belong and if they did can you find their records?
To register, please send an email with your name and phone number, class name and date to Amy Breedlove at albreedlove@comcast.net |
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Monday, August 3
Entering Information onto Family Search's Family Tree Workshop (Training and Education)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Hollin Hall room 214
Instructor: Linda MacLachlan.
Purpose of the workshop is to learn how to post information onto the family tree on the Familysearch.org website. Workshop is limited to 10 folks.
To do anything on Familysearch.org you need a free account. If you don't already have one, please set one up ahead of time and remember to bring the id and password with you to the workshop.
To register, please send an email with your name, phone number, workshop name and date to Amy Breedlove at albreedlove@comcast.net.
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