Massachusetts Genealogical Council
As part of executing its educational mission year-round, MGC offers programs on open records and other topics of interest to genealogists 4 to 5 times a year. To avoid conflicting with regularly scheduled meetings of other societies and organizations, M:O.R.E. presentations will occur during the 5th week of a month.
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Click here to see the presentations of those speakers who have allowed us to record their talks and make them available to everyone.
The presentations are free, but registration is required.​​​​
An Evening with
Margaret R. Fortier
Bay State Bonanza: 400 Years of Vital Records
Monday, March 30, 2026, at 7:00 PM ET via Zoom
Bonanza means an abundance of something good. For those of us researching Massachusetts vital records, it means an abundance of records. That’s great for us as researchers but dealing with so many records can also be challenging. The Commonwealth boasts records back to 1620, and many are available online.
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But not everything is online; some records may be at state agencies and/or with town clerks. Learn how to determine where to locate them as well as the ins and outs of the evolving formats for birth, marriage, and death certificates over time.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Named after her grandmothers and inspired by her mother’s phenomenal memory, Margaret Rose Fortier is a Board-certified genealogical researcher, writer, and lecturer. She was co-editor of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly and retired in December 2025. She specializes in immigrant ancestors to New England. A graduate of Boston College and Bentley University, she holds a ​
Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University. She was an instructor in the Spring 2025 course, "Tracing Your French-Canadian Ancestors" at SLIG and will again present in this course in Spring 2027.
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This presentation is free, but registration is required!
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Co-sponsors: Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society-New England Chapter (AAHGS-NE), Boston Public Library (BPL), David Allen Lambert Library (DALL), Essex Society of Genealogists (ESOG), Falmouth Genealogical Society (FGS), Friends of Irish Research (FIR), Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston (JGSGB), Massachusetts Society of Genealogists (MSOG), New Bedford Historical Society (NBHS), New England Chapter-Association of Professional Genealogists (NEAPG), New England Historic Genealogical Society--American Ancestors (NEHGS), The Irish Ancestral Research Society (TIARA), Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society (WMGS).
Upcoming 2026 Schedule​
Linda MacIver - Demystifying the Three Big Free Digital Sites for Massachusetts Genealogists: The Internet Archive and Beyond! (29 Jan. 2026) - REGISTER NOW
Margaret Fortier - Bay State Bonanza: 4 Centuries of Vital Records (30 March 2026)
Stephen Hartwell - Maritime Records Lead to Genealogical Treasure (29 April 2026)
Panel Discussion of Town Clerks (June 2026)
Bonnie Wade-Mucia - Uncovering Pre-1900 New England Church Records (Sept. 2026)​
Mark your calendars to keep these dates free.
Registration instructions will follow closer to the presentation dates.
Previous M:O.R.E. Presentations
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Bonnie Wade Mucia: Decoding the Silver books: Mastering Mayflower Genealogy Research (29 Sept. 2025)
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Sybil J. Gilchrist: Camarades of War I (30 Jan. 2025)
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Miriam Weiner: You Are Invited to a Meeting with the KGB (10 Nov. 2024)
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Jenifer Kahn Bakkala: Writing a Compelling Family History (30 Sept. 2024)
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Sara E. Campbell: What's in My Vault--Confessions of a DPW Engineer (29 April 2024)
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Jill Marie Snyder: Dear Mary, Dear Luther: A Courtship in Letters (29 Feb. 2024)
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Anne Hanson, Buried Secrets: Looking for Frank and Ida (30 Jan. 2024)
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John D. Warner: Archivist of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (30 Nov. 2023)
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Kate Kelley, Meet the Photo Angel (30 Nov. 2022)
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Kenvi Phillips, PhD: Sounds like Sounds Like Family: The Oral Tradition in Researching Family History (29 Sept. 2022)
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Paul Joseph Fronczak: The Foundling, True Identity (31 Jan. 2022)
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David J. Silverman: This Land Is Their Land (30 Nov. 2021)
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Nicka Sewell-Smith: The Trask 500 (30 Sept. 2021)
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John D. Warner: Archivist of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (30 June 2021)
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Amy Whorf McGuiggan: Finding Emma (31 March 2021)
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Brooke Schreier Ganz: Reclaim the Records (27 Jan. 2021)
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Judy Bambrough-Billingsley: Too Brown to Keep (29 Oct. 2020)
Recorded M:O.R.E. Presentations
We are grateful to these presenters who allowed us to record their talks and make them available to you.