The voyage of the Mayflower and the founding of Plymouth Colony is one of the seminal events in world history. But the poorly-equipped group of English Puritans who ventured across the Atlantic in the early autumn of 1620 had no sense they would pass into legend. They had eighty casks of butter and two dogs but no cattle for milk, meat, or ploughing. They were ill-prepared for the brutal journey and the new land that few of them could comprehend. But the Mayflower story did not end with these Pilgrims’ arrival on the coast of New England or their first uncertain years as settlers. Rebecca Fraser traces two generations of one ordinary family and their extraordinary response to the challenges of life in America.

 

Edward Winslow, an apprentice printer, fled England and then Holland for a life of religious freedom and opportunity. Despite the intense physical trials of settlement, he found America exotic, enticing, and endlessly interesting. He built a home and a family, and his remarkable friendship with King Massassoit, Chief of the Wampanoags, is part of the legend of Thanksgiving. Yet, fifty years later, Edward’s son Josiah was commanding the New England militias against Massassoit’s son in King Philip’s War.

 

The Mayflower is an intensely human portrait of the Winslow family written with the pace of an epic. Rebecca Fraser details domestic life in the seventeenth century, the histories of brave and vocal Puritan women and the contradictions between generations as fathers and sons made the painful decisions which determined their future in America. (Amazon Review)

Middlese Chapter -

No meeting this month. 
 
See you in December 2024

Discover the interesting history of Acadians and Cajun descendants while learning about the resources available for your genealogy research. 

 

Sindi Broussard Terrien is a research genealogist, specializing in Acadian and Cajun women. Her blog My Many Mothers features biographies of her many great-grandmothers. She recently published Genealogy Fun While Developing New Genealogists and Fun with Genealogy Activity Book 1 which can be purchased on Amazon.com. She has written nine articles for the American-French Genealogical Society’s publication Je Me Souviens Magazine where she is an associate editor. Sindi Broussard Terrien received a certificate in genealogical research from Boston University. Her passion for genealogy spans over twenty years.

 

Sindi also hosts Finding A Publisher, another emerging website, to help genealogy writers connect with publications.

With nearly 1,500 Broadway performances, six Tony Awards, more than three million albums sold, and five Academy Awards, The Sound of Music, based on the lives of Maria, the baron, and their singing children, is as familiar to most of us as our own family history. But much about the real-life woman and her family was left untold.

 

Here, Baroness Maria Augusta Trapp tells in her own beautiful, simple words the extraordinary story of her romance with the baron, their escape from Nazi-occupied Austria, and their life in America.

 

Maria Augusta Kutschera was born on a train en route to Vienna just before midnight on January 26, 1905. Her mother died when she was only two years old and her father left her with an elderly cousin so that he could be free to travel. She experienced a lonely and very strict upbringing without any siblings or other children in the household. She was raised a socialist and an atheist and was actively cynical towards all religions. It was during a visit to a church to hear a Bach concert that her mind was changed when she heard the words of a well-known priest, Father Kronseder. Her meeting with him led to her entering a convent to become a nun. While she was devoted to the convent life, she was taken away from the outdoor activities she once thrived on. Her doctor, concerned that her health was failing, helped the nuns to decide to send Maria to the home of retied naval captain Georg Von Trapp, to be governess to his bedridden daughter. On November 26, 1927, Maria and Georg were married. The rest is history. (Amazon Review)

Zug, a family law professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, is the author of You'll Do: A History of Marrying for Reasons Other Than Love.

9:30 AM EDT    Socializing
  9:45 AM EDT    Business meeting

10:00 AM EDT    Presentation

 

 

Jeff Schiebe is an avid genealogist who has researched his family roots both in the US and
abroad and has given many presentations on numerous topics. In this very informative session,
Jeff will take you through his journey to find answers about one particular puzzling line of his
ancestry. He will share some of the tools and techniques used along the way and will describe
some of the startling facts he discovered about these ancestors. Jeff will weave some
interesting historical aspects very relevant to this journey from Germany in the early 1700’s
until today.

Carol Ansel, Director at the Godfrey Memorial Library in Middletown, will share a number of hints to make your online genealogy searching easier and more effective. Some of these are general practice for experienced online searchers, but some are not nearly so obvious. In fact, Carol learned many of them from other genealogical researchers. The kind of tips that will make you think, "Gee, I wish I'd known that from the start!" Join Carol and up your searching game.

 

Carol Ansel is the Director of the Godfrey Memorial Library. She has worked as both a public and school librarian; when she got bitten by the genealogical research bug she took the genealogical certificate program at Boston University and soon thereafter landed a job at the Godfrey, a genealogy and local history library in Middletown, CT. The combination of running a library, helping others with their research, and writing genealogical reports is a dream job for her.

 

No meeting this month. 
We want to wish you Happy Holidays.
We hope you enjoy the most joyous and wonderous time this Holiday Season with those who mean so much to you.
 
See you in January 2025

 

This lecture provides an engaging discussion on the social impact of tea in our history and society. We will begin with the discovery of tea and learn first about the spread of tea throughout Europe. The tea trade with China and the Opium Wars, its impact on the US and European industrialization, and the current status of tea today. Throughout the presentation, enjoy sipping teas from the major tea producing countries. 

 

 

Danielle Beaudette is one of the first 15 in the world to be certified in all levels as a Tea Specialist through the Specialty Tea Institute, NY and has completed over 95 tea seminars at the World Tea Expo.  She has researched and learned first-hand about the production of tea through her Asian tea travels and relationships with Chinese, Indian, Sri Lankan, Japanese, Nepalese, and Taiwanese tea growers. Danielle sources only the finest, high quality, freshly imported teas, earning The Cozy Tea Cart the title of “Best of NH” from New Hampshire Magazine. Just as important as the quality of her tea, she promotes excellence in service and pride in educating her customers.

 

 

 9:30 AM EDT    Socializing
  9:45 AM EDT    Business meeting

10:00 AM EDT    Presentation

 

 

 

9:30 AM EDT    Socializing
  9:45 AM EDT    Business meeting

10:00 AM EDT    Presentation

 

Notarial records are an essential yet often overlooked resource for family historians researching ancestors with roots in Quebec from marriages to estate inventories to labor contracts these records can provide a wealth of genealogical information not found elsewhere. Join us to learn about what types of notarial records exist, how to access them, and how to get the most out of these important resources.

 

Rhonda R McClure, senior genealogist is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer. Before joining American Ancestors/NEHGS in 2006, she ran her own genealogical business for 18 years.  She was a contributing editor for Heritage Quest magazine, Biography magazine, and was a contributor to the History Channel magazine and American History magazine. In addition to numerous articles, she is the author of 12 books including the award-winning the Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Genealogy, Finding our Famous and Infamous Ancestors, and Digitizing Your Family History. She is also the editor of the recently released 6th edition of the Genealogist Handbook for New England Research. Her areas of expertise includes immigration and naturalization, late 19th and early 20th century urban research, New England, Midwest, southern German, Italian, Scottish, Irish, French Canadian, and New Brunswick research.

 

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/BristolMay2025