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 EST    Socializing
  9:45 AM EST    Business meeting

10:00 AM EST    Presentation

 

Dave is the former President of both the Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society (WMGS) and the Connecticut Society of Genealogists. He is a past President of New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Dave was heavily involved in the biennial conferences of the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium (NERGC) 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 (President) and 2023 (President). He was a member of the Chicopee (Mass) Historic Commission from 2019 to 2023 and also, a member of the Chicopee Historic Society.

As a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, Dave is the former President of the Pomeroy Chapter as well SAR State Registrar/Genealogist.

 

Dave is a resident of Chicopee, Massachusetts where he lives with his wife Karen, a retired RN for the Chicopee School System. Between them, they have 5 adult children and 4 grandchildren.

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

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

10:00 AM EST    Presentation

 

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

10:00 AM EDT    Presentation

 

 

 

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

10:00 AM EST    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