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Blog Entries: 1 to 5 of 5
February 21, 2026 By: Barbara Hopkins
It's February, Black History Month
There's a week left in Black History Month, but you can come by our library in Bowie any month on a Wednesday to research your African American roots.  We have 115 volumes on this topic.  Download a copy of our holdings HERE.  Click on PDF List in the upper right corner to download the list.  We look forward to seeing you soon.
January 26, 2026 By: Barbara Hopkins
Celebrating America 250
Greetings!
 
You have probably already heard that 2026 is the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  Our society has joined with other local organizations in organizing and holding events to commemorate this important milestone.  A list of these events may be found on our Events page.  All events are free; donations are welcome.  See links below to register.  Scroll to the end of the page to view a list of books in our library that have "Revolution" in the title.
 
Genealogy Series
Among these special events is a Genealogy Series.  The first program of this series happened on January 15 when our own Vice President and Program Chair, Heather Olsen, presented "Made You Look: Genealogy 101", a program for those who want to know how to begin tracing their family tree.  It provides a good basis for beginners and a refresher and some thoughtful reminders for those more experienced in genealogical research.  If you missed this program, you may view a recording by clicking HERE
If you would like to view the handout provided, click HANDOUT
 
Coming up soon!  Finding Your Family Revolutionary War Veterans: Genealogy Research 201
Our monthly meeting on Wednesday, February 4, is the second program in this series.  Craig Scott will speak about finding your veteran ancestors, with an emphasis on researching your American Revolution ancestor(s) and the role your family may have played in our fight for independence.  Join us via Zoom at 7 PM that night.  Members will receive the handout and Zoom link via email; guests please register by clicking HERE  When you have registered, the handout will be emailed to you.  All are welcome.
 
February 19, 2026, 7 pm, via Zoom, Researching Your Roots: Genealogical Research 201
Nathania Branch Miles, Recording Secretary, Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, inc., Prince George's County Maryland Chapter, will focus on approaches to conducting Black genealogy including but not limited to records of the enslaved, Black-led newspapers, and other resources. Anyone interested in this event may register HERE to get the zoom link and any handout that will be provided.
 
Bus Tour of Genealogical Sites in Prince George's County  Saturday, March 7, 2026, 10 am to 3 pm
We thank our friends at Anacostia Trails Heritage Area and PG Parks for obtaining the grant to fund this tour and for organizing and  promoting this series.
 
Our series culminates with a free bus tour (donations gladly accepted) to genealogical research sites around the county.  
During the in-person event attendees will start the day at the Hyattsville Library's Prince George's Room and then board an ADA-accessible bus with bathroom, to the library of Prince George's County Historical Society (in Greenbelt), Marietta House Museum (Glenn Dale), and Prince George's County Genealogical Society's library (Bowie) before returning to the Hyattsville Library by 3:30 pm. 

At each location, attendees will be met by expert librarians, genealogical researchers, and fellow family history enthusiasts. We recommend that you bring notes from your existing genealogical research and a question or two that may be used as examples during the visits.  However, this tour will not be an opportunity to conduct genealogical research.

Lunch will be provided. Please contact grace@anacostiatrails.org if you have any dietary restrictions and/or need any accessibility accommodations. The 55-passenger bus has a lift and the locations are all ADA-accessible and serviceable by wheelchair or scooter. 

To register for this tour, click HERE

Saturday, May 30, 2026, 11 am to 3:30 pm, Prince George's 250 We the People Block Party
Join us for our kick-off celebration!  Come to the Bowie Center for Performing Arts and the Bowie Branch Library, 15200 and 15210 Annapolis Road, Bowie, MD 20715, to celebrate Prince George’s County’s history, arts, culture and more.  More information will be provided soon.  If your organization would like to participate, please visit https://www.pgc250.org/events/blockparty
 
Books in our library that refer to Revolution, view and download HERE
 
 

September 8, 2025 By: Barbara Hopkins
Updating LINKS Page
Greetings,
 
Today I have verified and updated our LINKS page and added a new link for anyone interested in Croatian research.  It also has some good advice for beginning your family history hunt anywhere.
 
If you visit our LINKS page and notice that a link isn't working, please let us know by emailing this information to webmaster@pgcgs.org.
 
Thanks!  We're all in this together.
 
Barbara
August 31, 2025 By: Barbara Hopkins
Welcome to our new program year
In a few days we will hold our first monthly meeting of this program year, which began July 1, 2025.  Our meetings through November will be in our library in Bowie.  We hope many of our local members will make the effort to come out in person to meet and mingle with other members.  We all found out during the pandemic how important it is to meet with each other live -- good for the soul, good for your mental and physical health, and also good for our society.  If you see someone you don't know, introduce yourself and ask how their research is coming.  You can never have too many friends.
 
Heather, our program chair, has lined up some interesting talks for the rest of 2025, with two speakers we are familiar with and one who is new to our group.  (See Events tab.)  We do aim to provide you with talks that will shed light on new areas of genealogical research, as well as some new slants on old and familiar areas.  With genealogical research methods changing rapidly, it's important to keep up with what's new.  Our talks usually focus on research areas generally, while our newsletter editor, John, usually tries to focus on records of Prince George's County and how to access and use them.  He is gifted in describing clearly the process of accessing these records.  Between the two, we are really a researcher's dream and a bargain at only $20/year.
 
Please join us!  We look forward to seeing you soon.
June 2, 2025 By: Barbara Hopkins
A Parting Word
In a few short days, we will hold our biennial elections and this society will then have a new president.  Before I leave this post, I just want to say it has been my pleasure to serve this venerable organization, the oldest continuing county genealogy society in the state of Maryland.  Running things and managing people are not my favorite things to do, but the helpful, and forgiving, spirit of our council and our general members have made it easier for me and I thank all of you for your support.  To those who stepped up to volunteer, or continued your long service to the organization, I thank you with an extra hug.  Participation from the membership is essential to the suvival of any group and I hope more of you will step up in the near future to support our incoming president and our dedicated council members who have served long terms already.  I will continue to be the webmaster for the time being, so I'll definitely be around.  I won't be monitoring the president's email any longer, but you can still reach me at communication@pgcgs.org.  Drop me a line once in a while and let me know how you're doing.