Written by Susan M. O'Connor. There is an important legislative development that could significantly affect access to Massachusetts vital records and the future of genealogical research in the Commonwealth. What Has Happened On April 14, 2026, Governor Maura Healey submitted a supplemental funding proposal now designated as H.5377 to the Massachusetts House Committee on Ways and Means. Sections 43, 44, and 45 of the bill concern changes to Massachusetts vital records law.

This year the MGC board decided to recognize a project which excels in leveraging collaboration to create a virtual research center at 10MillionNames.org, hosted and supported by American Ancestors.

MGC releases the video recording of the M:O.R.E. event featuring a panel of Massachusetts town clerks.

Join us for a special panel discussion featuring town clerks from four Massachusetts communities as they share insights into their vital role in preserving the historical records that genealogists rely on.

On Tuesday, April 9, 2025, Records Preservation and Access Committee representatives supported robust funding for NARA.

MGC responds to the restrictive closure periods and extraordinary expenses proposed for vital records in New York State.

Through compelling research, Sybil will delve into the soldiers' military tours, share the records that revealed their stories.

Miriam Weiner will talk about her work to open records in the archives of Eastern Europe to genealogists everywhere.

Sara Campbell, Secrets of my Vault: Confessions of a DPW Engineer

An Evening with Anne Hanson Author of Buried Secrets: Looking for Frank and Ida Tuesday, January 30, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET via Zoom This...

Massachusetts Archivist Jack Warner, PhD, new additions to the vital records and Judicial Archives collections, and his favorites.

David E. Rencher, Chief Genealogical Officer for FamilySearch International, was today awarded the 2023 Shirley Barnes Record Access Award.

It's my nemisis, that traffic circle. It had been a long time since I made the trek, east on the Mass Pike, south on I-93, off the ramp...

On 30 June 2022 Irish President Michal D. Higgins signed The Birth Information and Tracing Act.

Massachusetts Genealogical Council Awards the Fourth Annual Shirley M. Barnes Records Access Award to Stephen P. Morse, Ph.D., Joel D. Weint

Connect...with expert speakers in live chats and interactive workshops. Connect...with other attendees and genealogists in Track Talks...

An Evening with John D. "Jack" Warner, Ph.D. Archivist of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Wednesday, June 30, 2021 at 7:00 PM EDT via...

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services asked for feedback about the impact of their policies. Now, they didn't do this...

MGC announced on Sunday, May 15, 2021, that Jan Meisels Allen received the 2021 Shirley Barnes Records Access Award for her years of hard...

An Evening with Amy Whorf McGuiggan Finding Emma: My Search for the Family My Grandfather Never Knew Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at 7:00...