Program of Speakers

Maryland Vital Records at Reclaim the Records
Bob Greiner

MAY 24, SUNDAY 3 pm

General Meeting: In Person
Presentation: In Person

In 2023 Reclaim the Records (RTR), a private organization founded in 2015, obtained and published online all Maryland available vital records from the Maryland State Archives.

This includes both indexes and digital images of birth, marriage, and death certificates from 1875 through 2014, although some of those are restricted.

Due to the volume and variety of records, and multiple indexing methods, the search for an individual record is not simple.

Bob Greiner will describe the available records and demonstrate how to use the RTR website to search for a vital record and retrieve the image.

BOB GREINER
Bob Greiner has researched both his own and his wife’s ancestral families for several decades. The majority of their ancestors were German. During this time he focused primarily on German genealogical research, including a detailed study of German church records. He has attained an exceptional proficiency in the interpretation of the old German Gothic or Kurrent script. Much of Bob’s time is spent using his German research skills to help others find their ancestors in German church records and other sources.

Bob published books in various formats about several family lines. These books included not just immediate family, but also associated families that immigrated together. He transcribed and published extractions of church books from several locations, including the German village of Herschberg, a major New York City German Lutheran Church, and a German Lutheran church in Cleveland. He also created and maintains a project that links hundreds of immigrant German families from the Pfalz region of Bavaria through New York City to various communities in Ohio and other states.

Bob is a regular contributor to the Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society (MAGS) publication Der Kurier, describing research methods for German immigrants in a column titled “Immigrant Connections.” He has also published research articles in the Maryland Genealogical Society Journal, the National Archives magazine Prologue, and the German Genealogical Group newsletter Der Ahnenforscher.

Bob retired from a career as a computer systems analyst. He still uses those skills to maintain the MAGS website (www.magsgen.com). He is responsible for creating and updating the searchable databases on the site, which are one of the primary benefits of MAGS membership.

Bob also created and manages his personal website (greinergenealogy.com), which contains family history, online versions of many of his published works, as well as the various research projects that he completed. He is familiar with various genealogical database programs and online websites and is very proficient using the online FamilySearch Family Tree.

In addition to serving as the MAGS treasurer, Bob is a member of the Howard County (MD) Genealogical Society, the German Genealogy Group (NY), and volunteers at the Columbia (MD) FamilySearch Center. He also volunteers as a transcriber with the FamilySearch Germany Research Community.

 

GUESTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME AT OUR MEETINGS.

WEATHER RELATED CLOSINGS: VISIT → BCGS HOME PAGE.

For detailed directions and a map, select → PLANNING A VISIT.

THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE ON MEETING DATES:

  • The LIBRARY is open from 12 – 2 pm.
  • The GENERAL MEETING followed by refreshments takes place from 2 – 3 pm.
  • THE GUEST SPEAKER PRESENTS FROM 3 – 4 pm.

 

INTEREST GROUPS MEET IN THE CORRIDOR OUTSIDE OF THE LIBRARY:

2 0 2 6

Research Day

JUNE 28, SUNDAY, 12-4 pm

Everyone is invited to use all of the research assets of our Library from 12:00 Noon until 4:00 PM.

We will be scanning Bibles and historical documents.
Bring in what you have and have it copied to digital media.
Please bring a USB drive to make a copy of these scans.

 

(The image next to “Research Day” courtesy of http://www.vintagekin.com/)