​Our next meeting will take place at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, November 20th   in the Bangor Public Library’s Lecture Hall, where author Brian F. Swartz will give us a presentation about the experiences of Maine men who fought in the Civil War.  Many of these stories are available in his book titled, Men at War Volume 1: Bladensburg to Sharpsburg. I have asked Brian to bring copies of his book to sell, and autograph for anyone interested in buying a nice gift for the upcoming holidays.  Just click here to read examples of Brian Swartz’ writing from his blog (I’m not sure which if these stories are included in the first volume of his work) https://maineatwar.bangordailynews.com/author/visionsofmaine/. 
 
If you’ve already exhausted your holiday funds, then you still might be able to obtain a copy of this book via our Membership-Drive Raffle.   Penobscot County Genealogical Society members, who join or renew before our November meeting may participate in a raffle, where tickets may be purchased for the cost of $1.00 each, or six for $5.00.  Brian’s book will be one of two new books that are to be raffled off that evening along with some gently used books on Irish history/genealogy donated by John Nelligan, who is coordinating this raffle.  So, try to come to the meeting in order to participate in a fun fund-raiser, or just send in your dues along with a little extra for raffle tickets if you are unable to attend our meeting that evening. 

Our friends at the Bangor Family History Center are hosting the Bangor Family History Fair on Saturday, April 12, 2014, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Through an agreement with RootsTech, one of the largest genealogical conferences, Family History Centers have access to several videos of lectures from the 2014 conference which took place recently in Salt Lake City.  This fair takes advantage of this arrangement.  In addition to a keynote address, the fair will offer 4 hours of classes with 6 choices of classes offered each hour.  Most of the classes will be video offerings, but there will be at least one live session each hour.

There is no cost to attend the Bangor Family History Fair, but they do request you register so they can judge attendance numbers for planning purposes.  You can do that by clicking here.  If you have need assistance or have any questions, you can also e-mail Judy Reitze at me_bangor@ldsmail.net or jbartonreitze@yahoo.com.

The Preliminary Class Schedule is available on or Calendar page at http://www.pengen.org/calendar.html.

It's a new year.  It's a new direction for Penobscot County Genealogical Society.  If you are reading this, then you've discovered our new home on the web.  After years of having our website hosted on rootsweb.com, we felt it was time to move.  The main reason is to make the website more portable and allow multiple editors.  It also gives us a reason to give the website a facelift.  Our members have found the website a useful tool over the years, whether posting queries or looking for some research assistance.  Our focus is to continue in these areas, helping to make some connections in Penobscot county.

If you have suggestions for items or categories that you would like to see on our website, please let us know.  It is, and will continue to be, an ever-changing and ongoing work in progress.