We’re Back!

Genealogists, take note! New England’s Premiere Genealogical Conference — NERGC — is returning to the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, May 3-6, 2023. NERGC 2023 will feature 8 session tracks with 100+ talks, 7 workshops, a large exhibit hall with vendors and genealogical societies, SIGs, Ancestors Road Show, Society Fair, the Libraries, Archives, and Museums Showcase, and so much more.

Whether you are a genealogical novice just getting started or a seasoned professional, there is something at NERGC 2023 for you. We cover the full gamut of New England genealogy, from colonial-era research to genetic genealogy, from military research to writing for publications, from methodology to technology. There are talks that focus in on each of the New England states, as well as various ethnic groups in New England, including Native American, African America, Irish, French Canadian, Jewish, and Polish.

You can browse our program online or download a PDF of our brochure to learn more.

Or, if you want to see what presentations and workshops align with your interests, take a look at our topical index here.

Pre-Conference Activities

The main conference starts on Thursday, May 4th, but those who plan to arrive in Springfield a day early can sign up to participate in one of our four pre-conference tracks on Wednesday May 3rd:

  • Revolutionary War
  • Advanced DNA
  • Jumpstart Your Research
  • French Canadian Research

There will also be four two-hour workshops later Wednesday afternoon:

  • Prove It! Writing a Winning Proof Argument” (Nora Galvin)
  • Getting to the Heart of Land Records (Sara E. Cambell)
  • Solving Photo Mysteries: Approaches & Analysis (Maureen Taylor)
  • Bridging The Decades: Little-Used Clues From the Census ( Elissa Scalise Powell).

Learn While You Eat

Along with presentations galore on the full panoply of topics related to New England genealogy, several of the lunches and dinners will have a speakers:

  • Thursday Lunch (sponsored by MGC) will feature David Rencher speaking on “The Future of Records Preservation.”
  • Friday’s Dinner Banquet (sponsored by CSG) will feature Michael Strauss speaking on “Prisoners, Thieves, and Scoundrels: Your Black Sheep Ancestors.”
  • Saturday Lunch (sponsored by CAS) will feature Debra Dudek speaking on “Every Girl Pulling for Victory– Suffrage and Service During the Great War.”
  • Saturday’s Dinner Banquet (sponsored by MSOG) will feature Dr. Michael Lacopo speaking on “Top Ten Things I Have Learned in Four Decades of Genealogical Research.”

For Friday’s lunch, you become the speaker (in a sense) at Table Topics (sponsored by NEAPG) when you sign up for a table focused on a specific area of research and talk with like-minded genealogists over your lunch.

To learn more about the meals themselves, you can refer to this page that has more details.

The Exhibit Hall

To date we have 36 organizations signed up for the Exhibit Hall, which will be open from Thursday, immediately after the keynote address ends, until Saturday afternoon at 4pm. Exhibitors include a mix of vendors (some of which will be selling their wares at their booths), genealogists (a good opportunity to pick their brains), and genealogical societies (some of which will be offering discounts on membership.) The Exhibit Hall is quite popular, and you’ll want to set aside some time in your schedule to visit it.

The full list of our exhibitors is here.

The Society Fair and the Libraries, Archives, and Museums Showcase

Thursday afternoon at 5:30pm starts the Society Fair, where tables are setup outside the Exhibit Hall for smaller genealogical societies and family associations, giving attendees the opportunity to visit with them and learn more about their organizations. Over twenty societies have signed up for Society Fair, and you can find them listed here.

A similar opportunity is provided during the day on Friday and Saturday for Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and you can find them listed here.

Special Interest Groups

Thursday evening, after Society Fair, space will be made available for Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to meet. Learn more here.

Ancestors Road Show

Ancestors Road Show is an opportunity for you to sign up for a free 20-minute consultation with a professional genealogist to discuss your research and answer your questions. As you can imagine, this is a very popular offering and you’ll want to sign up for a slot as soon as availability is announced.

The Value of NERGC

The New England Genealogical Consortium, Inc., is a non-profit consortium whose members are genealogical societies in New England. A group of 21 of these societies have worked together to plan and organize the NERGC 2023 conference. The combined volunteer efforts of our participating societies, rather than paid staff, do the work, and we pass on the savings to our attendees. Although nothing is “cheap” these days, we believe that NERGC 2023 is one of the best bargains around for conferences of this scale.

ConferenceProgramPrice
2022 New York State Family History Conference3-days/3-tracks$305
2023 National Genealogical Society Family History Conference3-days/8-tracks$325
2023 New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC 2023)3-days/8-tracks$210

Questions?

If you are on the fence and not sure whether NERGC 2023 is right for you, or have any questions about the conference, feel free to send your questions to [email protected] and we’ll get back to you quickly.

How to Register

Click the big red button to be taken to our registration page. The main things you’ll want to think about, before ordering are:

  1. Are you able to attend the full conference, Thursday-Saturday, or only for one day? The three day “full registration” ticket is priced at a discount to buying three individual day tickets.
  2. Are you interested in any of the pre-conference tracks or workshops on Wed.?
  3. Do you want to purchase any of the conference meals, the lunches or the banquets? Remember, many of them come with talks.
  4. Every attendee will receive a PDF file of the conference program (the “syllabus”) with handouts from all the speakers. If you want to have a bound paper copy of the syllabus, be sure to order that as well.
Register Now!