The Massachusetts Society of Genealogists now has a chapter on the Vineyard. Meetings are usually held at the Family History Center in Vineyard Haven on the second Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. Officers of the chapter are president Marna Waller, vice-president Mary Jane Carpenter, treasurer Patricia Johnson, secretary June Manning and membership secretary Brenda Welch. Meetings usually feature a speaker on topics of genealogical or historical interest, but time is also set aside for general discussion and sharing of information. Although we have many members with Vineyard and Massachusetts ancestry, membership is by no means limited to those categories and our represented interests cover a widely diverse spectrum.

The speaker for the July 14 meeting will be Donald F. Nelson, a Vineyard summer resident and the author of To the Stars Over Rough Roads, a fascinating book about the humanitarian work of his ancestor Andrew Atchison after the Civil War. All are welcome.

For details, call Marna Waller at 508-627-9148 or visit online massachusettssocietyofgenealogists.org.