Many of us have wished we could attend the New England Historic Genealogical Society’s popular “Genealogy 101” events. Even the traveling versions can be at the wrong time, or too far away.

Leave it to the Maine Genealogical Society to bring the creator of “Genealogy 101” to us. Marcia D. Melnyk, a professional genealogist from Rowley, Mass., will give two keynote talks during the MGS state meeting on May 5 at Reeds Brook Middle School, Route 1, Hampden.

With the theme “From Diverse Places,” the conference is sponsored by the Taconnett Falls Chapter.

At 9:30 a.m., Melnyk will lecture on looking for your immigrant ancestors – the first of each family to come here. At 2:30 p.m., she will talk about naturalization records, and how the laws and customs varied according to the time period.

Maine’s location as a kind of peninsula surrounded on most of three sides by Canada means that many of us have had ancestors who were naturalized, or perhaps remained as alien residents.

The meeting also will offer a choice of workshops.

Speaking at 11 a.m. will be Phil Getchell, the experienced genealogy instructor for Bangor Adult Education and volunteer at Bangor Public Library, talking about beginning genealogy. Also, there will be a representative of the U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service. And Joseph Anderson, a fellow of the American Society of Genealogists, will speak on “Widowed Mothers, Metes and Bounds, Marks & Dowers, Witnesses and Executions: Getting the Most out of Deed Research.”

Anderson again will speak at 1:15 p.m. on “Genealogical Research in Maine: Down East Resources & Tools,” for the colonial, federal and 1820-1892 periods in Maine.

Also at 1:15 p.m., representatives of the Bangor Historical Society, the second oldest in the state, will share some of the history of Bangor and the Penobscot Valley area. In the third classroom, I will speak about “Franco-American Genealogy” and the resources I have used in 20 years of researching my husband’s ancestry.

Registration will begin at 8 a.m., and there will be a variety of vendors offering books and other items for sale. Historical societies also will take part.

The registration fee is $7 in advance, or $10 at the door. Send your $7 registration fee before April 20 to the Sandy River Chapter, c/o Flossie Dere, P.O. Box 342, East Wilton, ME 04234. Add $6 for the lasagna luncheon prepared by the Hampden Historical Society.

When you write, mention your workshop choices for 11 a.m. and 1:15 p.m., because if any of those sessions fill up, preference will be given to those who preregister.

For more information, visit the society’s Web site at www.rootsweb.com/~megs/MaineGS.htm, and select Society Meetings. You also may call 645-2257 or 634-2156, but they cannot return phone calls. You also may e-mail Flossie@megalink.net or cpatten@somtel.com.

A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to meet Ed Holden, the Presque Isle native who is the genealogist at the New Hampshire State Library in Concord.

He is now editing the newsletter for the New Hampshire Society of Genealogists, and was kind enough to send along the winter 2001 issue.

One item in the 12-page newsletter discusses the “American Genealogical-Biographical Index, which you probably have seen at larger libraries in Maine.

Another is “A Different Type of Lineage Chart,” patterned after the one used in the American-Canadian Genealogist, published by the American-Canadian Genealogical Society in Manchester, N.H.

There’s a piece on Hannah Duston of Haverhill, Mass., and another on “Genealogical Gems at the N.H. Historical Society’s Tuck Library” in Concord.

Dues are $20 a year, $30 for a household membership, or $400 for a life membership, sent to NHSOG, c/o Peter Wells, P.O. Box 152, Rindge, NH 03461. The Web site is www.nhsog.org.

3081. COFFRON-COCHRAN-SMITH. Looking for any information on Robert Coffron, sometimes spelled Cochran, b. 1812, USA, d. Feb. 2, 1899, St. David, New Brunswick. Also on his wife, Jane A. Smith, b. 1812, St. David, d. April 29, 1899, St. David. They were md. Oct. 10, 1837. Children: Robert, Thaddeus, Ellis, Mary Jane, Louisa and Ebenezar, all b. in St. David. Betty Ann Howard, P.O. Box 4535, Portland, ME 04112.

3082. COX. Trying to trace a Donald George Cox who lived in Maine. Had four children, then moved to England, remarried and had two more. Wendy Harris, 95 Trym Side, Sea Mills, Bristol BS9 2HG, United Kingdom; or e-mail Wendyharris@blueyonder.co.uk.

3083. WITHEE-CUSHING. Seeking information on the family of Lillian E. Withee, b. March 1877, South Dakota, daughter of James and Flora (Gidley) Withee. Lillian md. Sept. 18, 1909, in Bangor, Henry J. Cushing, a plumber, son of Frank C. and Mary A. Veazie. Believe Lillian and Henry had a daughter. In the 1947 city directory for Bangor, they were living at 38 Sixteenth St. Dottie Lapaire, 18 Holt Drive, Ellsworth, ME 04605.

Send queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402, or send e-mail to familyti@bangordailynews.net. Full name and address of sender is required even if e-mail is used.