News & Announcements

Friends and fellow genies, at long last, the new Howard County Genealogical Society website has been turned on, implemented, put to work and made available for your use and enjoyment. Our venerable old site has been converted, our cache of genealogical files and information have been moved from old to new, your membership accounts have been transferred and we are ready.  Same location as the original – https://hcgsmd.org – but with a new face and presence.

Is it really that different?  Oh, yes!  You will see the differences right away.  More graphics, dropdown menus, login on the right side like most new websites, reorganized and rearranged materials, better help screen and directories, easier viewing on tablets and phones, modernized privacy, safety and security.   And maybe, just maybe, a few more surprises.  We think you’ll like the new site.  It should be easier to find things and easier to use.  All the coming events located in one place.   So, you’ve been to the new site and some features were missing?  Well, yes, that may be true.  We evaluated each component and either moved it, will delay it a little, have retired it, or it may have just changed shape and function a little with some new technology.  

Here are a couple things you should know:

1. Your HCGS account and logon account name have transferred intact.  Hopefully, you have remembered what that account name is, as well as the email addressed that you have on file, because …
2. The one BIG TASK you will have to complete, first thing, is to RESET YOUR PASSWORD.  To do the reset, select “Forgot your password” at the login, and very carefully follow the prompts to reset your password.  Enter the new password, make sure it matches the confirmation password exactly, then hit ENTER.  Now you’re ready to go!  Just remember: You have to use the email address and the username you have on file.  If you don’t, the password reset won’t work.
3. One note:  The payment system, PayPal, still needs to be reset.  When they rewrote that module, they retired some old PayPal functions that PayPal themselves had stopped using a while back.  That means that we have to re-create that connection.  There is a little voodoo involved, I think, but we will have that done shortly! Stand by!

Now, we THINK we’ve removed, corrected, and cleaned up the glitches, gremlins, snags and errors that were strewn about as we built this site, but we may have missed some.  If you encounter a mistake, or something that doesn't look right, please let us know  - send a note to your Web Admin at webmaster@hcgsmd.org.  We’ll look into it for you.  

Here's a contingent of HoCo Genies having a good ole time at Oscar's Ale House in Woodstock.  This was the first time since last August that we had gotten together in person - and we do appreciate being in touch with everyone!  Yeah, so much so that we plan to do this again in November! Keep an eye out for the announcement!

The HCGS Membership List has returned to the website and is now fully operational, available on the website from the menu, under both “About Us” and “Communications”. Should you, as an HCGS member, have concerns about what personal information is available, remember that you are able to manage and control what components of your personal information are shown on the website in the Membership List.  Just go to your Profile on the right side of the top menu, scroll down, and uncheck any boxes for information that you don’t want to be visible to others. Then be sure to click the SAVE button.

On the other hand, if you want to make sure that all your information is included so that others can reach you, make sure those same boxes are checked on your Profile – and don’t forget to SAVE them (button on the lower right in green)! One more thing!  

Want to include a photo of yourself in your profile?  Just email a good photo of yourself to the Web Administrator at webmaster@hcgsmd.org (Include your username and email so we put your picture on the right account!) and Rick will load it for you (Sorry!  Members cannot upload their own photos!)   And, please!  No photos of grandkids or dogs or vases of flowers. This ain’t facebook!  We’d much rather see your smiling face! And thanks to all the Members for the spirited discussion and your support of the Membership List.  

ON A RELATED NOTE

A Message from HCGS President, Thomas M. Goss 
July 4, 2026

If you are reading this, you have found it through our brand-new Howard County Genealogical Society Website that went live and online at the stroke of midnight, June 3rd.  More than four months of effort were put into this by the Web Development Team led by our new Web Administrator Rick Vessels and his collaborators, Jerry Kissel and Mike Noble and they are eager for you to take a look!  The Team should be commended for their efforts, especially Rick who was the principal designer, developer and contributor to the site.  The quality and amount of effort that went into the site is evident and we will all benefit from it for years to come!  Be sure to attend the upcoming Monthly Meetings when Rick offers Tips and Trick on using the site – as well as some hidden secrets and shortcuts! With that in mind, allow me to introduce our new website “Guide, Navigator, and Genealogical Companion”, HCGS’s own Howard, the Genie (as in ‘genealogist’), a brand character created by Rick for the website – and the Society – to add a face and a memorable style to our organization as well as some new functionality.  Adding a little personality and fun to the web site should make both new members and website veterans feel comfortable and at home. The new system is logically oriented and well organized, so it should be easier to navigate than the old. Give it a try – and let us know what you think!  Howard is guaranteed to make you smile at least once or twice! …