Thomas MacEntee featured at Fall Seminar, October 6, 2018

Thomas MacEntee is the speaker at the CCCGS Fall Seminar

Nationally known genealogist Thomas MacEntee, the creator of High Definition Genealogy and the online community GeneaBloggers, will be featured at the Contra Costa County Genealogical Society's Fall Seminar 2018, held October 6 at the Pleasant Hill Senior Center. The day consists of four sessions, each sure to appeal to genealogists both new and experienced:

1. Genealogy Do-Over™: A Year of Learning From Mistakes

Thomas provides sound research practices as well as tips, tools and the latest technology to create a better body of family history research

2. How Do I Know What I Don’t Know? Fast-track Your Genealogy Education

Discover the tricks that only experts know and fast-track your knowledge on a new resource or record set.

3. Successful Collateral and Cluster Searching

Find out why researching in-laws, “shirt-tail cousins” and neighbors can help break through those frustrating genealogical brick walls.

4. They’re Alive: Searching for Living Persons

See why it is important to locate living relatives and how to find them using Internet search engines and resources.

Complementary snacks included; box lunch available for pre-order. Early registrants (before Sept. 15) will receive a free copy of Thomas MacEntee's eBook Digitization Options for Family Photos. To register and for more details, visit the CCCGS Events page.

Copyright © 2018 by California Genealogical Society  

How To Trace Your Ancestors In Ireland

CGS member Nick Cimino sent this announcement of his upcoming talk on Irish research:

How To Trace Your Ancestors In Ireland
May 14, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Contra Costa Genealogical Society Monthly Meeting
90 minute presentation
LDS Church
3700 Concord Blvd.
(just east of Farm Bureau Road)
Concord, California

I began conducting my genealogical research in 1989 and have traveled extensively for genealogical research in the United States and Canada. I taught beginning genealogy classes for Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno and Pleasant Hill Adult Education. In the last four to five years I have become keenly interested in Irish Genealogy. During this period of research, I discovered that more and more can be done online, quite a bit can be done using LDS Library resources and some work is best done in Ireland.

This was to be my first research trip outside North America. My Irish ancestors presented an intriguing challenge. My wife and I traveled to Ireland in April 2008 and spent time in Dublin and Belfast with five days spent at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. I was able to document many of my family stories in the records at PRONI and came back with many wonderful Irish genealogical souvenirs which will be on display.

The presentation will provide an overview of Sources for Irish Genealogy including:
-census and substitutes
-vital records
-church records
-cemeteries
-Irish Estate records
-maps & land records
-parish histories
-online sources
-paid research
-research in Ireland

In addition to PRONI we spent time at the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh which is vital to an understanding of the historical context of our Northern Irish immigrant ancestors. Other fascinating cultural sites we visited were the Ulysses S. Grant ancestral home, the walled city of Derry and Belfast Castle where one of my Irish relatives was the gatekeeper.

I am employed with the Administrative Office of the Courts in San Francisco. I am responsible for facilities management of courthouses in sixteen Bay Area and North Coast counties.

For more information E-mail or call Nick at 925-945-6994 or visit the Contra Costa Genealogical Society CCCGS website.