Why You Should Go: 2020 Trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City

Lisa Gorrell, CG, is leading the upcoming CGS research trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City this coming May. Here's what she has to say about it:

Lisa Gorrell

Our upcoming trip next year to the Family History Library will be from Sunday, May 24 to Sunday, May 30. These dates follow the dates of the National Genealogical Society’s Conference. If you would like to attend the conference, too, you will need to book your own hotel for those dates. Now, you’re probably asking “Why would I want to go to the Family History Library? Isn’t it all online now?” Yes, it is true that FamilySearch has been digitizing their collected records and putting images online, but they are far from putting it all online. Let’s talk about their collection:

Books. Many of the books in their collection may never be digitized. Books that have been recently published are still under copyright laws. Even if a book is digitized, only one person can view it at a time. Your chances are greater viewing a physical copy at the library.

Microfilm. The plan is to digitize all of the microfilm. They are having a hard time getting blank microfilm and it is very expensive. Also, the microfilm machines are getting old and it’s difficult to find parts to repair them. So digitizing the film is a win-win situation for the library. However, some of the original repositories where the records were filmed the have not given permission to publish the images online. Therefore, the only place you can view some “digitized” films is on computers at the Library itself, or perhaps at local Family History centers. This will also include microfiche.

Advantages.  

So what is the real advantage of an in-person trip to the Family History Library?

Six days of distraction-free research
Six days where you didn’t have to do household chores
Six days of being with others who share your enthusiasm for genealogy research
Research assistance from the leader (me) or one of the experts at the library (especially at the foreign language floors)

How should you prepare for such a trip?

Decide which ancestral lines you want to work on

Record the localities where these families lived

Check the FHL catalog for the records and books that are available at the library for each locality. Some items may be available online, but if there is a “key” symbol next to the film number, that film can only be viewed at the FHL or at a Family History Center.

This symbol indicates records
that may only be viewed in a library

If you find lots of books and films you would like to view, then it may be worthwhile to make the trip with CGS.

Consultation

You can schedule a pre-trip consultation with the leader, Lisa Gorrell. You will also be able to have consultations during the trip at the library.

We have fun, too! Of course, the trip isn’t just all serious research. We have three planned joint meals together, and every day we get together for lunch and dinner at a variety of places. It’s a great time to share our successes and get help with our research issues.

To sign up for the trip, use this link at Eventbrite. There are limited spaces, so be sure to register soon!

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society

Save the Date! Family History Library research trip planned for 2020

Photo by Daniel Spelce, 2014

Yes, there will be a CGS research trip in 2020!

Our own Lisa S. Gorrell, CG, will once again be the leader for this trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, scheduled for May 24 through May 31, 2020. (May 25 is Memorial Day, but the library will be open.) This may be of special interest to those who are attending the National Genealogical Society's conference the previous week (May 20-23).

Three hotels are accepting room registrations for the NGS conference now and they fill up fast. The official conference hotels are Hilton Salt Lake City, Radisson Hotel SLC Downtown, and Salt Lake Plaza Hotel at Temple Square. If you think you might like to attend the NGS conference and stay through with us to research afterwards, you can book your conference hotel room now to stay until May 24. Then when you register for the CGS trip, you can move into the Plaza Hotel. The link for registering at NGS Conference hotels is here.

Of course, you can stay anywhere you like during the conference (even an AirBnB). When registration opens up for the CGS research trip, do let Lisa know whether you’ll be there for the NGS Conference, too. Stay tuned for updates later this year!

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society

Our Library Collections: Pennsylvania

The Dutchman is a charming journal with
good articles - too bad we have so few

One in a series by CGS member Chris Pattillo highlighting some of our holdings at the Library in Oakland. For a fuller listing of books, journals, and more, consult the CGS Library catalog in WorldCat.

Our Pennsylvania collection is one of the largest I’ve reviewed so far, with over thirty shelves of print books. No doubt there is much more to be found on our catalog. This short blog post cannot begin to cover what is available, so if you have Pennsylvania ancestors you need to schedule a visit to our library and budget plenty of time.

The section starts with just a few issues of the Pennsylvania Dutchman from 1956-1958. This is a charming, informative and well-illustrated journal worthy of review–even if just for fun. We have a large set of Pennsylvania Archives from 1852 that includes “original documents from the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth conformably to acts of the General Assembly February 1851 to March 1852.” This volume has a very interesting fold-out of "Indian Auto-Graphs" from 1682 to 1785. These are sketched depictions of Native American signatures.

 "Indian Auto-Graphs 1682-1785" from Pennsylvania Archives

We have several sets of journals. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography starts in 1960 and continues to July 2009. This appears to be a scholarly journal published by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Our Keystone Families, Vol. 1 by Schuyler C. Brossman features a collection of weekly newspaper columns that were published in the Lebanon News from Oct 1966 to Oct 1969.

All of these volumes are Pennsylvania Archives

Our shelves hold ten volumes of Philadelphia Wills covering the period 1682 to 1825. These were compiled by the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania and consist of copies of handwritten abstracts of wills.

Our shelves also host three volumes of Pennsylvania German Society proceedings, published in 1934. This is a publication of the original lists of arrivals to the Port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808. Each volume is packed with details and lists of persons who arrived at various times. Other groups represented in our Pennsylvania collection are the Palatines, Huguenots, Welsh and Scotch-Irish.

One of the hundreds of handwritten abstracts of wills
in our ten volumes of Philadelphia Wills

A side note: at our June CGS board meeting earlier this month Vice President Jim Sorenson reported from the 50^th annual Jamboree in Los Angeles that Family History Library director David Rencher announced that they are reconsidering the earlier decision to remove most of their books. Current plans for Salt Lake City are to return some of the books to their shelves to augment computer research. Fortunately, we at CGS are way ahead of them!

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society

Prominent Ancestors: A Mixed Blessing

By Chris Pattillo

Like many people, most of my ancestors are very ordinary folk. Hard-working, honest people of no particular note. I seem to have few forefathers who served in the military during any period. There are lots of farmers in my background, particularly tobacco farmers. Researching these family members can sometimes be discouraging because it seems impossible to find out anything about them. I’m the kind of family historian who wants to get to know my relations. I want to go beyond the basic facts of birth, marriage, children, and death. But these ordinary folk did not get written up in the local newspapers. Genealogists of the past did not write books about them, so it is slim pickings.

On the other hand, I occasionally stumble upon a famous ancestor and even a whole line of prominent people in my family tree. This is what happened when I took my Genealogy Journey in 2017 – a two-and-a-half-month long adventure to the southern United States to do research. I had many objectives, but probably most important to me was finding the parents of Joanna Gaines, a second great-grandmother on my father’s side. Finding Joanna’s parents had been my tallest brick wall for about fifteen years, and I was determined, but not very optimistic.

First, a confession. In 2011 I took a month off from my job as the founding partner of PGAdesign, a landscape architecture firm in downtown Oakland. The office was slow – we did not have enough work, so I took the month off without pay, and I spent that month doing research at the CGS library. I was in the library every day and made a lot of progress on my research. One day I asked Vinnie (Lavinia Grace Schwarz) for some help with Joanna. She spent about 10 minutes on her laptop and handed me a note saying, "check this out.” At that time I was still a novice and had no idea what to do with the information. 

A few months later, I joined CGS in Salt Lake for the first time. While there I followed up on the tip Vinnie had given me. What I found included a reference to a Joanna Gaines and her sister Margaret. It said their mother was Hulda Waller, but as I read the document, I understood it to say that this Joanna had died in 1834. I immediately discarded the lead because I knew my Joanna had lived until 1902. (To be honest, I was glad Hulda was not my third great-grandmother because I did not like the name "Hulda.”)

Back to 2017: I am still looking for Joanna’s parents. To make a long story short, I found the will of Joanna Thompson McGehee, who as it turns out was Hulda’s mother. Joanna’s first husband was Benjamin Waller. Now, as a more experienced researcher, I read the will carefully and realized that the Joanna who had died in 1834 was my 4^th great-grandmother Joanna. 

Detail from a family portrait of my 2nd great-grandmother, Joanna Gaines. The infant is my paternal grandfather, Lewis Wood Pattillo.

So, the moral of this story is yes, sometimes it is a good idea to go back and look at things years later when you have more pieces of your puzzle to put things into context.

This brings me back to the primary story about having prominent ancestors. It turned out that Benjamin Waller is part of a long line of distinguished Wallers that go back to England and beyond. This was a family of wealth. They owned plantations, not just farms. They were doctors, lawyers, county clerks, vestrymen, a sheriff and members of the House of Burgess. Oh, and several served in the military, too. Since I returned from my Genealogy Journey I have been possessed with this newly discovered branch of my family tree, and I fear there may be no end to it.

Endfield, the plantation home of my 7th great-grandfather Col. John Waller, first in this line to immigrate to Virginia from England.

I have found more than a dozen eBooks that include extensive narratives on this family. They include all the basic facts plus information about their homes, positions, civic involvement, personal letters, and lawsuits. The amount of material written about my Waller ancestors seems to be endless. After months of research, I decided to write a series of posts for my family history blog: one post for each of Joanna’s ancestors going back to my 8^th great-grandfather, Dr. John Waller (1645-1716).

As I start writing each new bio I find myself wanting to pursue an aspect of that individual’s life or to look for images to illustrate each post. This extra research inevitably leads me down the proverbial "rabbit hole" otherwise known as a Google search. I find myself copying several more pages with new tidbits I had not previously found and on and on it goes. Ah, the joys of genealogy.

You can follow my progress at http://pattillothornally.blogspot.com/

Editor's note: we welcome your family stories! Contact jdix@californiaancestors.org
Copyright © 2018 by California Genealogical Society

The Hearts of the Fathers

"Gathering the Family of God" at LDS.org

Our friends at the Oakland LDS Family History Library shared this sweet video in which Bay Area people of all different backgrounds share the emotions they've experienced while discovering their ancestors. CGS members Jane Lindsey and Chris Pattillo are among those interviewed.

Copyright © 2018 by California Genealogical Society

Notes from the field: 18th Annual Family History Library Trip

In our 120^th anniversary year, CGS members continue to host and participate in a variety of learning experiences. Last month, Lisa Gorrell led a group on the 18th annual trip to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Lisa Gorrell (left) orients visitors to the library

We lucked out with the weather; while it had snowed in Salt Lake just the week before, during our visit temperatures soared and flowers were in bloom everywhere.
 

Our group of 14 had a great week of research, study, and socializing. 

Four of our members also took time for a day trip to the recently opened Topaz Japanese American Internment Camp Museum in Delta, where more than 11,000 persons of Japanese American ancestry were confined during World War II.

Kathy and Steve Ikeda, Linda Okazaki, and Jim Russell at Topaz

Our research was as varied as the participants. A few of us had amazing breakthroughs, while others found their brick walls remained stony. Sometimes it's a kind of vindication to know that even the experts can't trace that maddeningly elusive ancestor. All agreed it was well worth our while. Thanks to our fearless leader, Lisa, for organizing and leading the trip! 

Copyright © 2018 by California Genealogical Society

Salt Lake City Success: Our Annual Trip to the Family History Library

by Lisa S. Gorrell

Seven members along with myself serving as the trip leader, made the trek to Salt Lake City, Utah for six days of research at the genealogy mecca of the west coast: The Family History Library.

Member Dick Baker, who along with his wife Lynda, really enjoyed his second trip to the Family History Library this year.  Dick said, “As a beginner, the resources in the library were a bit overwhelming.  Without Lisa’s help, we would have been lost.  She kept me on track by helping me stick to my plan.”

What was it like?

We stayed at the Plaza Hotel, which is just a short walk out the back door to the library. Since it was a bit nippy and wet this year, being next door to the library was a blessing.

The schedule for the week was loose, so there was plenty of time for researching and socializing. Sunday evening was our first get-together dinner at the Olive Garden restaurant where we had a private room.

Monday, we attended an instructor-led class about getting the most out of the FamilySearch Library catalog. It was presented well and being able to use lab computers to follow along was very helpful. This class was well received and even I, who have used the online catalog for years, learned some new tricks!

Each day at lunch the group met in the lobby for a short walk through Temple Square to the Latter Day Saints' office-building cafeteria. At the cafeteria, there were many varieties of items that were reasonably priced. Some members bought extra during the week to have for dinner, so they could keep on researching!

The Temple Square gardens were gorgeous with multi-colored tulips, daffodils, Iceland poppies, pansies, and other flowers.

It was a great place to take a walk for exercise.

Wednesday evening’s group dinner was held at the Garden Restaurant at the top of the Joseph Smith Building. Our table was right at the windows where the view was spectacular.

Fabulous Finds

Each day, Lisa helped participants with research questions, computer searching, or with microfilm use. Each of the members had successes: 

• Jacqueline found photos and information from a local society’s newsletters, and a county history book that had many pages about her family—so much so, she may buy the books.

• Linda found an obit that allowed her to correct a death date and the husband’s death year, and DAR records that connect her third-great-grandfather.

• Kate helped confirm marriages without vital records, and using city directories in Savannah, Georgia was able to sort out Horrigan, Charlton, Pates, and McAuliffe families.

• Lynda connected to her Utah family line on FamilySearch Family Tree.

• Dick worked with entering information in his family tree program and found documents that might point to his grandmother’s maiden name.

• Nancy found original documents from microfilm to back up sources found online.

• Shirley found her husband’s Witherell line in Norton, Bristol County, Massachusetts that had many more generations than the family had thought.

Final thoughts

The wrap up dinner was held at Tuscan Brio Restaurant in the City Creek Shopping Center. At the end, we all toasted each other’s successes and vowed to return again next year.  

2018 trip is planned for April 22 through 29. Will you join us?

Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society