A Message from CGS President Jim Sorenson

As various governing bodies take actions to phase in a reopening our economy, CGS is monitoring those decisions to see when we might be able to re-open our library and resume classes at the library. Even after it appears that we can open, CGS will need to determine what measures are needed to ensure compliance with County restrictions as well as to provide for the continued safety of our patrons and volunteers. At this point, I do not expect us to open until mid-summer. Before we re-open, we will publish our new operating procedures in the blog and provide notice of them on our website. Among our "new normal" procedures under discussion are:

• Library access by reservation only.
• Social distancing and the wearing of masks while at the library.
• Rules for the cleaning of touch surfaces.
• Limitations on the size of classes, SIGs and committee meetings at the library.

These measures are expected to remain in place for several months. Some of our committees and SIGs have already started having meetings using remote conferencing and we are taking steps to enable the presentation of many of our classes using that technology. Those classes will be announced on our website as well as on our blog and elsewhere. As a follow-up on a previous blog posting, I’m continuing to write sketches of each of my grandparents as I remain at home. The following is just a brief summary from that work:

My paternal grandparents were married, but not to each other. She was 19, he was 43 and her family doctor. The specific circumstances of the encounter which led to the birth of my father will never be known. The doctor died three years later in 1921 of what he thought was the flu. Months later, the public health service determined that he had died of typhus fever at the front end of an epidemic within the Navaho community in New Mexico where he was supervising the construction of a hospital for these often-neglected people. He may have been the worst of my grandparents but also the most noble.

We will have plenty of time to learn more about our ancestors. We will have time to tell the stories of our ancestors. But right now, our ancestors would want us to stay safe so that we will be able to do those things in the future.   

James Sorenson, President

Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society

Message from the President

CGS President James Sorenson

Greetings,

I hope you are all weathering the COVID-19 storm. These continue to be extraordinary and unprecedented times for all of us. I know most of us want to return to “normal." For CGS, normal would be resuming our classes at the library. Although we closed our library and canceled classes before it was required, our continued closure is a function of county health mandates. We will not be able to open our library or resume classes at the library until some time after there is some relaxing of general restrictions. Phase One of relaxed restrictions will still prohibit gatherings of people greater than some number (say 10) people. I have not heard anyone say when Phase One will start in Alameda County, and certainly no one can say when the later phases will occur. 

We have decided to cancel classes which were scheduled as part of a series, if the front end of that series has already been canceled. That doesn’t mean those classes will not take place this year but they will not take place as currently scheduled.

CGS has been working with remote-access technology and we had our first remote-access class on April 9. We are working on having other remote-access classes and they will be posted on our website and in our blog as they are developed and scheduled. This is new territory for CGS and we are working diligently to bring these classes to our CGS membership and other members of the genealogy community who look to CGS for guidance and instruction. 

James Sorenson, President

Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society

Quarantine Quests: Jim Sorenson Tackles His Maternal Grandfather

Chris Pattillo is interviewing our members about some of the genealogical projects they are working on while sheltering at home. This Quarantine Quest story was shared by CGS President Jim Sorenson.

Earl Morgan 1899

Like many of us, Jim’s interest in family history began with a school assignment. It was in the 1960s, when he was in 11^th grade and one of his teachers asked each student to interview their oldest living relative and write about their heritage. At that time Jim’s mother’s mother and his father’s grandmother were still living, so he interviewed both of them and learned things about his family’s story that one would never find in written records. Jim still has his original notes from the class assignment.

In the back of his mind, Jim has thought, “Someday I’ll break my leg, I will be in a cast and unable to do anything–that is when I’ll tackle my writing.” Well, this is Jim’s break-a-leg event. If not now, while we are all housebound because of the Covid-19 shelter-in-place order, when?

Join the Break A Leg Club and write a bio for one of your Ancestors

So Jim has decided to write biographies for each of his four grandparents. He decided to start with his maternal grandfather, Earl Wright Morgan, whose work for the Standard Oil Company brought him from Pennsylvania across the country to California. During our interview, Jim shared several stories about Earl. I am not going to write about that because it is Jim’s story to tell, but I can tell you that when he is finished, it is going to be a fascinating read–something that deserves to be added to the Richmond History Museum and Standard Oil archives. Currently, Jim only plans to share Earl’s story with his family but I hope he will agree to have it published in the Nugget at some point.

Earl Morgan with his mother,  Julia Sweney Morgan, 1910

Over the years Jim has visited over 30 courthouses and at least that number of libraries to research his family and collect documentation that proves and expands upon the stories he has heard. He has done research in newspapers, city directories, at the Family History Center in Salt Lake City and of course, he has done a lot of research online and at the CGS library.

At this point, Jim has collected a lot of material about his ancestors. Originally, he made paper copies of everything he found. Jim explained, “I use to measure my research success by how many pieces of paper I had at the end of the day–one hundred pages was a real good day.” Now Jim is proud to say that for the past several years when he leaves Salt Lake City, he isn’t carrying paper copies – everything is digital on a thumb drive. Early on Jim decided on a file naming system that works well for him. Each document starts with the year, month and date. That way all his files are in chronological order. He has over 20,000 items in his family history files. He is still using an old version of Family Tree Maker from 2000 as his primary organizer for the information he has collected.

For many years Jim has been a member of our CGS Research Committee. He admits that he prefers to do research rather than write. But he wants to share what he has learned from his research with his family members. Like me, Jim has a small family–one living child and two grandchildren, who are only mildly interested in family history. Like me, we both write hoping that some future descendant will discover our writings and be thrilled to learn what we have to share. As of now much of what Jim has pieced together about his family is still in his head. He understands that he needs to get it written down so that others will not need to repeat the process he has gone through to find and put together the pieces of the puzzle.

While the process of researching has always been enjoyable, Jim has not gotten the same pleasure from writing. In recent years he has been doing more writing, including working on an article for The California Nugget. Jim shared that serving as president of CGS has actually helped in this regard. Having to communicate regularly with the CGS board and membership has caused Jim to do more writing and doing so has made him more comfortable with the process. 

Jim shared a tip for writers. He feels, and I think most would agree, that telling the story in chronological order is the best approach. But one should not feel bound to rigidly record every part of the story in precise chronological order. While Jim’s piece is about his grandfather Earl Morgan, for the story to make sense it needs to include information about Earl’s parents, and about his boss at Standard Oil. Jim does this by devoting separate paragraphs to each of these sidebar subjects. This is how “I try to contain the detours so they don’t break up the flow of the story,” says Jim. It works for him and may help others tell their family stories. 

If you have a Quarantine Quest story you'd like to share please get in touch with Chris Pattillo or Jennifer Dix.

Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society

An Update from the CGS President

As most of you know, the CGS library has been closed since March 12 and we have canceled all public CGS activities through the end of April. Fortunately, many of our volunteers are able to work from home. The library closure and cancellation of classes may continue into May. Please check our website: https://www.californiaancestors.org/ for the current status. These are extraordinary times for CGS and this closure is unprecedented in the memory of any of us–but I’m sure you’re aware of why we have taken these steps. Due to the age demographic in the genealogy community, CGS will remain on the cautious side of any government mandates. Although I am not aware of any library or class attendees having tested positive for the coronavirus aka COVID-19, the threat is real and we are concerned for the health and safety of our patrons, friends and volunteers.

Individually, we will come through this and CGS will come through this. We are already planning the transition back to normal CGS operations on the other side although when that transition will start is unknown at this point. Rescheduling of canceled classes or events will have to be coordinated with the instructors and the calendar of events at each venue. We appreciate your support and understanding as we go down this road. The library closure will cause some disruption in our processing of membership dues renewals but we will not drop any members for non-payment of dues until the end of June. Rather than having individuals cancel their class registration, rest assured that all fees paid will be refunded for classes or events if they have been canceled.

I think most genealogists have tasks that have been put aside until someday when they have more time. Well, that time has come for many of us. It’s a good time to organize your family history files. I’ve started writing a narrative history for each of my grandparents based on years of accumulated information. And after that, I have to complete work on eight great-grandparents. Those narratives can be revised if new information is discovered but this is a great time to get started.

Jim Sorenson, President

Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society

Report from the Annual Membership Meeting: New Board Members and More

We held our Annual Membership Meeting last Saturday, January 11, and were happy to see a good turnout for the election of Board members and reports from our various committees. Among the items covered were the new website, soon to be launched; the Society's current financial health; and upcoming events and classes.

President Jim Sorenson made some short remarks and noted that while we here in Oakland often refer to the California Genealogical Society "and Library," our organization's legal name has been and remains simply the California Genealogical Society for business purposes.

We thanked Past President Vicky Kolakowski for her service, and gratitude was also extended to departing Board members Felicia Addison and Nancy Cork. Then membership voted in the new slate of nominees: Jim Sorenson, who has been serving as interim President since July, was confirmed as the new Board President, and Maureen Hanlon as Vice President. We also confirmed three new nominees to the Board. Meet Grant Din, Theresa Murphy, and Joanna Shear:

Grant Din

Grant Din has been interested in genealogy ever since a cousin told him forty years ago that he was in the 36th generation of Gongs! Since that time, he has researched his and many families' immigration histories, including when he was on the staff of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation. He has worked in the Bay Area nonprofit sector his entire adult life. He completed Boston University's Certificate Program in Genealogical Research in 2015 and enjoyed being a part of the team that researched the six Chinese seamen who survived the Titanic for the film "The Six."

Theresa Murphy

 Theresa Murphy has been researching her ancestry since 2016 when she traveled to Ireland to visit her family's homelands and meet newly found cousins. She has been a member of CGS since 2018. Since joining CGS, she expanded her research to her New England ancestry with the help of one of our members. Theresa is a native of Oakland and spent her professional career as a CPA in auditing, consulting, and systems implementations—skills which have proven invaluable in genealogy research. She is currently serving on the Website Committee, assisting in the development of our new website, and is teaching a workshop on creating a family history book.

Joanna Shear

 Joanna Shear joins the Board Officers as Corresponding Secretary. She was born in Boston, grew up in Missouri, and landed in the Bay Area 21 years ago. A member of CGS since 2016, she has a BS in physics from Indiana University, an MSE in industrial engineering from Georgia Tech, and has completed Boston University's Certificate Program in Genealogical Research. She was first drawn to genealogy by an unknown name on a mysterious engraved silver chalice, which led to a reunion for family separated by the Holocaust. Eleven years down the road, she is deep into the history of her Jewish ancestors as they moved within Europe and emigrated to other continents. She now also uses DNA to go beyond the documentation and trace new family connections. As her research for family and others has grown into new areas, so has her dedication to making genealogy open and accessible to all.

We're very excited to have Grant, Theresa, and Joanna on the Board. We know they will bring new perspectives and skills to further advance the Society.

The meeting was followed by a delicious potluck and celebratory cake (thank you, Kathleen Beitiks!), and then several CGS members shared their family memory books—and in one case, a large full-color family tree poster. Chris Pattillo stood by with a watchful eye on her phone timer, making sure presentations were kept to three minutes, and a good time was had by all.


Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society

Meet the President: James Sorenson

James Sorenson, current CGS President

In July 2019, CGS Board President Vicky Kolakowski stepped down and Vice President James Sorenson assumed the duties of president. For many longtime CGS members, Jim needs no introduction. He has served previously on the Board in various capacities, including as tech liaison. He’s been a member of the society since 2007, volunteering on the Research Committee, leading research trips to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, and serving the society in many other ways. He was the project manager for the 2011 publication Insider’s Guide to California Genealogy.

In person, Jim is congenial and easygoing, with a dry sense of humor. He opened his first board meeting as President with the following comments:

“In the middle of the CGS logo is a ship under sail. I’m the new captain of that ship with its unpaid crew. Walking the plank and public flogging are not productive; I don’t have a sparkling personality. I do offer: reasoning, understanding, determination and guidance. As your leader, I’m now the highest paid member of CGS, an organization where all of the women are paid as much as the men.”

Make no mistake; this laid-back demeanor masks a sharp mind and numerous talents. Jim is extremely well versed in history, according to his friend and colleague Pat Smith. “If you mention a battle in the Civil War, he knows exactly when and where it happened, and who was there,” she says. Jim’s background is in finance; he worked for thirty-eight years with Lockheed Martin in the overhead budget, financial forecast and government finance arena. His expertise has been key in helping CGS to thrive and succeed as an organization. A life member of CGS and an early donor to the Capital Campaign, Jim strongly believes that the California Genealogical Society is an institution that contributes to our local community and to our collective history.

Jim’s interest in family history dates back to his high school years, and genealogy resurfaced as a serious pursuit in 1994. It’s been a series of adventures since then, with Jim discovering long-lost facts in both his own and his wife’s family trees. With the advent of DNA as a genealogical tool, Jim recently uncovered some more surprises in his family. “Genealogy isn’t for everyone,” he says. “You shouldn’t pursue it if you can’t handle the fact that your ancestors were human and that most families have secrets unknown to the current generation.”

Aye aye, Captain. It's good to have you at the helm.

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society

Changes at the Top

An update to our members:

CGS President Vicky Kolakowski has decided for personal and professional reasons that she needs to resign her role as President. Per the CGS Bylaws, Vice President Jim Sorenson has assumed the role of President. Speaking for the Board of Directors, Jim thanks Vicky for her past years of service to CGS and hopes that she will be able to maintain some involvement with CGS in the future, as her time allows. We wish her the best in her endeavors.

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society

Putting It All Together

Do you know how valuable you are to The California Genealogical Society (CGS)?  Our member-volunteers are why our genealogy society and library exist.  From our first president, Dr. Edward Stephen Clark, in 1898 to our current president, Linda Okazaki, our society is filled with dedicated volunteers that are always pushing for genealogical excellence. You are now part of this heritage and we want you to know how your society can help you.

Visit the library

One way to help is to remind you to visit our research library. It is an amazing resource to historians and family history researchers alike.  Have you been to the library lately? Just a reminder that we're located in Oakland's Uptown District and the area is hopping with great restaurants, cool coffee shops and wonderful stores that are filled with the energy from the neighborhood. Luckily, we're in the middle of it all!  

Full of surprises

One of the unsung heroes of the library is our Manuscript Collection. It is comprised of 108 linear feet on the shelves, as well as loose papers, research and family histories that have been donated to our library over its almost 118 year history.  We are forever grateful to volunteers Pat Bonderud and Linda Darby for cataloguing and organizing this treasure trove. The incredibly helpful and insightful Georgia Lupinsky and Virginia Turner are now the volunteers who manage our collection. They created a thirty-page inventory (in pdf format) available for download our website.

This searchable database provides a synopsis of each collection, providing enough information to help you determine if further examination of a manuscript is beneficial to your own research. Individual collections may be viewed at the Library by appointment.

Another way we can help you search for research materials is to use our online Library Catalog. I think you'll be amazed once you start looking at what's available to assist in your genealogy search.

Our Capital Campaign Needs Your Donation

Even with all of the free labor given by our volunteers, we still need money to continue our mission. Between high real estate costs in the Bay Area, continual upgrades to our computer equipment, offering high quality speakers and classes, along with keeping our library filled with new resources (including online databases), a group of long-term volunteers realized the society needed a committee dedicated to raising long-term funding for CGS. So earlier this year, the Capital Campaign was born. 

Chris Pattillo (Chair), Jane Lindsey and Sandy Fryer began raising money that will help cover the shortfall in the annual operating expenses of CGS.  Think of it as a substantial rainy day fund that lets us all benefit by having access to great classes, seminars, plus all of our online and library resources.  

How you can contribute:
*  Make a donation on our website or send a check.
*  Become a Life member to support the campaign. 
*  List CGS as a beneficiary in your will or personal trust. 
*  Provide a tax-deductible donation through your IRA or 401K .

There are many ways to donate, so choose what works best for you. 

Questions? Send an email to Chris Pattillo or Jane Lindsey. They're waiting to hear from you.

  
Become a part of the campaign, and make a donation today.  Thank you for your continued support.

Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society

Volunteers…the heart of CGS!

by Kathleen Beitiks

National Volunteer Week will be celebrated April 23-29, giving the California Genealogical Society (CGS) the opportunity to extend a big THANK YOU to members who donate their time and talents to our 119-year-old organization. Volunteers are the heart of CGS and we couldn’t do it without them. 

As the Volunteer Coordinator for the CGS, once a month I tally all of the hours that volunteers to CGS contribute to our organization and I am continually blown away by the numbers.

My tallies always come up with more than 500 hours a month, but truth be told, there are plenty more hours that don’t always get counted. In my conversations with volunteers, I always come across people who say, “Oh, I didn’t log in those calls I did from home because it only took me a few minutes,” or “l love doing this, so I never think of adding it to the sign-in sheet.”

Life Member and long-time Volunteer:  Jim Sorenson
Photo courtesy of Jane Lindsey

Why Volunteer?

Once I read an article about “why” people volunteer and it contained a list of 70 reasons. As you can imagine, the reasons ranged from “for fun!” or “to pass on what I have learned to others (and learn something myself!)” or “to meet new people” to “because someone asked me!”

When I asked a friend why she decided to volunteer for another organization, this was her reason: “My husband retired and he was driving me crazy at home all of the time.” OK, so maybe that doesn’t fall under the “altruism” category, but it just goes to show you that everyone has his or her own reason for volunteering.

How has volunteering for CGS evolved over the years?

CGS has been around since 1898 and many people do not realize that at one time it had paid staff members. So, it makes me even more impressed with our team when I realize how much work our volunteers have taken upon themselves to keep our organization thriving.

We have all different types of volunteers: those who commit once a month or once a week, those who are available for individual events, those who want to work from home and some who want to be on call.

What kinds of things do our volunteers work on?

Here is a partial list of the areas: Book Repair, Capital Campaign, Desk and Patron Services, Education Programs, Events, Finance, Investments, Library Services, Manuscript Collections, Membership, Outreach, Publications and Marketing, Research & Look-ups, Strategic Planning, Technology, and our Website.

Increasingly, we have been hearing from volunteers who want help, but would prefer to “Job Share.” For instance, the “Events Coordinator” position is a good candidate for job sharing. It’s an opportunity to help CGS coordinate events that educate our members about different aspects of genealogy and even bring in revenue so we can offer more services.

THANK YOU AGAIN to all of our volunteers at the California Genealogical Society – and to those of you who want to learn more about ways you can become a member of our team – just shoot me an email!

Kathleen Beitiks, Volunteer Coordinator
Photo courtesy of Linda Okaazaki

Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society

Why I Contributed to the Capital Campaign: Jim Sorenson

Jim at the Annual Membership Meeting, January 2017

For those not familiar, The California Genealogical Society's Capital Campaign kicks into high gear this February with a goal of raising $1.2 million dollars.  The goal was created to coincide with the beginning of our 120th Anniversary in 2018. 

A committee chaired by Chris Pattillo was created to lead this effort. Chris also has the considerable help and talent of both Jane Lindsey and Sandy Fryer to ensure that the campaign will be a huge success.  

Why is a Capital Campaign needed?  The money raised will help ensure that our society will remain a leader in genealogy and give us the necessary financial cushion to weather various storms in the future. 

Now that you know about the Capital Campaign, I hope you enjoy the beginning of a new monthly series of blog posts entitled Why I Contributed to the Capital Campaign.  The first will focus on life member, long-time volunteer, donor and previous board member Jim Sorenson.  

Jim has given generously of his time and money for over nine years to The California Genealogical Society (CGS).  He has been involved in key strategic roles in the organization that have allowed us to thrive and succeed where many genealogy societies have either failed or begun to lose membership. Jim is a strong believer that the California Genealogical Society is an institution that contributes to our local community and collective history.  His latest genealogical project is pursuing information pertaining to his biological paternal grandfather, who was recently identified using analysis of autosomal DNA test results.

With that being said, here are a few questions I asked him on why he chose to financially support our society:

• By contributing to the Capital Campaign, what do you hope to accomplish? I’m strongly interested in keeping CGS going as a vital resource for doing genealogical research and to support the many educational activities that they present.

• You have many organizations to choose from when considering a donation, what made you choose us? My wife and I support many local and national charities. However, I know that my donation to CGS will be used wisely and every dollar goes to support CGS without being diverted to pay for expensive fundraising.    

• How does donating to CGS extend your personal legacy or the legacy of California genealogical research? By keeping CGS fiscally healthy, I know that their great resources will be available to my descendants and me for years to come.

• How did CGS' genealogical resources help your research efforts? In addition to the subscriptions to online databases, the CGS library has many books which can’t be found online or at general-purpose libraries. Although I’ve been doing genealogy for several years and have built up considerable experience, the collective expertise of the CGS members and their programs offers help that is not available if you just do it on your own.

• What would you say to those contemplating a donation to the Capital Campaign? Donation decisions are personal and there are many deserving organizations asking for support. However, being an all-volunteer organization means that your support of CGS goes further to support its goals and purposes in providing an understanding of your ancestors and the world in which they lived, the challenges they faced, and the successes or failures that made them what they were.

If a donation to the Capital Campaign sounds daunting, then consider becoming a Life Member of the society.  Did you know that 100% of the Life Membership fee ($1200 that can either be paid at once or over a 5-year installment plan) is invested in mutual funds and provides long-term support for CGS? 

The revenue from these funds is used to cover unanticipated expenses and helps secure that the Society will remain viable in the years to come.  Rather than calculating a return on a Life Membership, we encourage you to think of this as donation with benefits.

Have questions? Please send either Chris or Jane an email to discuss what's best for you.

We need our dedicated and visionary members like Jim to step forward and make the pledge towards creating a more sustainable and prosperous future for CGS.  Please act now to preserve the heritage that you've worked so hard to discover.  We're counting on you.

Thank you for considering how you can help ensure that The California Genealogical Society will remain a financially strong leader in the field of genealogy.

Photo by Ron Madson

Logo designed by Lois Elling

Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society