Field Trip to the New Sutro Library – Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Wednesday, January 23, 2013
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Orientation at 10:30 a.m.

California State Library – Sutro
1630 Holloway Avenue
San Francisco, California 94132

The California State Library – Sutro branch re-opened at its new location in August of this year. Genealogists, historians, and other researchers can discover the Sutro’s rich collections and resources housed in a spacious, well-lit reading room designed specifically for their patrons. 

California Genealogical Society members will have an opportunity to visit the new library on Wednesday, January 23, 2013. Join CGS Outreach Coordinator Pat Gallagher for a fun day of research. 

Itinerary for the Day

• 10:00 a.m. – Sutro Library opens
• 10:30 a.m. – Private orientation for the group
• 11:00 a.m to 4:45 p.m. – free time to do research
• 5:00 p.m. – Sutro closes

There is a cafe on the main floor of the library that has coffee and snacks. Visitors are allowed to bring a bag lunch or go out to one of the many eateries around the campus.

This field trip is organized for CGS members only. Non-members interested in participating in the visit are encouraged to become members prior to January 15, 2013. Pre-registration is required.

Register online.

On the online registration form, attendees need to specify if they are interested in a carpool or BART.

Information links from the San Francisco State University website:

Directions using BART

Parking

Shuttle service


Copyright © 2012 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

What You Missed: Genealogy 101 at the Society of California PIoneers

On Saturday, September 9, 2012, Lavinia Schwarz presented Genealogy 101: Getting Started, at the Society of California Pioneers in San Francisco. Lavinia heads the research team at the California Genealogical Society and is a former member of the board of directors. The class grew out of a desire for collaboration between our two societies. Our board members, Pat Gallagher and Henry Snyder, worked with California Pioneers Director of Library and Archives, Patricia L. Keats, to make it happen.

Lavinia Schwarz teaching "Genealogy 101" in the
Joseph and Mildred Rolph Moore Gallery. 

The setting was the beautiful Joseph and Mildred Rolph Moore Gallery. The class was free and open members of both the California Genealogical Society and the Society of California Pioneers. SOCP Director of Membership Services, Peggy Huntington, and SOCP Board President Thomas McLaughlin were present to welcome attendees and get things started. More than thirty participants heard Lavinia's excellent presentation on how to get started on a genealogical quest.

Members of both the California Genealogical Society and the Society of California Pioneers were in attendance.

Lavinia provided an excellent overview for the beginner. Using examples and photographs from her own family, she outlined the "how-to process" and shared her secrets for success. Her discussion covered the following topics:

1. Talk to everyone in the family.
2. Gather what you collect and pick an approach.
3. Learn the lingo.
4. Copy and source what you find.
5. If you can, use technology.

Lavinia provided a hand-out with resource suggestions, a comprehensive list of genealogy websites, and three sample forms – ancestral chart, research calendar, and family group record sheet.

Tim Cox, Lavinia Schwarz and Thomas McLaughlin, President of the Board of Society of California Pioneers

The class was very well-received. Organizer Pat Gallagher noted: "Lots of folks left the room saying how inspired they were to get going."

The California Genealogical Society gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Education and Gallery Manager John Hogan for facilitating the event.

We look forward to future collaborative endeavors with the Society of California Pioneers.

Copyright © 2012 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Wordless Wednesday

Aging and Disability Technology Summit

San Francisco City Hall

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Photographs by Kathryn Doyle and Shannon Reese, San Francisco, 5/15/2012.


Copyright © 2012 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

CGS at the Aging & Disability Technology Summit – May 15, 2012

To foster broadband technology awareness and access for all local seniors and adults with disabilities, the Mayor’s Office of San Francisco, in collaboration with the Department of Aging and Adult Services, the Department of Technology and the Community Living Campaign, is presenting an Aging and Disability Technology Summit at City Hall on May 15 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The focus of the summit is the "world of possibilities" using technology.

The California Genealogical Society will be hosting a table with four computers for attendees who are interested in family history. CGS member volunteers will be assisting participants who want to practice using the internet to access ours and other genealogy websites. Member volunteer Mary Beth Frederick will present a "Beginning Genealogy" workshop at 2:15 p.m. Director Pat Gallagher is spearheading our participation.

The Summit will include:

• Informative plenary sessions in the North and South Light Courts of City Hall
• Workshops on a wide range of topics – the What and Why of broadband computer access
• Interactive, hands-on computer niches where people can try out different learning opportunities, including medical research, Facebook, email and more
• Large-scale video displays featuring website demonstrations in which conference attendees can actually participate
• Program and workshop translation offered for Spanish and Cantonese speaking participants

The Summit kicks off a City-wide program of free Internet access and training for seniors and adults with disabilities. Touch-screen computers will be installed in 50 San Francisco non-profit community centers serving these populations. Free, multi-lingual classes and tutoring will be offered by trained volunteers. Computer access, with classes and tutoring, is expected to begin this spring.

The Summit and computer installation, access and training are funded by the City with a federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant.

If you would like more information about the event, sponsorship, ways to volunteer, email summit@sfcommunityliving.org or register online.


Copyright © 2012 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Introducing the New 2012 Directors

The California Genealogical Society is pleased to introduce the five women who have consented to serve and have been elected to the Board of Directors in 2012. They are Kim Cotton, Ellen Fernandez-Sacco, Pat Gallagher, Karen Lemulin, and Nicka Smith.

Kim Cotton is a Certified Nutritional Educator with a degree in art and training in computer science, art history, and cross-cultural health practices. A third generation Californian, Kim has been researching her tree as well as assisting others as part of her business Walking Your Tree. She has been a volunteer at CGS since 2010, first with the Events Committee, and more recently assisting the Research Committee to prepare the "Insider's Guide to California Genealogy." She is active in social media, writes travel and product reviews and multiple blogs, including two on genealogy.

Ellen Fernandez-Sacco’s involvement with genealogy started in 1999, when she began researching the oral history of her family in Moca, Puerto Rico. She has traced her background to Mallorca and Galicia, Spain and is also of Taino Amerindian descent. She has a Ph.D. in Art History and is a co-founder and chair of Sociedad Ancestros Mocanos, a Yahoo! Group, whose focus is the genealogy and oral history of Northwest Puerto Rico. She has taught classes and workshops on Latino genealogy research for CGS and she is the author of several genealogy blogs.

Pat Gallagher, a fourth generation San Franciscan, is Professor Emerita at San Francisco State University where she taught language and literacy education to prospective teachers in the Department of Elementary Education for thirty-one years. Upon retirement, Pat took on the task of researching her family history. She had a family bible with a few names and dates, a basket of family photographs, a lot of questions and no one left to ask. Five years ago Pat dropped into the California Genealogical Society library and found the San Francisco City Directories. That was the beginning of her five-year, multi-faceted exploration of her Norwegian and Irish family, and of her service as a CGS volunteer. Pat is also a founding member of the “fridaywriters” writing group that provides weekly opportunities for elders to tell their life stories.

Karen Tracy Lemelin was born in Oakland, California and is employed at Alameda County Medical Center, Highland Campus as a Health Services manager for the Ambulatory Clinics. She is an R.N. with a B.A. degree in Health Services Administration from St. Mary’s College. She has been an R.N. for thirty-five years and specialized in Emergency Department and Specialty Clinics management. She has spent many hours volunteering with the Flying Medical Volunteers in Mexico, the Red Cross and her children’s schools. She has been interested in her roots since she was a teenager and is the collector of the family memorabilia. She has spent many hours pre-internet, scanning through microfiche, church records and graveyards in Norway searching for her roots.


Nicka Smith’s interest in genealogy began at an early age when she became intrigued with a family tree that was prepared by her first cousin once removed. In 1999, she decided to continue his efforts and update his work which led to the formation of AtlasFamily.Org, and its affiliate websites. For eleven years, Nicka has lead the Atlas research team in tracing the lineage of nine generations across more than twenty-two states and four countries. She lectures and mentors both young and old on genealogical search techniques and serves as the chair of the Outreach and Education Committee for the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC). Smith has worked for Kaiser Permanente for the past eleven years in various roles, most recently, as project and communications coordinator. She is also a professional photographer whose work can be seen at ns2photography.com.


Copyright © 2012 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Volunteers Needed for Youth Genealogy Program – Ancestral Project 2012

Pat Gallagher and Nicka Smith, two of the newest CGS board members, have put out a call for volunteers for Ancestral Project 2012 – the East Bay genealogy youth program that will run from February to June 2012.  Nicka is the Ancestral Project manager and she is inviting California Genealogical Society members to participate.

I wrote last year about the program created by Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson that helps youth learn the value of knowing one’s family history and the skills needed to discover it. The program began in 2011 and included three sites where more than fifty youth were assisted, mentored, and supported by Supervisor Carson’s staff and volunteers from the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC) and the Oakland California Family History Center. 2011’s program was primarily focused on African-American genealogy research.

The Ancestral Project 2012 will expand to include youth from the Asian-American and Jewish-American communities, as well as youth in the Weekend Training Academy, a program of Alameda County’s Youth Probation Department. The California Genealogical Society is requesting that its members volunteer to be part of the 2012 project. Volunteering can be done in the following ways:

• Assist with teaching classes to youth;
• Attend one of the weekly workshops as support; or
• Attend one of the research trips to the Oakland Family History Center

Volunteers typically spend two hours per week, once or twice a month. It is preferable that volunteers are able to make a commitment for the full four months. One-time opportunities are also available. Volunteers will have the opportunity to attend an orientation session in early February to learn more about the goals of the project and expected outcomes.

The session dates are (choose one):
Monday, February 13, 2012, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. or Thursday, February 16, 2012, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.at the Oakland Family History Center, 4766 Lincoln Avenue, Oakland, California

If you have any questions regarding volunteering or about the program, please email Ancestral Project Manager Nicka Smith or call 650-906-1145.

For more about Ancestral Project 2012, please visit the AAGSNC website for blog posts, photos, and news coverage.


Copyright © 2012 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library