California Genealogical Society: Blog

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Showing posts with label San Francisco Research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label San Francisco Research. Show all posts

19 August 2013

Announcing the Second Printing of San Francisco, California, I.O.O.F. Crematory Records


The California Genealogical Society proudly announces the second printing of San Francisco, California I.O.O.F. Crematory Records by Barbara Ross Close

First printed in 2001, San Francisco, California I.O.O.F. Crematory Records is an index of eight registers (volumes A–H) for the now defunct Independent Order of Odd Fellows Crematory of San Francisco. Approximately 10,000 cremation records are indexed, dating primarily from 1895 to 1911. Some cremations were of disinterred remains from prior burials; the earliest date for a disinterment seems to be 1857.

Nancy Simons Peterson gave a short history of the crematory in Raking the Ashes: Genealogical Strategies for Pre-1906 San Francisco Research (2011):
A crematory was once located on the grounds of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Cemetery. Originally exempt from the ordinance that disallowed burials within the San Francisco city boundary, it was demolished following the passage in 1910 of a similar ordinance applying also to crematories.
Abstracts include the deceased's name, birthplace, sex, date of death and age, place and cause of death, and whether an obituary is available in the original record. San Francisco, California I.O.O.F. Crematory Records is now available for purchase at our Lulu bookstore.

Volunteer Anna Junglas took on the project as part of a push by the Publications and Marketing Committee to re-issue our older books using print-on-demand by Lulu.com. With the re-printing, the committee decided a cover redesign was needed and turned to volunteer Cathy Paris who designed the covers of the Deaths and Probate series. She photographed one of the original I.O.O.F. register books which are in the care of the society, and integrated it into the new cover design.

San Francisco, California, I.O.O.F. Crematory Records is one of a set of California Genealogical Society publications related to the Odd Fellows facility in San Francisco. As part of the re-printing process the publications team made an effort to correlate the content with the original books located in our manuscript vault. This revealed some inconsistent terminology within the original manuscripts. The terms "register" and "ledger" caused confusion about how many sets of originals existed so for the re-print we settled on the term "register" because it was most commonly used in the original manuscripts and because it is a general term that was most applicable.

The California Genealogical Society acknowledges the many volunteers who were part of Barbara Closes' team and who contributed to this publication when it was first published in 2001. They include Jane Cassedy, Julie Collins, Vernon Deubler, Lew Ellingham, Cynthia Elliot, Wil Frye, Gloria Hanson, Marilyn Jaeger, Paul Jones, Melissa Kelley, Esther Mott, Harry Neumann, Lee Penland, Anne Robinson, Marilyn Rowan, Christine Scott, Laura Spurrier, James Thansute, Bill West, and Marjorie Wyatt.

Anna Junglas noted, "It was a pleasure to work with the publications team on the re-printing of San Francisco, California, I.O.O.F. Crematory Records. The collaboration, support, and conscientious feedback from everyone on the team made this project very enjoyable."

Congratulations, volunteers, on another job well done!

San Francisco, California, I.O.O.F. Crematory Records
First Edition, Second Printing
411 Pages
Softbound, 8 1/2 x 11" format 
ISBN 978-0-9672409-2-3 
Published by the California Genealogical Society


Copyright © 2013 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.

26 September 2012

Wordless Wednesday

San Francisco Special Interest Group
Inaugural Meeting 
Saturday, September 22, 2012











Photographs courtesy of Tim Cox, Oakland, California.


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

17 August 2012

Announcing the San Francisco Special Interest Group

Join the Conversation! 

The California Genealogical Society is pleased to announce formation of the San Francisco Special Interest Group (SFSIG).

The San Francisco SIG welcomes all who have an interest in San Francisco genealogy research. Everyone is invited to participate, regardless of level of research experience. The group is forming to help so bring your questions as well as your expertise. We may not have all of the answers, but we will pool our resources and learn together.

The group will focus on both pre-1906 and post-1906 San Francisco city and county.

On occasion there will be speaker presentations from professional researchers, librarians and archivists. Nancy Peterson’s book, Raking the Ashes: Genealogical Strategies for Pre-1906 San Francisco Research will be the core research guide. Nancy had this to say about the new SIG:
The California Genealogical Society is the logical home for a San Francisco interest group since it holds a San Francisco based genealogical collection second only to the archives in the bowels of San Francisco Public Library. Not only can one access with experienced guidance the material available online, but almost all necessary and relevant Family History Library films are present onsite, as well as electronic databases and indexes that are not available elsewhere.
The first organizing meeting will take place on Saturday, September 22, 2012 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the California Genealogical Society Library, 2201 Broadway, Suite LL2, Oakland.

Going forward, the San Francisco SIG will meet on the third Saturday of the month. Meeting dates for the rest of the year will be:
  • Saturday, October 20, 2012
  • Saturday, November 17, 2012
  • Saturday, December 15, 2012
Are you planning to attend? Please RSVP via email. Email reminders will be sent a few days prior.

Please note: the CGS Library is a benefit of membership but initial SIG meetings are open to the public. The library usage fee will be waived for the meeting but if non-member attendees want to stay to do some research after the SIG meeting, they will be charged the $5 fee.

Download the SF-SIG information flier.


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