Wordless Wednesday

Board of Directors Meeting

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Photograph by Kathryn M. Doyle, Oakland, California, 2/17/10.

Ethnic Genealogy Series: Chinese Ancestry - A Workshop in Two Sessions

The California Genealogical Society and Library, in partnership with the National Archives and Records Administration - San Francisco, presents a FREE two-part workshop on researching Chinese ancestry. Members Christine DeVillier, Jeanie Low and Kay Speaks will share their experience and the knowledge gained researching their own Chinese ancestors.  The classes are open to all levels of experience – Chinese language skills are not necessary. Attendance at both sessions is required. 

Session I - Saturday April 17, 2010
10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
California Genealogical Society Library, 2201 Broadway, Suite LL2, Oakland, CA.

Program:
10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.  Chinese Research Timeline in the U.S. from 1849 to the present – Jeanie Low presents an examination of immigration laws and migration patterns and their effect on Chinese families.

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.  Resources in the The National Archives and Records Collection Pertaining to Chinese Research – Marisa Louie, NARA Archivist.

12:00 p.m. -   1:00 p.m.  Brown bag lunch and informal discussion.

1:00 p.m. -   2:00 p.m.  Obtaining Records: Your Toolbox – Christine DeVillier reviews: interview and research techniques, using photos and artifacts, online resources, how to use headstones, passengers lists, birth and death records, census records, family associations and more.

2:00 p.m. -   3:30 p.m.  Case Studies and Research – Kay Speaks.


Session II - Saturday, May 8, 2010
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
National Archives, San Francisco Pacific Region, 1000 Commodore Drive, San Bruno, CA.

Research day at NARA with access to the Angel Island Immigration Station case files. Only those who attend the April 17, 2010, workshop will be admitted to the archives.

Please note:

• Workshop is limited to twenty.
• FREE with advanced registration.
• No walk-ins allowed.
• Handouts will be emailed in advance. Please bring your own printed copy and help us cut costs.

Update 3/12/10:

The Chinese Ancestry Workshop is now full. A waiting list has been started for a future class. Add your name at the online registration form. 

eNews March 2010, Vol. 4, No. 3

The March 2010 issue of the eNews, volume 4, number 3, has been published and emailed to members and friends. As always, the eNews features timely information about the California Genealogical Society and our upcoming events. Each edition also includes Editor's Picks: Suggested Links From the Blogosphere and a photo feature: California Ancestors.

This month, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, Cathy Paris pays tribute to her Irish Roots – the photographs and story are of her grandmothers, Helen Elizabeth Nimmo (1898 - 1976), left, and Mary Elizabeth Fitzgerald (1886 - 1918), right.

Past issues of the eNews are available for viewing at the eNews ARCHIVE. The April 2010 issue will be emailed on March 31, 2010. To receive a copy, please join our mailing list.


Copyright © 2010 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.

Judy Avery's Report From London: Who Do You Think You Are?

I'm so excited that Judy Avery agreed to send a report from this year's WDYTYA - Live. Okay, I'm a little jealous, too. Thank you, Judy, for taking time out to be our eyes and ears in London!

It's been a busy and jam-packed couple of days so at night I've been too tired to report anything! Today it's pouring rain and a good morning to stay in the hotel and actually try to write about what I've seen and heard at the conference.

It's called Who Do You Think You Are - Live: a National History Show at the Olympia Conference Center in London. Even though WDYTYA is a hit BBC show, it's not a BBC event but sponsored by Ancestry.co.uk., in association with the Society of Genealogists and The Genealogist.co.uk. It's a huge success - they estimated 10,000 to 15,000 participants over the three days and judging by the number of day passes and workshop tickets that have sold out, they've reached their goal.

The New England Historic Genealogical Society has a table in one of the corners for the first time and this is an experiment to see what response an American organization gets. The president, Brenton Simons, and three staff members are manning the table and giving lectures (they're called workshops in the brochure). Trustees and councilors were invited to join up and at least four of us are here - visiting booths (at least 200), enjoying bangers and mash for lunch and chatting with other participants.

Sandi Hewlett, Judy Avery and Meriwether Schmidt at the NEHGS table.

You should see the crowds! Very orderly, queuing up cheerfully as the British do, so happy to be here. There is a fairly-quickly moving line in front of the Military Memorabilia booth, where people are bringing in photos, medals, letters, etc. and waiting to talk to a military expert who can tell them about their treasures. Another very popular booth is Ask the Experts – a free 20-minute session with a genealogist and his laptop. Michael LeClerc and Josh Taylor have volunteered stints there, and find themselves answering family history questions about the U.K. and other European countries. They report great interest in people who went to America and have been lost by family members. "My grandmother's favorite brother went to California in 1910 and no one knows what happened to him."  Or "Mary sailed for America in 1890 - we think she went to New York and married a man named Smith." Remarkably in most cases, the staff members have been able to find some information or give helpful advice, and  people are so grateful. It seems at conferences in the U.S. we're interested in where our ancestors came from. Here we've had many questions on what became of family members in America.

Highlights for me: Maureen Taylor's talk on Scrapbooks. Remember when she gave that wonderful talk to the California Genealogical Society about dating old family photographs? She said scrapbooking in Britain isn't the big industry it is in the U.S. but it's coming. There are no big stores dedicated to readymade scrapbooks yet but supplies are in arts and craft shops. Audience members said they are making their own albums - very creative. Original photographs or documents should be copied and then pasted into the scrapbook. In the 20th century scrapbook makers began telling a story in their scrapbooks and it's a good idea to have a theme in the book.

Photo Detective Maureen Taylor

FamilyTree DNA has a big presence here and interesting workshops. If you're like me, you've done some testing but find it really frustrating and confusing to interpret. I think I understand it a bit better going to "DNA for Genealogy - Basic Concepts" and "I've Been DNA Tested - Now What?" FamilyTree is in the beta phase for a new program called Family Finder, which can find relatives within 4-5 generations across all lines. Traditional testing has done the yDNA and MtDNA chromosomes which can show direct male and female lines - good for surname projects and showing if men are related. The new Family Finder tests the other 22 chromosomes and can find male and female cousins, half-siblings, and will become the "perfect test for adoptees." Their new motto on a t-shirt is, "Sex doesn't matter anymore."

The best find in all this new information was Terry Barton explaining the FamilyTree website and giving information on his organization WorldFamilies.net. He and his wife have explained for us laymen about terms (markers, alleles!), and navigation of the FamilyTree website to get the results we want. "You are responsible for your own learning," he says, but this makes it seem possible.

So many booths with enthusiastic volunteers - small local history societies, Irish, Scottish and Welsh history groups, preservation supplies, map sellers, military history tables, a booth scanning documents, etc. I'm going back this afternoon and will try to take in some more!

- Judy Avery

Photographs courtesy of Judy Avery.

What We Missed and How Technology Saved the Day

The California Genealogical Society presented a full-day program last Saturday, February 20, 2010, in honor of Black History Month and at the last minute the whole thing was threatened with cancellation, or at least a significant postponement. In his article CGS February Meeting a History Maker, our featured speaker, blogger and new board member, Craig Manson, explained what happened and how my two favorite geek-members, Thomas MacEntee and Kathy Watson, came to the rescue. Using WebEx and with only a couple of minor glitches, Craig was able to present his two talks from his home office in Carmichael, California with Past-President Jane Knowles Lindsey at her laptop control center at the library in Oakland.

Since I wasn't able to attend I've gathered some feedback from some of those present to give you an accurate accounting of the day.

The morning started with expertise from three long-time friends and colleagues from the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC). Past-President Juliet Culliver Crutchfield, Ed.D., Electra Kimble Price and Jackie Stewart fielded questions from the audience.

Lorna Wallace reports: 

The panel of members of AAGSNC did something unexpected in that they started right out asking the audience what questions they had – there never was a "lecture" as such. That way none of the attendees were left at the end without hearing what puzzled them. The open format also allowed people in the audience, who had a lot of pertinent experience, to easily contribute their personal stories as examples.

One of our new board members, Jeffrey Vaillant, had these comments:

The use of the Webex tool was an exciting new adventure that brought the presenter's voice and on-screen power point presentation in the room for all to experience. The technology has been around for some years so its use at CGS was a potential step into the 21st century. 

The morning three person panel was terrific as each shared insights into their genealogy quest. A lesson learned was solid genealogy practices apply to any ethnic research along with an understanding of that culture.

Vernester Sheeler sent accolades:

One word Fabulous!!  The CGS’s Black History program was wonderful. There were a couple of minor technical glitches but once resolved the session was great. Craig is a gifted and engaging presenter. He shared valuable tips, and tools to broaden my research. My employer uses WebEx for most of our project meetings however this was my first time to use it for something I value and enjoy!

Panelists Juliet Crutchfield, Electra Price and Jackie Stewart

Special thanks to everyone who helped make this a successful program.

Photographs courtesy of Jane Knowles Lindsey, Nicka Smith and Vernester Sheeler.

Wordless Wednesday

Working on the Judge Project

Lavinia Schwarz and Judy Bodycote

Photograph courtesy of Arlene Miles, November 16, 2009, Oakland, California.

Honored by Family Tree Magazine!

Diane Haddad, Managing Editor of Family Tree Magazine informed me that the California Genealogical Society and Library blog was named to the "Family Tree 40" after being voted one of the Family Tree Magazine 40 Best Genealogy blogs!

The awards were given in several categories, as follows*:

All-Around

• Creative Gene by Jasia Smasha
• footnoteMaven by footnoteMaven
• GeneaBloggers by Thomas MacEntee
• Genea-Musings by Randy Seaver

Cemetery

• The Association of Graveyard Rabbits by several authors
• Granite in My Blood by Midge Frazel

Corporate

• Ancestry.com Blog by various authors

Genetic Genealogy

• The Genetic Genealogist by Blaine Bettinger

Heritage

• George Geder by George Geder
• Scottish Genealogy News and Events by Chris Paton
• Small Leaved Shamrock by Lisa
• Steve’s Genealogy Blog by Stephen Danko
• Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog by Schelly Talalay Dardashti

How-To

• Family Matters by Denise Barrett Olson
• Genealogy Guys by George G. Morgan and Drew Smith
• Genealogy Tip of the Day by Michael John Neill
• The ProGenealogists Blog by various authors

Local & Regional

• California Genealogical Society and Library Blog by Kathryn Doyle
• Sandusky History by the staff of the Sandusky (Ohio) Library Archives Research Center
• Midwestern Microhistory by Harold Henderson

News & Resources

• The Ancestry Insider by theAncestry Insider
• DearMyrtle by Pat Richley-Erickson
• Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter by Dick Eastman
• GenealogyBlog by Leland Meitzler

Photos & Heirlooms

• The Family Curator by Denise Levenick
• Shades of the Departed by footnoteMaven

Personal & Family

• Ancestories: The Stories of My Ancestors by Miriam Midkiff
• Apple’s Tree by anonymous
• BeNotForgot by Vickie Everhart
• Educated Genealogist by Sheri Fenley
• Greta’s Genealogy Blog by Greta Koehl
• Heritage Happens by Cheryl Fleming Palmer
• Herstoryan by Herstoryan
• Janet the Researcher by Janet Iles
• Kinexxions by Becky Wiseman
• Little Bytes of Life by Elizabeth
• Our Georgia Roots by Luckie Daniels
• WeTree by Amy Coffin
• West in New England by Bill West
• What’s Past is Prologue by Donna Pointkouski

In the online version of the magazine article, which appears in the May 2010 issue, Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective, had this to say about the CGSL blog:

Even though I don’t have California roots, this is one of my personal favorites—you get a feel for this community that hangs together to solve genealogical problems. Society member Kathryn Doyle delivers news about the group, as well as local genealogy events and resources. On Wordless Wednesday, you get a peek behind the scenes of the organization.

Thank you, Maureen; thank you Family Tree Magazine and thank you to everyone who voted! I'm honored to be listed with such august company!

*Links reprinted here with permission of Diane Haddad, Managing Editor, Family Tree Magazine.

Kate's Story in the Missouri State Genealogical Association Journal

In the Missouri State Genealogical Society Journal, Volume XXIX, No. 4, 2009, member Patricia Burrow chronicled the story of her ancestor, Kate Stuedle McCormack, who she discovered in 2007 when she obtained her grandmother's adoption papers.


Kate's Story is Patricia's "tribute to a hard-working family that serviced the westward migration of this great country." In it we meet Kate's father, Balthasar Stuedle, who built wagons for the families that made their way across the Santa Fe Trail and learn how Kate helped settle Oklahoma Territory and rear a family during the Great Depression.

Patricia consented to share some of the backstory of the document that was the key to unlocking her family mystery.

My grandmother was adopted. According to her children, she did not know about this until she was into her senior years. My aunt gave me a small scrap of paper that was supposed to be the link to the adoption but no one knew any details. The paper was from the Recorder's Office, Jackson County, Missouri, September 1902. It was pure gold. I wrote to the Recorder's office, sending a copy of the paper but got a reply that nothing was there. For four years I wrote to other offices and even the surrounding counties but never got a positive response. In June of 2007 we were visiting relatives in Arkansas, and made a detour to Independence, Missouri. I was determined to find SOMETHING. I marched into the Court house, showed the clerk a copy of my paper and within ten minutes had a copy of the adoption record from 105 years before. I believe that, because Missouri has closed adoptions, when I requested the information by mail, they saw that it was an adoption and dismissed the record's existence. Harder to do when I was standing there reading the microfilm with the clerk. Happiness was mine. He got so excited about it that he looked up the marriage info on my adopted great-grandparents and produced a beautiful copy of their license right there on the spot. It was a good day, about to get even better. I went to a local library and worked with the librarian to find the birth mother, Kate STUEDLE, and her family, in city directories and censuses. We were never able to find an actual birth record.

I have researched this family back to their emigration from Wittenberg, Germany, 1854. Balthasar STUEDLE married Christina Ann SCHWAB, also from Wittenberg, in 1870, Lafayette County, Missouri. These were my gg-grandparents. Using the internet, I met some wonderful people, some new cousins, and some of the most generous genealogists in the world – all willing to help. While writing the article for the Journal, I realized that I did not have Kate's final resting place. Somewhere there was a reference that she died in Cortez, Colorado. I knew that her son was buried there because I found his headstone on the internet. At 1:00 p.m. one sunny afternoon, I shot off an email to the address of the person who had photographed that headstone and asked if they knew if Kate was in the same cemetery. At 4 o'clock I got an email back that he, the photographer, had gone out to the cemetery, found her grave and took pictures of the headstone for me. Is that not a wonderful community?

I found the adoption record in June and was sitting in a genealogy class in September when someone new to the class began to introduce herself and tell who and where she was researching. My ears perked up when she said "SCHWAB" and gave their migration from Germany to Missouri and Kansas and then to Oklahoma. THOSE ARE MY SCHWABs!!! I would never have paid attention if I had not found that adoption record just 90 days before. Timing is everything. It turns out Betty Martinez is a third cousin! The lesson here is, never stop panning for gold. Betty followed up on many of her own leads and eventually handed me a photograph of my own g-grandmother, Kate, looking very much like her first child, the loving grandmother who held me on her lap, sang to me and fed me buttermilk biscuits that she baked in her old wood stove.

Kate Stuedel McCormack (1881-1963)

Photograph courtesy of Patricia Burrow.

Mountain View Cemetery Walking Tour - March 24, 2010

Mountain View Cemetery

5000 Piedmont Avenue
Oakland, CA 94611

Wednesday, March  24, 2010

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Private Tour of Mountain View Cemetery
Member Gaye Lenehan will lead an exploration of an Oakland gem. The walking tour of Mountain View Cemetery will start promptly at 10:00 a.m. – everyone should gather in front of the main office. If Mother Nature cooperates, attendees should witness a spectacular show since the tour has been timed to occur when the tulips are in full bloom.

Founded in 1863, Mountain View was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, renowned landscape architect of New York City's Central Park. The historic, not-for-profit cemetery is nestled in the foothills of Oakland and Piedmont. Gaye will tell a bit of history of the cemetery and lead us past the final resting places of some interesting people. She's including a climb up the hill to Millionaires' Row.

Please note: Walking shoes are recommended; the tour covers almost two miles on hilly terrain. It is not suitable for those with walkers, canes or the need to sit down frequently. There is plenty of parking along the roads in the cemetery. If it is a nice day bring a brown bag and plan for a picnic. In case of rain, the tour will be rescheduled for the following Wednesday, March 30, 2010. Please E-mail events@californiaancestors.org or call the libary at 510-663-1358 to register for this event.

Gaye is one of two society members who serve as docents at the cemetery. The upcoming schedule includes:

February 27 — Free Docent Tour led by Gaye Lenahan, 10 a.m., Black History Month Tour.

April 24 — Free Docent Tour led by Chris Pattillo, 10 a.m., The Trees of Mountain View. (If you can't make this, Chris has a self-guided tour on her blog, Historic American Landscapes Survey.

Learn more about the cemetery at Michael Colbruno's Lives of the Dead: Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland - a Graveyard Rabbit Association blog.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Tim Cox and Ron Arons

Photograph by Kathryn M. Doyle, Oakland, California, 1/15/2010.