California Genealogical Society blog

11 October 2020

Online genealogy, October 12-18

Posted by Jennifer Dix

Our Events:
October 10: Family Tree Maker Special Interest Group

Conferences:

October 12-14: Virtual British Institute
October 14: "The Kitchen: Culinary Inspirations from the Past" New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Fall Benefit
October 14-17: Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society Conference
October 17: 15^th Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar
October 17: Virtual Conference with Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist (Mid Atlantic German Society)

October 17: Fall Seminar with Fritz Juengling (North San Diego County Genealogical Seminar)

October 17: Virtual Fall DNA Seminar with Blaine Bettinger (Seattle Genealogical Society)

Classes:
Numerous associations offer online genealogy events every week. Most are free. To register for one of the events below, click on the name of the host organization.

Allen County Public Library

October 13: "Using Railroad Records" by Kim Harrison

October 14: "Finding Unknown Fathers or Grandfathers by DNA" by Sara Allen

October 15: "Death Business: Searching Funeral Home Collections" by Melissa Tennant

American Ancestors

October 13, 20, 27: "An Explosion of Beauty: The Art, Architecture, and Collections of British Country Houses, Part I" course with Curt DiCamillo

October 14, 21, 28: "Adoption Research" course

October 14: "The First American Jewish Woman Novelist: Uncovering the Story of Cora Wilburn and her Spiritualist Novel, Cosella Wayne" by Jonathan D. Sarna

October 15: "Using Bank Records in Family History Research" by Eileen Pronti

BYU Family History Library

October 14: "Improving Your Genealogy Research Skills" by James Tanner

Legacy Family Tree
October 13: " Use MyHeritage Records to Quickly Discover and Write the Story of Your Ancestors " by Devon Noel Lee

October 14 & 15: "Dealing with Endogamy" by Paul Woodbury

Southern California Genealogical Society
October 13: "Beginning Genealogy: Census and Naturalization Records" by Beverly Truesdale

Conference Keeper has a large calendar of events (too many to list) hosted by various genealogical organizations. New events are added often, so check back frequently.
Here are some of the coming week's highlights:

October 12:

"Cemetery Art for Genealogy" (Midwest Genealogy Center)

"Reconstruction On Hilton Head Island & Beaufort County (1862-1877)" (Heritage Library History & Ancestry Research Center)

October 13:

“Researching Your Chicago Ancestors” (Schaumburg IL Township District Library)

"Intro to African American Genealogy" (New York Public Library)

"Identifying Unknown Ancestors with DNA" (Genealogical Research Institute of Virginia)

October 14:

"German Naming Conventions and Other Oddities" (Doña Ana County NM Genealogical Society)

"Walk a Mile in Their Shoes: Using Maps to Understand Our Ancestors’ Journeys" (Rogue Valley OR Genealogical Society)

October 15:

"A Thousand Thirsty Beaches: Smuggling Alcohol from Cuba to the South during Prohibition" (Alabama Department of Archives)

"The Great War: Researching Your World War I Ancestors" (Florida State Genealogical Society)

"Dethorning Interviews, Cold Calls, and First Contact" (Utah Genealogical Society)

October 16:
"Don't Leave Any Stones Unturned! Finding Collections Anywhere and Everywhere" (Wisconsin State Genealogical Society)

"Fantastic Canal Records and Where to Find Them: NY Repositories" (New York Genealogical & Biographical Society)

"Using DNA to Identify Enslaved Ancestors" (Houston Public Library)

October 17:

"German Genealogy" (New York Chapter of Palatines to America German Genealogy Society)

"Tracing Your Irish Ancestors"(Irish Genealogical Society International)

October 18:

"Past the Cemetery Gate with the Gravestone Girls" (Portsmouth NH Public Library)

See our post "Genealogy Learning in the Time of Coronavirus" for links to classes archived online at Ancestry, FamilySearch, RootsTech, and more.

Be well, stay safe, and happy learning!

09 October 2020

Weigh In By October 23 On Proposed NYC Public Records Fee Hikes

Posted by Jennifer Dix

Marriage record pictured on the DORIS website

Another fight is brewing between New York City repositories and the genealogists and others who depend on their records for research. As explained by "The Legal Genealogist" Judy Russell, the New York City Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) wants to impose a licensing fee for the use of tons and tons of genealogically-relevant materials. The public comment period closes October 23, so time is limited.

It may seem like there's little we can do as individuals, but the more people who speak out against obstacles to public records access, the more likely we are be heard. Late last year, we wrote about USCIS plans to raise their fees by "astronomical" amounts. Despite thousands of comments lodged in protest, and concern raised by U.S. Senator Mitt Romney, the Department of Homeland Security vowed to go ahead with the fee hikes, scheduled to begin on October 2. However, they were halted by a preliminary court injunction just days before the deadline.

The public can send comments by email, sign a petition by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, or virtually attend the hearing on October 23. For more details on the proposed DORIS rules, and a guide to actions you can take, visit Judy Russell's blog:

https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2020/10/07/heads-up-on-nyc-records-access/

06 October 2020

Profiles of the Signers of the 1849 California Constitution

Posted by Chris Pattillo

Chris Pattillo writes:


Cover design: Lois Elling

We are excited to announce the publication of a new resource for California history research: Profiles of the Signers of the 1849 California Constitution. This new work, available on our website, includes biographical sketches of the forty-eight men who signed the California Constitution, plus five other convention participants. While we know that some of the information contained in the 500-page document is outdated, we also know that these profiles include much useful information never before published. Each profile includes a family history, a photograph of the individual, and in most cases his signature.

The newly completed book is based on research done by George R. Dorman (1901-1983), who was a member of CGS for 47 years. Sometime probably in the late 1990s, CGS member Wayne Shepard used Dorman’s research to compile and edit the book, which includes a 16-page bibliography and a 63-page index. CGS originally had planned to publish the book in hard copy for sale but for various reasons the project was abandoned in 2002. The individual profiles were originally published in our newsletter and later in The California Nugget.

Henry Halleck, delegate from the Monterey District

This spring, the manuscript was revived by the Website Content Committee. After some consideration, the Publication Committee decided to move forward with the project. CGS Member Barbara Kridl, who has a professional background in publishing, took the lead and has done an outstanding job of preparing the book for publication on our website. Barbara cleaned up the formatting of the entire book and reworked the format of the bibliography. She added a preface that explains the origins of the project and worked with member Evan R. Wilson to write a history of the 1849 California Constitution Convention. Other Publication Committee members who assisted with the review and editing are Lois Elling, Stacy Hoover Haines, Arlene Miles, Chris Pattillo, Marie Treleaven and Jennifer Dix. Lois Elling also designed the book cover.

This is a wonderful resource that we are excited to make available to researchers. Over the years CGS members have undertaken several monumental projects – the Judge and Sherman books come to mind. This is the first time I have been personally involved with an effort of this type. It was a wonder and pleasure to see everyone offer to take on pieces of the project and complete them at a high standard. Our members are superheroes and a pleasure to work with. Please say thanks next time you see one of them in a Zoom meeting, and enjoy the book!

To start exploring, click HERE.

05 October 2020

Annual Genie Awards - Saturday, October 10

Posted by Jennifer Dix

Tune in for the presentation of the golden
Genie Awards to our outstanding volunteers

All members are cordially invited to attend our virtual Board Meeting this Saturday, October 10, where we will present the annual "Genie Awards" to several volunteers who have gone "above and beyond" with their time and talents to keep our organization thriving. We normally honor all volunteers in the month of April (National Volunteers Month), but as we all know, nothing is normal in 2020. Since the pandemic forced the closing of the CGS Library in March this year's Genie Awards were postponed. However, in the spirit of "we can do it!" we have decided to have a short online presentation during the October CGS Board Meeting.

Home page of our new website

This year we recognize several volunteers who have been instrumental in revamping the CGS website to bring it into the modern era. It's been a monumental task and involved many hours of discussion, research, preparation and content. We now have a fabulous, robust website that offers a wealth of information to our members and the public. Congratulations and a "tip of the hat" go to: Stewart Blandon, Rich Kehoe, Arlene Miles, Theresa Murphy, Chris Pattillo, John Ralls and Shannon Reese. The event takes place Saturday, October 10, at 10 a.m. To attend, simply register on Eventbrite.

03 October 2020

Online genealogy, week of October 5-11

Posted by Jennifer Dix

Our Events:
October 10: Monthly Board Meeting and Genie Awards: all welcome.

Conferences:
October 8-10: North Star Genealogy Conference (Minnesota Genealogical Society)
October 9 & 10: "GENEALOGY 2020: Research - Retool - Reconnect" (The Afro-American Genealogical and Historical Society of Chicago)
October 10: Scottish Indexes Conference VI (free)
October 10: Virtual Fall Conference (Greater Omaha Genealogical Society)

Classes:
Numerous associations offer online genealogy events every week. Most are free. To register for one of the events below, click on the name of the host organization.

American Ancestors

October 8: "What's New at American Ancestors?" with Don LeClair

October 8: "Eleanor" author David Michaelis discusses his biography of Eleanor Roosevelt

BYU Family History Library

October 7: "Going Further with Scottish Genealogy" by Hannah Bell

Family History Library

October 5: "Using the FamilySearch Catalog"

October 6: "Preserving Family Memories in Family Tree"

Legacy Family Tree
October 6 & 7: "Advanced DNA Techniques: Deductive Chromosome Mapping" by Blaine Bettinger

October 7: "Wringing Every Drop out of Y DNA" by Roberta Estes

October 8: Reisinger Memorial Lecture Series:

"From Generation to Generation: An Updated Look at Kinship Determination" by Judy Russell
"Geo-Genealogy as a Problem-Solving Tool: The Case of a 19th-Century Female Teenage Immigrant" by J. H. (Jay) Fonkert
"Spanning 150 Years of Record Loss: A Methodological Approach to Identifying Parents in Sweden" by Jill Morelli, CG

Southern California Genealogical Society
October 6-27: "Beginning Genealogy Class" by Beverly Truesdale

October 10: "From Babel to Benefit-Translation Tips for Foreign-Language Documents" by Jane Neff Rollins

October 5: "House History 101" (Chicago Public Library)

October 6: "Genealogy Workshop Series: Intro to Ancestry" (Chicago Public Library)
October 10: "What's Your American Story? Part 1" by D. Joshua Taylor (Contra Costa Genealogical Society)

October 11: "The Lost Family: How DNA is Upending Who We Are" by Libby Taylor (Omaha Public Library)

See our post "Genealogy Learning in the Time of Coronavirus" for links to classes archived online at Ancestry, FamilySearch, RootsTech, and more.

Be well, stay safe, and happy learning!

27 September 2020

Online genealogy, September 28-October 4

Posted by Jennifer Dix

Our Events:
September 29: "Introduction to DNA and Genetic Genealogy" a 6-week course on DNA basics taught by Mark McLaren.

October 1: Susan Skilton talks about pre-1850 California land grants in "Researching Mexican Land Grants in Alta California."

October 3: "First Saturday Free Intro to Genealogy: Using the Census" with Pam Miller

Conferences:

October 2 & 3: Iowa Genealogical Society Fall Conference
October 3: "DNA Day with Blaine Bettinger" (Orange County CA Genealogical Society)
October 3: "A Day of Genealogy Learning with Tom Jones" (Santa Barbara Genealogical Society)

Classes:
Numerous associations offer online genealogy events every week. Most are free. To register for one of the events below, click on the name of the host organization. See our post "Genealogy Learning in the Time of Coronavirus" for links to classes archived online at Ancestry, FamilySearch, RootsTech, and more.

American Ancestors

October 1: Author David Hill discusses his book The Vapors: A Southern Family, the New York Mob, and the Rise and Fall of Hot Springs, America’s Forgotten Capital of Vice.

BYU Family History Library

September 23: "Hopping the Pond: First Steps to Finding Your English Ancestors" with Rachel Derenthal

Legacy Family Tree

September 30: "5 Ways to Find Your Family in Southern Manuscript Collections" by J. David Lowe

Southern California Genealogical Society
October 3: "Manifest Destiny: Researching Your Mexican War Ancestors" by Michael Strauss
October 6-27: "Beginning Genealogy Class" by Beverly Truesdale

September 28: "Early Families of Hilton Head Island" (Heritage Library)

September 28: "Virtual Adoption Searches Past and Present" (Plainfield IL Public Library)

September 29: "Exploring GenealogyBank" (Allen County IL Public Library)

September 30: "Not About the Stuff: Stories Revealed at the Intersection of Genealogy and Archaeology" (Boston Public Library)

October 1: "Pre-1869 Ontario Birth, Marriage and Death Records" (Ontario Ancestors)

October 1: "Identification and Care of Photographs" (Thomas Balch Library - VA)

October 1: "Finding Your Ancestors in Mexico" (Dallas Public Library)

October 1: "Finding Treasure in the Periodical Source Index (PERSI)" (Omaha Public Library)

October 3: "Researching at the Newberry Library" (Northwest Suburban IL Genealogy Society)

October 3: "Ukrainian Summer Kitchens" (Ukrainian History and Education Center)

Be well, stay safe, and happy learning!

21 September 2020

New Online Resources: 100-year Old Pedigree Charts

Posted by Chris Pattillo

Pedigree Charts Volunteer Team:
John Ralls, Ron Madson, Theresa Murphy, Stewart Traiman, Linda Edwards, Jean Alderson, and Kathleen Beitiks

The Website Update Committee is very pleased to announce that the CGS Pedigree Charts created by CGS members more than one hundred years ago are now available on our website. This is the second major project that has been added to our website this year.

This has been a multi-phase team effort. Some time ago (we are not sure when) CGS volunteers looked through every chart and typed each name that appeared onto a 3x5 card, along with the name of the chart and the page it appears on. Next, Stewart Traiman scanned these 8,622 cards and grouped them into 46 batches. Volunteer Coordinator Kathleen Beitiks distributed the batches of cards to eleven volunteers who entered the data into spreadsheets. Top indexers were Linda Edwards, Jean Alderson, Theresa Murphy and Kristi Wessenberg. Together these four dynamos processed thirty-four of the forty-six sets of cards. Other Pedigree Chart volunteers were Nancy Cork, Caron Whitacre, Misti Layne, Justine Wong, Liz Summerhayes, Cindy Thomson, and Mary Thomas.

The data from 8,622 index cards were entered into spreadsheets

Next, Theresa Murphy patiently reviewed each spreadsheet checking for and correcting data entry errors.

Ron Madson photographed each of the 135 family trees, which required 180 images to capture everything contained on those charts. Finally, tech wizard John Ralls combined all the names into one spreadsheet, and added links to Ron’s photographs. Now our members can, with a few clicks, view these beautiful trees and all the data they contain.

Ron Madson scanned 135 family trees to create digital images

To view these family trees, go to our website and log in as a member. Scroll down to the box labeled “Online Resources,” click the gold SEARCH button, and look for New Online Resources/Pedigree Charts. Whether you find a familiar family name or not, you will probably enjoy seeing the beautiful handwritten (in ink) charts. In addition to names, birth, marriage and death dates and places, a few charts include photographs, obituaries and hand-written notes.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who worked on this valuable project and made it happen.

19 September 2020

Online genealogy, week of September 21-26

Posted by Jennifer Dix

Our Events:

September 14: Our "Writing Your Family History" Series concludes this Tuesday at 7 p.m. This week: Matt Berry talks about "Creating An Effective Index to your Family History Book."

September 26: Colleen Robledo Green leads "An Introduction to Researching Your Mexican Ancestors."

Conferences: [fee]

September 23-25: 1st Annual We Are Cousins Conference
September 26: "The Psychology of Searching" and "Ethical Dilemmas in Genealogy" (British Family Isles Family History Society of Ottawa)
September 26: "From Spit to Success: DNA Testing for Genealogy" (Fairfax Genealogical Society)
September 26-27: Virtual Nordic Genealogy Conference
September 26: "In the Shadows of Their Men: Hearing Women's Voices in a Male-Dominated World" (New Hampshire Society of Genealogists)

Classes:

Numerous associations offer online genealogy events every week. Most are free. To register for one of the events below, click on the name of the host organization. See our post "Genealogy Learning in the Time of Coronavirus" for links to classes archived online at Ancestry, FamilySearch, RootsTech, and more.

American Ancestors

September 26: "Caribbean Ancestors: Surfing Anglican Records Online" (fee)

BYU Family History Library

September 23: "Are You Related to a Famous Ancestor?" with James Tanner

Family Search

September 21:

"Where There's a Will, There's a Probate: U.S. Probate Records"

"Perches and Rods: Introducing U.S. Land Record"

"They're Better Than You Think: U.S. Census Records, 1790-1840"

September 22:

"The Tired the Poor, and the Huddled Masses: U.S. Immigration"

"Becoming American: U.S. Naturalization"

"Migration Routes Across America"

September 23:

"Getting Started with U.S. Church Records Part 1: Introduction to Church Records and Anabaptists"

"Getting Started with U.S. Church Records Part 2: Roman Catholic, Lutheran/Reformed, Episcopal/Anglican, Presbyterian"

"Getting Started with U.S. Church Records Part 3: Congregationalists, Quakers, Baptists, Methodists"

September 24:

"African American Strategies and Records Part 1"

"African American Strategies and Records Part 2"

"Beginning Jewish Research in the U.S."

September 25:

"Are You Your Own Brick Wall? Common Genealogical Mistakes and Their Solutions"

"When the Pandemic's Over: How to Do On-Site Research"

Legacy Family Tree

September 22: "Finding new cousins and building your family tree with DNA” by Anne Young

September 23: "Introduction to VPNs" by Thomas MacEntee

September 23: "Looking for My Babies: Freedmen Search For Families" (Fountaindale IL Public Library)

September 24: "Prussian Place Name Research" with Nancy Loe (Germanic Genealogy Society)

September 24: "Vivid-Pix: Latest Updates" (Allen County Public Library)

September 28: "Introduction to Genealogy" and "Intermediate Genealogy" (Acalanes Adult Education series: fee)

Be well, stay safe, and happy learning!