Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Scots-Irish Research Consultations

Fintan Mullan and Dr. Brian Trainor
CGS Library
Friday, March 6, 2009

Photographs courtesy of Jane Lindsey and Kathryn Doyle.

Workshop: Microsoft Word Skills for Genealogists - April 11, 2009

Microsoft Word Skills for Genealogists – Formatting Styles, Footnotes and Indexing
A Publishing Workshop with Matthew Berry

Saturday, April 11, 2009
10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
California Genealogical Society Library
2201 Broadway, Suite LL2, Oakland, California

Join CGS member Matthew Berry for this skills building workshop designed to help give genealogists the practical tools they need to go beyond the basics of Microsoft Office Word. Follow Matt's step-by-step tutorial and learn to create an organized family history with information that is easy to find using:

· Consistent formatting of information
· Footnotes or endnotes to document ancillary information, especially sources
· A comprehensive index and table of contents.

Please note that MS Word 2003 will be used for illustrations but instructions will also be provided for MS Word 2007.

The workshop day will consist of lecture material with handout, a lunch break and a "hands-on" session so attendees can practice their new skills. Members are encouraged to bring laptop computers; the six CGS computers may not all be available for the program.

Bring a brown bag for lunch or, if you prefer, there is a nearby deli where you can buy a sandwich and bring it back to the library.

The workshop is FREE for CGS members but is limited to fifteen people. There will be a sign-up fee of $10 for non-members. (This fee can be applied toward membership on the day of the workshop.) There is a sign-up sheet at the CGS Library desk. Please call CGS at 510-663-1358 or E-mail CGSLevents@gmail.com to reserve a space.

Matthew Berry is a San Diego native who came to the Bay Area at a young age and grew up in Foster City. He received his B.A. and M.S. degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, and M.B.A. from Santa Clara University. His first career was as a satellite systems engineer at Lockheed Martin for fifteen years; he is now Project Manager at Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco. Seeing what he calls "a cool computer program" for entering family information at a family reunion in 2003 sparked an interest in genealogy, which was subsequently fueled by a desire to consolidate the genealogical work of several other family members. Matt lives in Livermore with Karen, his wife of 15 years, and daughter Christa.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday
CGS member volunteer Marilyn Willats

Photograph by Kathryn M. Doyle, 1/13/2009, Oakland, California

Countdown to the Scots-Irish Seminar

Final preparations are being made for this Saturday's Scots-Irish Family History Research Seminar, March 7, 2009, at the new Oakland Airport Holiday Inn and Suites, 77 Hegenberger Road, Oakland, California. Please note that there are two Holiday Inns near the airport - this is the new one next door to the Hilton.

Fintan Mullan and Dr. Brian Trainor are coming from the Ulster Historical Foundation in Belfast and they're bringing a wide range of books to sell. Oakland is their first stop on this U.S. Lecture Tour so they will have a full selection and it is an opportunity to save shipping charges since their books are not sold in the United States.

One must-have title is Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors, The Essential Genealogical Guide to Early Modern Ulster, 1600-1800 by William Roulston. If you want to pre-plan your purchases be sure to check out their complete catalog at the Ulster Historical Foundation Bookstore website.

I hope to see many of you on Saturday. If you can't make it I'll post some of "what you missed" next week.

Back to Basics

Something unexpected happened last October during Family History Month when the California Genealogical Society teamed up with the Oakland Regional Family History Center to present a Beginning Genealogy series of four classes -- people came, lots of people came. A total of fifty students took advantage of the series, surprising organizers – but in a good way!

CGS President Jane Lindsey and Marge Bell, Assistant Director of the ORFHC, were the masterminds behind the joint venture. Marge recalls that Jane came up with the idea during a conversation the two had about ways to get more visitors to the libraries. The ORFHC has hosted lots of classes but Marge doesn't remember ever having more than 5 or 6 students attend any session.

Jane reported on the success of the Beginners Series to the CGS Board of Directors in November and she brought along a proposal for Intermediate classes in 2009. I recall that it was Jane Hufft, savvy editor of the new California Nugget, who suggested starting the next series of classes right away. Hufft recognized immediately that Jane and Marge had created a winning formula and that the society should piggyback on their success.

Was she ever right! The eight-session Intermediate Series started on January 17 and the response has been overwhelming. Classes are filled to capacity – thirty students on Saturdays at CGS and fifty at the ORFHC sessions on Tuesdays – so a waiting list had to be created. Registration fliers for more classes starting in April are already available for download at the CGS website.

What exactly is behind the success? Jane and Marge aren't really sure. Certainly the price is right – the classes are free with just a nominal ($15) charge for the series syllabus – especially in this economic environment. And the instructors must be doing something right – more than half of those who took the beginners classes re-upped, and some are bringing their friends.

But I think there's a bit more going on here. Much has been written about whether the Internet has helped or hurt genealogical society membership but no one disputes the fact that the Internet makes genealogy research seem easy. We know that it isn't and that at some point all that surfing and collecting will lead to a confused mess, if you don't know the basics.

In his post "Who Do You Think You Are?" Series is coming - are we ready for it?, Randy Seaver wrote about the potential fascination with family history likely to be sparked by the upcoming NBC television series. First he asked, "What should local and regional genealogy societies be doing to prepare for the anticipated swelling of interest after the series starts? Then Randy gave some answers including: "Have beginning genealogy classes ready to roll after 20 April."*

You're right, Randy, classes are the answer, but there is no need to wait – the interest is already out there. The California Genealogical Society and the Oakland Regional Family History Center found that out when we went with the basics.


*The start date for WDYTYA has been pushed back to the summer.