CGS e-News, December 2009

The December 1, 2009 issue of the CGS e-News, volume 3, number 12 has been published and emailed to members and friends. As always, the e-News features timely information about the California Genealogical Society and our upcoming events. Each edition also includes Suggested Links From the Blogosphere and a photo feature: CGS Ancestors. This month's photograph is of Job Daniel Joseph SEMLER and his family on their homestead near Sargent, Nebraska. Member Mary Hunt found this photograph of her ancestor on the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog on the Library of Congress website.

All past issues of the CGS e-News are available for viewing at the e-News ARCHIVE. The January 2010 issue will be e-mailed on 12/31/2009. To receive a copy, please join our mailing list.

Gold Rush Records: Clues Amidst Chaos, by Nancy Peterson

The Fall 2009 issue of New England Ancestors magazine is out and it's all about the California Gold Rush. The feature article is Gold Rush Records: Clues Amidst Chaos, by CGS Research Director Nancy Peterson.

The magazine's Managing Editor, Lynn Betlock, sums up Nancy's article like this:

Nancy Peterson’s informative and detailed survey of gold rush era records forms the centerpiece of the issue. The comprehensive source listings serve as an invaluable checklist for researchers. And by describing the context in which records were created — or not created — Peterson offers a stark contrast between life in orderly New England and unruly California.

New England Ancestors is a benefit of membership in the New England Historic and Genealogical Society. The current issue is available online to NEHGS members.

The CGS Fire Drill Convergence

November 19, 2009 started out like a normal Thursday at the California Genealogical Society Library. Long-time volunteers Anne Robinson and Gene Peck were working on yet another project for the society. Past-president Verne Deubler was seated at a computer handling the CGS email. Linda Darby was finishing the manuscript collection overhaul, Lavinia Schwarz stopped in to handle a book order and our newest Desk Duty volunteer, Roger Bird, was shelving books. Dick Rees arrived at around 10:00 a.m. to tell us that a fire truck was parked out in front and he thought that there might be a fire drill.

Just then the relative quiet of the library was shattered by the extremely loud and obnoxious sound of the building fire alarm. All genealogical activity stopped as we followed procedure and made our way through the basement maze to the stairwell to exit the Breuner Building. On the way out we passed Engine 15 from the Oakland Fire Department.

The tenant occupants of the eight floors of 2201 Broadway are to gather in the parking lot behind the building on Valley. Luckily it was a gorgeous sunny but crisp autumn day. While we waited for the "all clear" we learned that we accomplished the building evacuation in a record six minutes.

We also learned that our newest volunteer was quite comfortable discussing fire drill procedures. In fact, Roger Bird is a retired captain with 31 years service in the Oakland Fire Department. Amazingly, Capt. Bird's home station was #15 – located at 27th Street and Telegraph – the one closest to the building!

Roger introduced us to his colleagues who stopped by the library for a short visit. At least a couple of our new friends are interested in their family history so we hope we convinced them to come back again and do some research.

Photographs by Kathryn M. Doyle, 11/19/09, Oakland, California.

Wordless Wednesday

 Publication Planning Meeting

The Judge Project

Photograph by Kathryn M. Doyle, November 16, 2009, Oakland, California

The Best (Genealogy) Things in Life Are Free!

CGS member Kay Speaks sent word from the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society (L-AGS) about a last-minute change for their Thanksgiving weekend seminar. Their Ancestry.com speaker had to cancel and will be rescheduled for next year.

Susan Goss Johnston will present The Best Things Are Free: Using Free On-line Genealogy Resources For Your Family Research on Saturday, November 28, 2009, from 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The morning seminar and afternoon workshop are free and open to the public.

There is an amazing amount of material available on-line from resources that don't charge a fee to access their information. Some of this data is identical to that found on popular fee- based subscription web sites!

There will be a lunch break from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Attendees are invited to bring a bag lunch and attend two short presentations by Kay Speaks on Google Search Tips and Basic Techniques for Saving On-line Research Results.

Susan Goss Johnston graduated from Yale University with a degree in physics. While raising her family she discovered a passion for genealogy. For the next thirty years she would be a genealogist, teacher, and lecturer. Johnston is a graduate of the National Institute on Genealogical Research, the Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis course at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, and the National Archives' course, Going to the Source. She has traveled throughout the states giving a variety of genealogical lectures and has taught numerous classes and courses about genealogy research on both the east and west coasts. Johnston currently teaches genealogical research procedures and techniques for both the beginning and advanced student at Las Positas College. She is a popular Bay Area lecturer. 

Saturday, November 28, 2009
LDS Church, 950 Mocho Street, Livermore
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
The Best Things Are Free: Using Free On-line Genealogy Resources For Your Family Research
Sponsored by the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society and the Livermore Family History Center.

Download the registration flier.