Forever Remembered: Writing Your Autobiography with Francine Brevetti

Thursday, Apr 21, 2011
1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

California Genealogical Society and Library
2201 Broadway, Suite LL2
Oakland, California 94612

Francine Brevetti, noted journalist, author and biographer will show you how to make the writing of your autobiography easy. Whether you want to leave a legacy for your children or simply thirst to be known – writing your own life story is a great way to savor the richness of your life. In fact, most people shrink from this task. It seems too overwhelming. Francine Brevetti will show you how to make writing your autobiography simple, delicious and illuminating.

In this workshop you will learn how to:

• Organize yourself to accomplish this project
• Stimulate memories of the the important moments of your life
• Discover a discipline to write and keep writing
• Come to look at your life in a new light
• The rudiments of research

You’ll leave with:

• A template that will help you organize your material.
• Suggestions for tools to use in this healing work.
• The opportunity to share some of your own memories.

Best of all: You'll get started!

This workshop is limited to forty participants and is a free benefit of membership. Non-members fee is $20.00 (non-refundable) and can be applied towards membership on the day of the workshop.

Preregistration is required. Walk-ins will not be admitted. Registration confirmations will be sent to the first forty participants to register. Additional names will be collected and placed on a waiting list in case of cancellations.

Register online.

Francine Brevetti, a native of San Francisco, is a longtime journalist who started her writing career in the late 1970s with America's oldest daily, The Journal of Commerce. In she moved to Hong Kong where she freelanced for almost thirteen years as a business writer. During that time wrote a guidebook to China and she contributed to American, British, Australian and Asian English-language dailies, magazines and trade journals. In 1997, she returned to San Francisco where she still lives. She secured a commission to write the history of America's oldest Italian restaurant, Fior d'Italia. The book The Fabulous Fior – over 100 Years in an Italian Kitchen sold well and is now out of print.

She worked as a business reporter for the Oakland Tribune from 1998 to 2008. She has been writing clients biographies for several years and conducts workshops teaching people how to write their own.


Copyright © 2011 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

eNews March 2011, volume 5, number 3

The March 2011 issue of the eNews, volume 5, 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 Suggested Links From the Blogosphere and a photo feature: California Ancestors.

This month, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, we pay tribute to Mary "Mollie" Donlon Flynn, Irish grandmother of our member Mary Caroline Chunn.

Mollie Donlon Flynn (1899-1989)

This family is the focus of the Donlons of Dublin exhibit at the Dublin Heritage Center in Dublin, California, from April 20 to June 24, 2011.

Past issues of the eNews are available at the eNewsARCHIVE.

The April 2011 issue will be emailed on March 31, 2011. To receive a copy, please join our mailing list.


Copyright © 2011 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

March Membership Meeting and Book Launch with Nancy Peterson

Saturday, March 12, 2011
12:00 p.m.

California Genealogical Society Library
2201 Broadway, Suite LL2
Oakland, California

It's been looked over, checked, examined, proofed and proofed again. Review copies have been mailed out and it looks like we may make the April 18, 2011 publication date. Raking the Ashes: Genealogical Strategies for Pre-1906 San Francisco Research, second edition, by Nancy S. Peterson, is almost here!

Celebrate with us as we launch our newest publication at the March membership meeting. The festivities will start at noon. We will have a special pre-publication price for members who come and order an advance copy.

After a short membership meeting at 1:00 p.m., Nancy will present a talk, "Climbing Over, Under, Around and Through Lost Records."

Nancy Simons Peterson is a Stanford graduate and certified genealogist and the author of numerous articles. She won the Society of Genealogists Scholar Award in 2003. Her narrative genealogy Guarded Pasts: The Lives and Offspring of Colonel George and Clara (Baldwin) Bomford was the winning entry in the 1998 National Genealogical Society Family History Writing Contest and is used as an example of quality work in the NGS Quarterly style on the Board for Certification of Genealogists Web site.

Nancy's search for her maternal San Francisco ancestors led ultimately to the publication of the first edition of Raking the Ashes in 2006 to coincide with the centennial of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.


Copyright © 2011 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Wordless Wednesday

Publications/Marketing Committee

Facilitated Meeting with Laura Febus
Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Photograph courtesy of Dick Rees, Oakland, California.


Copyright © 2011 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Blogging 201: Learning More Features on the Blogger Platform

Saturday, April 16, 2011
11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

California Genealogical Society and Library
2201 Broadway, Suite LL2
Oakland, CA 94612-3031

After his successful blogging class in January, Craig Siulinski is back with a second hands-on workshop for genealogy bloggers who want to further their skills and learn more about the blogger platform.

Spend time with Craig:

• Reviewing and choosing Gadgets for the side bar
• Placing images and links into posts
• Covering the various choices that the Settings offer
• Learning how to set up Google Reader to follow other blogs of interest

Time will be allowed for creating interesting captions and story lines for your next blog post.

This workshop is limited to twelve participants and is a free benefit of membership. Non-members fee is $20.00 (non-refundable) and can be applied towards membership on the day of the workshop.

Preregistration is required. Walk-ins will not be admitted. Registration confirmations will be sent to the first twelve participants to register. Additional names will be collected and placed on a waiting list in case of cancellations.

Register online.

Craig Siulinski has been an Oakland resident for ten years. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Education, and has been a mathematics educator for many years. He has been involved in the study of genealogy and oral histories since 2007 when he decided to search for his paternal great-grandparents. Craig is the author of two blogs: August Legacy documents his family history and genealogy research; Jack and Pauline is devoted to oral history.




Copyright © 2011 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library