Finding Your Japanese Roots in the U.S. and in the Land of the Rising Sun

The Moshida Family: Identification tags were used to aid in keeping a family unit intact during all phases of evacuation. Executive Order 9066 ordered the removal of 110,000 civilians of Japanese descent, including 71,000 American citizens, from the western United States in 1942. They were placed in ten internment camps.

Saturday, September 28, 2013
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

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

The California Genealogical Society proudly announces the next class in our ongoing ethnic family history series: researching Japanese ancestry with Linda Harms Okazaki.

Part I of the half-day seminar will be a brief overview of Japanese culture, history and language as it pertains to genealogy, immigration and passenger records. Records available through the National Archives, USCIS, Ancestry.com, Family Search, and Japanese American National Museum will be covered. 

Topics will include: 

• the early political climate in the US and laws of the time, 
• internment camps, 
• post WWII experiences, repatriation and redress

The second half of the seminar will focus on documenting your ancestors in Japan, from using the information in the American records to finding your koseki, understanding ohaka and kakocho, plus visiting relatives, cemeteries and temples.

This seminar is suitable for all levels of research experience.

Register online.

Download the information flier.

This class is limited to thirty 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 class.

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

Participants are invited to come early and meet each others who share an interest in Japanese research. Please bring a bagged lunch and meet at noon in the Sherman room at the library.

Linda Harms Okazaki is a fourth-generation San Franciscan whose interest in genealogy began as a hobby in 1998. For the past two years she been researching her husband’s Japanese ancestry and has become passionate about documenting and sharing the stories of Japanese-Americans before, during, and after World War II. Linda has taken two research trips to Japan and has toured some of the assembly centers and camps that held members of the Okazaki family. This summer she completed the National Institute on Genealogical Research (NIGR) program at the National Archives in Washington D.C. and College Park, Maryland. Linda serves as Volunteer Coordinator for the California Genealogical Society and Library.

Photo credit: No. 210-GC-153, “Members of the Mochida family awaiting evacuation bus. Mochida operated a nursery and five greenhouses on a two-acre site in Eden Township." Dorothea Lange, Hayward, California, May 8, 1942; National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the War Relocation Authority.

Copyright © 2013 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.

Field Trip to the Oakland FamilySearch Library - Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon

Oakland FamilySearch Library
(formerly Oakland Regional Family History Center)
4766 Lincoln Avenue

Oakland, California 94602

For members only!

Join Jane Lindsey for an in-depth view of the Oakland FamilySearch Library and learn about the hidden resources often overlooked even by frequent visitors to the center. Our tour guide will be the center's director, Ralph Severson. Bring your lunch and enjoy the breathtaking views from this Oakland landmark, followed by an afternoon of research on your own.

The tour will include an introduction to the following resources:

• card index of 35,000 Alameda County obituaries
• online subscriptions, including genealogybank.com and newspapers.com
• map case
• periodical reading room 
• expert consultations, including database management
• future changes at FamilySearch Family Tree and the Research Wiki
• special days for African-American, Azorian, Jewish, and Swedish research

Register online.

This field trip is organized for members of the California Genealogical Society. Non-members interested in participating are encouraged to become members prior to August 31, 2013. The maximum group size is thirty members.

There is no fee for the field trip but preregistration is required. Registration confirmations will be sent to the first thirty registrants. Additional names will be collected and placed on a waiting list in case of cancellations.

The Oakland FamilySearch Library is one of the largest and most accessible centers for genealogical research in California, with more than 9,000 volumes of books, periodicals, family histories, city and county histories, city directories, plus over 37,000 reels of microfilm and 9,000 microfiche containing millions of local vital records and historical census data from all over the world.

The library is open:

• Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday - 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• Friday, Saturday - 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Closed on Sunday and Monday

Their online catalog includes the holdings of all fifteen Bay Area centers. When you find a resource of interest, be sure to click on the "Show Copies"  tab to see which location has the book, film. microfiche or CD you are interested in.

Copyright © 2013 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.

Book Repair Workshop: Build a Book and Learn Book Repair Techniques

Saturday, September 21, 2013

9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

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

The California Genealogical Society is taking reservations for the popular Book Repair Workshop, taught by Book Repair Committee Chairman Bill O'Neil.

Workshop participants learn book repair techniques by creating a book for themselves. Pages are provided and the pupils create the binding. The finished product will be a copy of a "how to" pamphlet written by the late Dick Thrift, founder of the CGS Book Repair Committee. Everyone goes home with a self-made instruction book and souvenir of the day.

The workshop is limited to eight participants. The fee is $25 for members and $45 for non-members. ($20 of the non-members fee may be applied towards society membership on the day of the workshop.) Fee includes all materials and supplies.

Register online.

Pre-registration is required. Registration confirmations will be sent to the first eight who register. Additional names will be collected and placed on a waiting list in case of cancellations.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Walk-ins will not be admitted.
• Fee for materials must be pre-paid.

Photograph by Kathryn Doyle, 10/23/2008, Oakland, California.

Copyright © 2013 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.

Back to School: Intro to Genealogy

It's back-to-school time at the California Genealogical Society!

Join us for a free introductory class on Saturday, September 7, 2013, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., at our library at 2201 Broadway, Suite LL2, Oakland, California, in the historic Breuner Building.

The class – Genealogy: An Introduction – is part of our monthly First Saturdays Free open house when we welcome non-members and the general public. We open the library and share our resources with anyone interested in learning more about their family history. The library is a benefit of membership and is available to non-members for a $5.00 day fee during the rest of the month.

The September class, taught by Lavinia Schwarz, will focus on basic research methods and terminology. Learn about common (and uncommon) family history records and the resources available, both online and in libraries, repositories, and archives. The two-hour session also includes a tour of the library and an overview of our extensive holdings.

And don't think you have to be a beginner to benefit from the class! Our instructors do a great job of tailoring each session to the experience and needs of the participants so everyone comes away with new knowledge.

Register online.

A genealogist since 1999, Lavinia Gilbert Schwarz is a former member of the California Genealogical Society board of directors. She currently serves on the society's research committee. She graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in English Literature, then earned a masters at Tufts in education. Schwarz completed the National Institute on Genealogical Research (N.I.G.R.) program in 2008 at the National Archives in Washington D.C. and College Park, Maryland. She has traced her ancestors to France, England, Scotland, Ireland, Holland, Germany, Cuba and San Domingue (now Haiti).

Copyright © 2013 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.

Announcing Three Special Fall Events!

Event flier by Debbie Mascot. Thank you, Debbie!

Copyright © 2013 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.