July Membership Meeting - Steve Danko

July Membership Meeting
Saturday, July 11, 2009
1:00 p.m.
CGS Library
2201 Broadway, Suite LL2
Oakland, California 94612

Genealogy Gadgets and Gizmos: New Technology to Help in Your Research

CGS is thrilled to have member and noted blogger Steve Danko as our speaker for the July membership meeting.

New hardware, software and online technology make finding, recording and sharing information faster and easier than ever. Many of these advancements have found their way into genealogical research, enabling even a moderately technology-capable genealogist to take advantage of these new gadgets and gizmos. New technology allows genealogists to have access to family history data from anywhere in the world. Researchers can avail themselves of genealogy education at times and places of their choosing, collect documents and information more easily and prepare professional-quality family books without the commercial price.

Please note that the short membership meeting starts promptly at 1:00 p.m. Steve's talk follows at approximately 1:20 p.m. Seating is limited so please arrive early. Meetings are open to everyone but non-members pay a $5.00 users fee to enter the library. (Or come and become a member of CGS!)

Dr. Stephen J. Danko holds a Ph.D. in Botany and Plant Pathology and recently completed requirements for the Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies (PLCGS) from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies, University of Toronto.

Steve began seriously researching his family history ten years ago, focusing primarily on American, Canadian, and Polish records. He has conducted research on location in Poland and Lithuania and has visited the villages in which his immigrant ancestors lived.

Steve writes a daily genealogy research blog where he posts images of family documents and discusses his genealogical research process. In the course of his writing his blog, Steve has reconnected with lost cousins in Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

CGS in the News: Family Tree Magazine - July 2009 issue

The July 2009 issue of Family Tree Magazine is out and some CGS researchers are featured in "Changing Gears" an article by Maureen A. Taylor, the Photo Detective, about "reverse genealogy" – finding living relatives to further your research.

Among the five reasons to research forward in time, Maureen counts "grow your family tree" and two of her examples come from the California Genealogical Society. CGS President Jane Lindsey is sited for her use of newspaper research to sidestep San Francisco record gaps after the 1906 earthquake and fire. One of Jane's clients was able to make a Mayflower connection "through the work of researchers on three continents."

CGS example two sites the work that Lavinia Schwarz, Judy Bodycote and Richard Rees did on the Peralta Project and the database they created of some 700 descendants of Luis Maria Peralta.

It's great to see the fantastic research team at CGS acknowledged for their excellent work! Thanks, Maureen.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday
Intermediate Genealogy Series with Marge Bell
Reading and Transcribing the Handwriting of Colonial America

Photograph courtesy of Tim Cox, Oakland, California 5/9/2009.

Puckerbrushed by Randy

I was gobsmacked to learn that Randy Seaver included the CGSL blog in his Genea-Musings: My Puckerbrush Blog Awards of Excellence and bestowed The Janice Brown Puckerbrush Blog Award for Excellence. Randy writes Genea-Musings and is the most prolific genealogy blogger, just ask anyone. He's been tremendously kind and supportive and his Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe was a model when I got started in the society blogging business. Thank you, Randy, for the honor.

The award was created in honor of genealogy blogger Janice Brown by Terry Thornton, author of Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi, who explained that "Janice told us all about the word 'puckerbrush' in an article she posted August 27, 2007, at Cow Hampshire. Terry elaborated a bit further in a comment:

On any land allowed to go fallow and left untended, a wild assortment of wild plants grow – in some areas, this wild growth results in such a thicket of plants that it is almost impossible to push your way through the growth.

So it is with the growth of blogs --- so many that it is impossible to read them all. But in the puckerbrush eventually a few plants/trees become dominant and influence all who view them through the thick surrounding puckerbrush.

And it is those outstanding blogs whose influence spreads beyond just the surrounding rabble of puckerbrush that I'm honoring.

Terry issued this challenge:

Henceforth these awards will be called the Janice Brown Puckerbrush Blog Award for Excellence. All blog authors are hereby challenged to name the ten blogs which have influenced their writing the most and list them as a tribute to Janice --- the Janice Brown Puckerbrush Blog Awards for Excellence.

I see this award as a way to acknowledge the blog authors who paved the way and inspired us to take our own blogging baby steps and to those who continue to influence our work. Here are my ten recipients for the Puckerbrush Blog Award for Excellence:

1.) Steve Danko: Steve's Genealogy Blog was the first blog I ever read. Early in 2007 I stumbled upon his New Year's Resolution list where he pledged to renew his California Genealogical Society membership and help with a society project. Since then he has become a wonderful supporter of CGS and a noted lecturer (he'll be our guest speaker at the July membership meeting.) Steve's blog is the model for what a research blog should be.

2.) Jasia of Creative Gene is my blog mentor and she is the reason I started the blog for the society. Her series Declining Membership in Genealogical Societies should be required reading for every genealogical society board member. As a matter of fact, it's been awhile since I've done a re-read so I'm adding it to my Google Task List. (She always has great ideas.)

3.) Thomas MacEntee of Destination: Austin Family is the king of the GeneaBloggers and one of the most supportive and generous people I know. I am thrilled that we will finally meet at Jamboree. (Summit 2 Son of Blogger is going to be a kick.)

4.) Denise Olson of Family Matters: Tech Support for the Family Historian is my "go-to" person for anything technical and everything macintosh. She is all about helping genealogists into the digital age.

5.) Miriam Robbins Midkiff of Ancestories: The Stories of My Ancestors and the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Blog has become another blogger buddy. She introduced Scanfest - a monthly online scanning party so genealogists can chat while they digitize photos. Hers was one of the few society blogs out there when I got started.

6.) Linda, the Footnote Maven, and author of the beautiful Shades of the Departed, creates blogs that are as beautiful to look at as they are a pleasure to read. The fact that I ever actually started this blog is a testament to fortitude – hers is a tough act to follow.

7.) Maureen Taylor is an incredibly talented speaker and author who fused her expertise in history, photography and genealogy to become The Photo Detective.

8.) Schelly Talalay Dardashti is the author of Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog – a superlative example of what I now know is a niche blog. Whenever I get tempted to go beyond the scope of what the CGSL blog should be I think about Schelly's good example.

9.) Ben Sayer of Mac Genealogist.com is one of my new favorites. He is re-introducing me to my mac genealogy software – Reunion®. I love his QuickTime videos.

10.) Julie Cahill Tarr of GenBlog makes my top ten because I thank her almost everyday. Her post Managing Your Blog(s) is where I learned to create a blog editorial calendar. It's the organizational tool you MUST use if you are writing a society blog. I've just recommended that we create a similar calendar to coordinate our marketing efforts.

There you have it - my top ten, in no particular order. I hope many other gen-bloggers will come forward with their own list of ten influential blog authors.

The Great Lecture You Probably Missed

Laura Spurrier sent this report on the CGS May Membership Meeting with Jim Terzian:

CGS recently hosted a great speaker on heraldry, Jim Terzian. I almost missed the lecture myself, afraid it would be too stuffy. The opposite was true: Jim turned out to be delightful and not a snob at all. (He’s secretary-treasurer of a society called Descendants of the Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of the Kings of Britain, AKA the “royal bastards.”)

Jim started by explaining how coats of arms began as a means of displaying a person’s status and prestige in mostly illiterate medieval society. They continue in use to this day; the Great Seal of the United States is a heraldic seal. Many of our ancestors may have had coats of arms. Only in the British Isles are they restricted to members of the nobility. They are also hereditary, fathers to sons or in some cases to daughters. The fact that a family with the same name as yours has a coat of arms doesn’t mean you can automatically claim it too.

Jim Terzian taking questions before showing his chart.

For genealogists, coats of arms are a form of visual documentation of family trees. For example, if a man with a coat of arms marries a woman with arms in her own right, their sons bear arms showing half of each. All the little add-ons on either side of a shield have significance too. Jim demonstrated how this works by unrolling a gorgeously colored 44” x 22’ chart of all the arms of one of his ancestors, arranged in family tree form. I was thrilled when I realized that she was my ancestor too.

Jim Terzian unrolled his 22 foot chart for all to see.



Detail of the chart.

Photographs courtesy of Tim Cox, Oakland, California, 5/9/2009.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday
CGS Past President Verne Deubler

Photograph courtesy of Tim Cox, Oakland, California, 5/9/2009.

Report #4: NGS 2009 Family History Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina

Jeffrey Vaillant concludes his reports from Raleigh with this one from Saturday, May 16, 2009:

The day began with another brisk walk to the Convention Center, passing by the State Capital monuments “To Our Confederate Dead” and “To Our Confederate Women”. My abolitionist-unionist brain struggles with the reminders of the Civil War, or as is called here, "The War of Northern Aggression."

This day's learning started with Locating and Interpreting Naturalization Records presented by Gladys Friedman Paulin. Two more morning sessions followed: Order in the Court: Ancestral Trials and Tribulation by Sharon Tate Moody and Okay, I “Got the Neighbors”…Now What do I do with Them!!! by Elizabeth Shown Mills.

I skipped lunch and walked back to the hotel to type up my experiences since I had fallen behind. When I left for the afternoon program I was greeted with a rain downpour and some Southern hospitality in the form of a helpful stranger with an umbrella. Speaking of weather, it has been warm and humid - afterall, this is the South.

The final two lectures were Our National Treasure: The Library of Congress by Pamela Boyer Sayre and What Is a Reasonably Exhaustive Search? by Laura Murphy DeGrazia. Wow, what a lot of learning!

Back to the room to conclude the notes and to start digging in to all the great ideas gathered over the last four days. The NGS will be in Salt Lake City next year starting in late April. It is a great learning experience well worth the time and expense. Thanks for reading and see you at the next CGS meeting – I’ll be the guy with the dark circles under his eyes.

Read the entire series:
Day One: NGS 2009 Report
Day Two: NGS 2009 Report
Day Three: NGS 2009 Report
Day Four: NGS 2009 Report

Report #3: NGS 2009 Family History Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina

CGS member Jeffrey Vaillant continues his reports with this one from day three, Friday, May 15, 2009:

After a very full Thursday, Friday dawned bright and early, but I confess, I missed the dawn and the 8 a.m. session. I hustled to the Convention Center to gather in Thomas W. Jones’ presentation Problem Solving with Probate, followed by Barbara Vines Little’s session Tax Records: A Wealth of Information.

The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) lunch speaker was Dick Eastman who spoke about The Organized Genealogist which he admitted he was not. He did give hints about using Google, RSS, digitizing and backing up as tools of efficiency and perhaps to have time to be more organized.

After lunch, Patricia O'Brien Shawker presented Getting the Most Out of Vital Records then Alison Hare from Canada gave an excellent account, John Green: Whose Father Was He?

I spent some time on the tradeshow floor learning what was new with familysearch.org and ancestry.com and scored on the familyseach pilot site when I found the record of my grandfather’s third marriage in 1907. Now I have to figure out what happened to that one since he married my grandmother in 1909. For every fact there seems to be three questions.

The NGS Banquet featured J. Mark Lowe and Lesson Learned from a Carolina Traveler. It turned out to be a roast of Helen Leary, CG, FASG, FNGS, who was pleasantly surprised. Her two sons were present to enjoy the event.

Tomorrow, Saturday, will be another big day.

Read the entire series:
Day One: NGS 2009 Report
Day Two: NGS 2009 Report
Day Three: NGS 2009 Report
Day Four: NGS 2009 Report

Report #2: NGS 2009 Family History Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina

CGS member Jeffrey Vaillant sent this report on day two, Thursday, May 14, 2009:

This proved to be a very full day which got me behind in reporting. The day started with a brisk walk from the Clarion Hotel to the Conference Center (about one mile) past the State Capital built between 1830-35 and some beautiful limestone constructed churches – a pleasant walk before the humidity sets in.

The session started with a three-hour seminar for the Board for Certification for Genealogists (BCG) process lead by Laura Murphy DeGrazia, Alison Hare and Thomas W. Jones. Since I intend to be certified, this was a most helpful session and when combined with two portfolios at the BCG booth gets the battery charged up.

Next up was Elizabeth Shown Mills” presentation on Finding Females: Wives, Mothers, Daughters & Paramours.

Then it was time for the BCG Luncheon and speaker Kathy Gunter Sullivan's talk Late Night Ruminations. The lunch left a great deal to be desired but I did not come for the meals.

Afterwards there a bit of time to visit the trade show floor with its 150-200 vendors and all kinds of genealogical goodies. The biggest booths belong to ancestry.com and familysearch.org.

Back to class on the run to hear Thomas W. Jones’ Strategies for Finding “Unfindable” Ancestors, followed by Elizabeth Shown Mills’ Finding Origins and Birth Families: Methods That Do or Don’t Work. I was definitely on information overload by this point and loving it.

Then time to meet up with other Professional Genealogy Study Group members to walk to the Big Easy for dinner and conversation. There were fourteen of us gathered from each of the three groups. It was good to see the faces behind the e-mails and instant messaging, but not much time to relax before we had to head back to the Conference Center.

Ancestry.com had an hour presentation on what they are doing domestically and internationally with content additions and their daily struggle between content and quality.

Summing up day two: I am tired and glad to have had all these experiences and only half way through the conference. I'm already thinking about the APG/FGS meetings in Little Rock in September.

Read the entire series:
Day One: NGS 2009 Report
Day Two: NGS 2009 Report
Day Three: NGS 2009 Report
Day Four: NGS 2009 Report

Report #1: NGS 2009 Family History Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina

CGS member Jeffrey Vaillant took time out of his busy schedule to send this report from the NGS 2009 Family History Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. Thanks, Jeffrey!

The conference opened Wednesday, May 13, 2009 with what appeared to be about 1500 people in attendance. The Opening Session included a significant announcement – the recognition of Thomas W. Jones as a Fellow in the NGS. He was pleasantly surprised. The opening presentation was an entertaining event with Ira David Wood III sharing his theatrical experience with his family history using the Romeo and Juliet line: "Romeo where art thou?" which he read as "Romeo who are you?"

There are 250 sessions of information to choose from. I am basically being a Thomas W. Jones and Elizabeth Shown Mills groupie. Their presentations are fantastic, combining methodology theory with practice research examples. You can view the full conference program online at the NGS website.

At 5:00 p.m., thirty-two genealogy societies, primarily from North Carolina and Virginia, set up tables to display their wares. There were lots of tempting books to purchase. That was followed by presentations at 7:00 p.m. I attended the one by the Trading Path Association on trails in North Carolina in the 1600-1700 period. It was a full day to be followed by another.

Read the entire series:
Day One: NGS 2009 Report
Day Two: NGS 2009 Report
Day Three: NGS 2009 Report
Day Four: NGS 2009 Report

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday
May Membership Meeting
Saturday, May 9, 2009
CGS Vice-President Steve Harris

Photograph courtesy of Tim Cox, Oakland, California, 5/9/2009.

Book Repair Workshop Returns June 12, 2009

The California Genealogical Society is taking reservations for the popular Book Repair Workshop to be held on Friday morning, June 12, 2009, from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Taught by Book Repair Committee Chairman, Bill O'Neil, the workshop is limited to ten enrollees.

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.

PLEASE NOTE:
• Workshop is limited to ten.
• $25 charge for materials.
• Reservation form and pre-payment of fee required.

Download the registration flier and mail with a check for $25 to CGS. Questions? Call CGS at 510-663-1358 or E-mail CGSLevents@gmail.com

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

DNA and Genetic Genealogy: A Morse and Morse Presentation

DNA and Genetic Genealogy
Saturday, June 13, 2009, 1:30 p.m.
California Genealogical Society and Library
2201 Broadway at 22nd, Suite LL2
Oakland, California

Please join us for this special program by noted lecturer Steve Morse and his daughter, Megan.

Stephen Morse is the creator of the One-Step Website for which he has received numerous awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a computer professional with a doctorate degree in E.E. – Electrical Engineering. He is well-known as the architect of the Intel 8086, which sparked the PC revolution. But his best accomplishment was that of fathering his daughter, Megan.

Megan Morse holds a bachelor's degree in "E.E.", but hers stands for Evolution and Ecology. She works as a wildlife educator and animal handler for Wildlife Associates, a non-profit wildlife sanctuary in Half Moon Bay, California. She raises and trains everything from anteaters to porcupines, cats to snakes and foxes to hawks. She travels with these animals to schools, libraries, and recreation centers throughout the Bay Area to give educational presentations.

Megan, with her formal training in evolution and her knowledge of DNA, complements her dad who is self-taught in these areas. Together they explain genetic genealogy and how it applies to the human species as well as the larger animal kingdom.

One Lovely Award From One Lovely Blogger

CGS member Cheryl Fleming Palmer of Heritage Happens and the Graveyard Rabbit of South Alameda County has bestowed the "One Lovely Blog Award" to the CGSL blog. Thanks, Cheryl!

Genea-bloggers use awards to support each other and to spread the word about new blogs with a family history focus. The honor comes with the stipulation that it be passed on to seven more "lovely" blogs. Here is my list:

Before My Time by T.K. Sand

Blue Bonnet Country Genealogy by Ruth Stephens

Genealogy and Family History by Carolyn L. Barkley

Granny's Genealogy by Pam Warren

Orations of OMcHodoy by Colleen McHugh

Spence-Lowry Family History by A. Spence

Who Will Tell Their Story? by Julie Cahill Tarr

Please visit these lovely blogs and leave a comment for the author!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Nancy Peterson and Judy Zelver

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

Jane's Interview with Lisa Louise Cooke

I've reported several times on the successful genealogy classes that have been jointly offered by the California Genealogical Society and the Oakland Regional Family History Center. Things got started October 2008 with the Family History Month Beginners Series, then the Intermediate Series in January and February 2009, a full-day Beginning Genealogy Seminar held in April and a four session Spring Intermediate Series that is half completed.

Jane Lindsey and Marge Bell came up with the idea and since then the two of them have been a couple of whirling dervishes, teaching class after class after class.

Now, thanks to the magic of podcasting, anyone with a computer can sample a taste of what it is like to learn a little genealogy from Jane and Marge. Both of these dynamos have been recent guests of Lisa Louise Cooke on her Family History: Genealogy Made Easy podcast.

Part one of Lisa's interview with Jane was published today as Episode 27: Your Ancestors in the News Part 1. Part 2 will be published next Friday, May 8, 2009. I'm taking Lisa up on this suggestion:"She's a great interview and I hope you'll let your readers on the CGS blog know about it."

Lisa Louise Cooke is the producer and host of The Genealogy Gems Podcast and her blog Genealogy Gems News. Her goal is to provide fun and interesting genealogical education in a variety of mediums: audio podcasts, videos, books, online resources, daily blog and e-newsletter.

Update:
The link to Part 1 and 2 of Jane's interview can be found on Jane's bio page on Lisa's site. (Thanks for the blog link, Lisa.) The bio page for Margery Bell lists several interviews about Family History Centers. Lisa has also featured interviews with two other CGS members: Steve Danko and Cath Trindle.

Wordless Wednesday

Spring Beginning Genealogy Seminar

Saturday, April 18, 2009
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Photographs courtesy of Tim Cox and Jane Lindsey.

CGS On the Road in Santa Clara

Santa Clara Central Park Library
2635 Homestead Road
Santa Clara, CA 95051

Monday, June 15, 2009
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

CGS is adding a lecture to the membership coffees. South Bay members of the California Genealogical Society are invited to join with the Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society for networking and a presentation.

Program
10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Coffee served

10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. CGS President Jane Lindsey will present an overview of the outstanding resources at the CGS Library and share information about upcoming events.

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Lunch & Learn – Bring a bag lunch or buy a sandwich in the Central Park Library café and take part in some small group discussions of special interest genealogy topics.

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. “Some Brick Walls Are of Our Own Making.” CGS member Lavinia Schwarz’s spell-binding talk will help you look at your own brick walls with new openness, ideas, strategies and historical insight.

1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Questions and closing remarks.

The Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society is located at the City of Santa Clara Central Park Library in the Heritage Pavilion. They have a large collection of genealogy resources and a great historical collection available for public use. Consultants are available to assist with research problems.

Please RSVP by E-mail to woolseyannette@gmail.com or by telephone to Mary Hanel at (408) 615-2909.

A Tale of Ten Computers

Two short months ago the California Genealogical Society learned about an incredible price on computers from Charity Advantage, an association that offers technology solutions at low cost to non-profits. An e-mail plea went out to CGS members and friends asking for donations to purchase replacements for the society's fleet of well-used computers.

Four weeks ago ten refurbished Pentium 4 - 80GB Dell desktop computers were delivered after twenty CGS members came forward to contribute to their purchase. Two additional members pitched in to buy a new laser printer.

This week eight dedicated volunteers spent an exhausting but fruitful thirteen-hour day installing the new hardware.



Steve Harris, Peter Moller, Cathy Paris, Nick Paris and Nancy Servin met Computer Committee members Al Clark, Paul Mayer and Kathy Watson at the library at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, April 20, 2009. The group started by reviewing an installation plan prepared by Peter Moller.



By 10:30 a.m. sleeves were rolled up and the serious work began. Kathy Watson reported "There were a few glitches, but essentially by 10:00 p.m. the work was finished. Any leftover clean up items were completed on Tuesday."

So far, the reviews are positive. Kathy notes that these computers are a significant improvement over our old hardware, almost doubling the speed (from 1.83 GHz to 3.2 GHz) and doubling the memory available for using the programs loaded on the machines (from 448 mb RAM to 1 GB RAM). She also wanted me to thank everyone who participated to make the computer replacement project a huge success.

CGS President Jane Lindsey echoed her gratitude:

We are so appreciative! These computers will not only help patrons and members in the library but also our volunteer researchers, our indexers and our desk duty personnel. Faster computers will also help the hardworking members of our finance, library and membership committees do a better job for CGS.

So what is the message to other societies? Aim high and don't be afraid to ask. In the midst of a tough economic downturn the members of the California Genealogical Society and Library came together and accomplished something fairly remarkable in a short period of time. It's a testament to our members and our volunteers. Great work, CGS!

Photographs courtesy of Cathy H. Paris, 3/20/2009, Oakland, California.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday
Intermediate Genealogy Series Graduation
March 21, 2009

Photograph courtesy of Tim Cox.

Tell a Story, Hear a Story, Read a Story

CGS President Jane Lindsey has been a busy lady lately. Besides the time she spends teaching beginning and intermediate genealogy classes and administering society business, Jane's calendar includes representing the California Genealogical Society at speaking engagements and at an upcoming workshop at the Contra Costa Library Reading Festival.

On April 7, 2009, Jane spoke to a group of residents at San Francisco Towers, an independent living retirement home in the city. CGS member Barbara Bentley, who recently served a three-month stint as acting recording secretary for the board (thank you, Barbara!), made the arrangements. They were expecting fifteen to attend but drew an audience of forty-seven residents interested in learning more about genealogy.



The Unitarian Universalist Church on Franklin Street in San Francisco was the venue for an introductory genealogy workshop that Jane presented on Thursday, April 16, 2009, to RSVP of San Francisco and Alameda Counties, a proactive volunteer-placement organization that recruits and connects individuals age 55 and over with a variety of volunteer opportunities throughout the community. The audience was smaller but two of the nine attendees signed up to attend the Spring Beginning Genealogy Seminar held at CGS two days later.

Jane will be spreading more genealogy cheer next month when the Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda libraries host the second annual Reading Festival, May 3 – 9, 2009. Jane is presenting Research the Stories of Your Family on Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at the Lafayette Library. The program is free and open to the public and is part of a series of events to celebrate reading at the Contra Costa County Library that include the magic of memoir writing, live readings, a puppet show and special story times for children. This year's theme is "Hear a Story, Tell a Story, Write Your Story."

Reunited After Fifty Years!

By now regular readers of the CGSL blog might think you just have to show up at a CGS event to find a cousin. It turns out you can also be reunited with old friends.

One of the attendees sitting across from me during lunch at the recent Scots-Irish Seminar was CGS member Beverly Clark who told me that one of the event organizers was quizzing her about where she attended third grade.

The inquisitive staffer was volunteer Shirley Hoye who stepped up and handled much of the logistics for the seminar with Helmi Waits, including scheduling private consultations with our speakers from Belfast, Brian Trainor and Fintan Mullen.

Shirley was sure that Beverly must be her long-lost little friend from the Castro School in El Cerrito. Beverly Clark had dropped into her third grade class for one short year then disappeared as mysteriously as she had come.

Third graders Beverly Clark (left) and Shirley Howe (right).

Unfortunately, Beverly had moved around quite a bit during her early childhood and she wasn't sure where she had attended third grade. The women exchanged email addresses and Shirley went home and sorted through her childhood photos, scanned them and sent them off to Beverly.

Shirley was right! The two childhood friends have been reunited because of their shared interest in genealogy, their membership in the California Genealogical Society and their desire to hone their skills – the two were classmates again in the recent Intermediate Genealogy Series.

Beverly and Shirley – class photos from Miss Allen's class
at the Castro School in El Cerrito, California, 1954.

Shirley sent this message:

Well, unlike Beverly, my family only moved once and that was just up the hill. I ended up going to school in Berkeley and San Francisco and finally landed in Oakland, where I've lived ever since. I really got into genealogy last year when a third cousin in England "found" me. She's done an incredible amount of research, to which I add bits and pieces. The funny thing about running into Beverly at the conference is that my family is not Scots-Irish, but from County Roscommon, with the name of Haughey. I still can't get over finding Beverly after all these years.

Shirley and Beverly reunited after fifty years.

Photographs courtesy of Shirley Hoye and Tim Cox.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Microsoft Word Skills for Genealogists
Publishing Workshop with Matthew Berry
Saturday, April 11, 2009

Photographs courtesy of Tim Cox.

How To Trace Your Ancestors In Ireland

CGS member Nick Cimino sent this announcement of his upcoming talk on Irish research:

How To Trace Your Ancestors In Ireland
May 14, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Contra Costa Genealogical Society Monthly Meeting
90 minute presentation
LDS Church
3700 Concord Blvd.
(just east of Farm Bureau Road)
Concord, California

I began conducting my genealogical research in 1989 and have traveled extensively for genealogical research in the United States and Canada. I taught beginning genealogy classes for Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno and Pleasant Hill Adult Education. In the last four to five years I have become keenly interested in Irish Genealogy. During this period of research, I discovered that more and more can be done online, quite a bit can be done using LDS Library resources and some work is best done in Ireland.

This was to be my first research trip outside North America. My Irish ancestors presented an intriguing challenge. My wife and I traveled to Ireland in April 2008 and spent time in Dublin and Belfast with five days spent at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. I was able to document many of my family stories in the records at PRONI and came back with many wonderful Irish genealogical souvenirs which will be on display.

The presentation will provide an overview of Sources for Irish Genealogy including:
-census and substitutes
-vital records
-church records
-cemeteries
-Irish Estate records
-maps & land records
-parish histories
-online sources
-paid research
-research in Ireland

In addition to PRONI we spent time at the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh which is vital to an understanding of the historical context of our Northern Irish immigrant ancestors. Other fascinating cultural sites we visited were the Ulysses S. Grant ancestral home, the walled city of Derry and Belfast Castle where one of my Irish relatives was the gatekeeper.

I am employed with the Administrative Office of the Courts in San Francisco. I am responsible for facilities management of courthouses in sixteen Bay Area and North Coast counties.

For more information E-mail or call Nick at 925-945-6994 or visit the Contra Costa Genealogical Society CCCGS website.

The Immigration of Anton Radivoj

The January - March 2009 issue of the NGS News Magazine (Volume 35, Number 1) features a case study by CGS member Barry E. Hinman about the immigration of his grandfather, Anton Radivoj. "The Immigration of Anton Radivoj" details the difficulties encountered when searching for Croatian names in citizenship and immigration documents and how he was able to find a long-sought record.

Mr. Hinman credits his interest in genealogy to his father's eldest sister, Vera Hinman McAuliffe, who succeeded her father, Elmore Brown Hinman, her paternal grandmother, Alice Jones Brown Hinman, and her paternal great-grandmother, Betsey Burlingame Hinman as "custodian of the Hinman family memory."

Anton Radivoj

Barry sent this about his Aunt Vera:

She had in her possession unique family documents concerning the three families involved, which she shared with me as long as I can remember. Among others, there was "The Hinmans of New York" which linked my father to Michael Hinman, born in Connecticut in 1748 [see "The Connecticut Connection: A Family Paper Entitled 'The Hinmans of New York'" in The Connecticut Nutmegger 22:3 (Dec. 1989):400-403; "Michael Hinman of Roxbury, Washington and York State" in The Connecticut Nutmegger 16:4 (Mar. 1984:707-715; and "Addendum to Michael Hinman Which Appeared in The Connecticut Nutmegger" in The Connecticut Nutmegger 21:3 (Dec. 1988):422-423, all with slight errors in the texts as published].

All of this was interesting to the grammar school boy that I was, but I remember vividly what really got my interest in genealogy started. We were in Aunt Vera's garage, where she had boxes and boxes of things stored, and she gave me a little notebook. "This," she said, "was written by your great-uncle Gage. You might find it interesting." Titled "A Short Memoir of Silas Burlingame" it was a copy of what is essentially an obituary, but contained the following sentences: "Many hair breaths escapes he had. Three times shipwrecked, cast away and lost all but his life ... Once taken prisoner by a man of war, made his escape by jumping overboard and swiming to his own ship. Once barely escaped being made a prisoner by a British press gang. He fought in the old French war and also in the American Revolution ..."

Who could resist this? Adventures, American history, and my own ancestor. I was hooked.

Barry E. Hinman retired in July 2007 from the Department of Special Collections and University Archives of Stanford University and is now Special Collections Librarian for Cataloging Emeritus. He was educated at the University of Santa Clara (BA), Princeton University (MA) and San Jose State University (MLS). All eight of his father's great-grandparents and three of his great-great grandparents came to California between 1849 and 1858. His maternal grandparents emigrated from Austria-Hungart to New York City and moved to San Francisco in 1907, the year following the great earthquake. Mr. Hinman has been a member of CGS since 1976.

Photograph of Anton Radivoj courtesy of Barry E. Hinman.

2009 Finds at the Family History Library

The ninth annual CGS Tour to Salt Lake City came to a successful close with the traditional Saturday night dinner at Lamb’s Grill. Members regaled each other with the stories of their successes and lauded leaders Jane Knowles Lindsey and Nancy Simons Peterson after an exhausting but satisfying week.



Here's a short list of some of the discoveries:

Jane Knowles Lindsey went back three more generations on her HUND family in Germany.

The 1850 U.S. Census Mortality Schedule of Peoria County, Illinois gave Sandy Jones Fryer insight into why her great-grandmother, Elizabeth Taylor, knew so little about her family of origin. The youngest of ten children, little Elizabeth was only three years old when her parents both died in 1849 of typhoid fever.

Judy Bodycote Thomas traced her Gilbert Cooke family of Leicestershire, England back two more generations.

Shirley Buxton Williams struck gold in German records, finding six generations of her SCHNECKENBURGER family in Baden.

Bill Bryant's first trip to Salt Lake City was an adventure as he, Jane and Nancy traced his paternal Uncle Gustav through England and France, finally finding his marriage in Constantinople.

Cathy Merrill Paris ventured into German records and located Joseph BALS and learned that the original records have so much more information than the IGI.

Alison Kern Shedd discovered eight pages of bible records for the Clark HALL family of Orleans County, New York.

Bill O’Neil has tracked his wife's grandfather Wilson from Jacksonville, Illinois to a homestead in Nebraska to Denver Colorado. He finally found him in the 1920 census living with a daughter in Los Angeles.

Susan Nourse Peterson found a physical description of her great-grandfather, Glenn Lamb, in the 1894-1896 Great Register of California Voters: 5'9" with auburn hair and blue eyes. Susan and daughter Sharon have become regulars on the annual trip.

Gloria Hanson completed her full Norwegian "to-do" list, crossing off the last item on the last day. She also did a bit of research for a friend and learned they may be related.

Laura Spurrier used land records to prove that Richard Spurrier with wife Elizabeth and Richard B. Spurrier with wife Eliza, contemporaries in 19th century Morgan County, Ohio, were two different men. The former couple moved to Iowa; the latter stayed in Ohio and were her great-great grandparents. She also learned more about his middle initial "B" and may have a new clue about an earlier generation.

Honored as One of the Top 25 Genealogy Blogs

The CGSL blog is proudly displaying a new badge in the sidebar. ProGenealogists, Inc. announced their list of the 25 Most Popular Genealogy Blogs and we made the cut! CGS is represented by two other blogging members who made the list – Steve Danko and Craig Manson.

Top 25 Genealogy Blogs as of 3 April 2009:

1. About.com Genealogy (Kimberly Powell)

2. Eastman Online Newsletter (Dick Eastman)

3. Genea-Musings (Randy Seaver)

4. Creative Gene (Jasia)

5. Dear Myrtle (Pat Richely)

6. AnceStories (Miriam Midkiff)

7. Genealogue (Chris Dunham)

8. footnoteMaven (Anonymous)

9. Genetic Genealogist (Blaine Bettinger)

10. Tracing The Tribe: Jewish Genealogy Blog (Schelly Talalay Dardashti)

11. GenaBlogie (Craig Manson)

12. Olive Tree Genealogy Blog (Lorine McGinnis Schulze)

13. Steve’s Genealogy Blog (Stephen J. Danko)

14. 24-7 Family History Circle (Juliana Smith)

15. TransylvanianDutch (John Newmark)

16. GenDisasters (Stu Beitler)

17. Genealogy Insider @ FamilyTree (Diane Haddad)

18. Think Genealogy (Mark Tucker)

19. California Genealogical Society and Library Blog (California Genealogical Society)

20. The Genealogy Guys (George G. Morgan and Drew Smith)

21. CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt' (Diane Rogers)

22. Ancestry Insider (Anonymous)

23. GenealogyBlog (Leland Meitzler)

24. Ancestor Search Blog (Kathi)

25. Tie Hugh Watkins Genealogue (Hugh Watkins) [tie]
    

26. Legacy News (Legacy Tree Software) [tie]
    

Leland Meitzler posted the full press release which also includes this year's list of the 50 Most Popular Genealogy Websites for 2009.

Thanks very much to ProGenealogists, Inc. for the honor to be listed among so many excellent genealogy blogs!

Coats of Arms, Crests and Heraldry: A Genealogist's Overview - May 9, 2009

May Membership Meeting with Jim Terzian
A Genealogist's Overview: Coats of Arms, Crests and Other Heraldry that is Part of Family Heritage

Saturday, May 9, 2009, 1:00 p.m.

California Genealogical Society Library
2201 Broadway, Suite LL2
Oakland, California 946121

Kings and courtiers, gentlemen and family groups have borne coats-of-arms for over thirty generations. Yet most of us, even extremely experienced genealogists, know very little about them or how to use them in our research. What exactly are coats-of-arms and crests? Who has them, when did they develop and where does a family get them? What resources exist to help you use heraldry as a tool in your research?

Join CGS for a ninety-minute presentation by Jim Terzian, Executive Director of the Heraldry Foundation and Secretary-Treasurer of the "Royal Bastards" – Descendants of the Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of the Kings of Britain.

For almost forty years, Jim Terzian has been a student of heraldry and genealogy, representing the United States as a delegate to the International Congresses of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences since 1996, serving as a member of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Heraldry Committee from 1995 to 2004 and serving as Executive Director of the Heraldry Foundation since 2003. Professionally Mr. Terzian is principal of the Terzian International Group, a 21-year-old Silicon Valley firm that develops and launches technology start-up companies, products and services.

Please note that the short membership meeting starts promptly at 1:00 p.m. Mr. Terzian's' talk follows at about 1:20 p.m. Please arrive early.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

California Genealogical Society and Library
Ninth Annual Research Tour to the Family History Library
March 29 - April 5, 2009

Photographs courtesy of Cathy Paris.

Spring Intermediate Series Begins April 25, 2009

The California Genealogical Society and Library (CGS) and the Oakland Regional Family History Center (ORFHC) present a four-week Spring Intermediate Genealogy Series beginning April 25, 2009.

Eight intermediate topics will be presented in four sessions on Saturdays at the CGS Library and repeated on Tuesdays at the ORFHC. All sessions will be held 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. The fee is $15.00 to cover the cost of materials. Notebook and class handouts will be provided. Free parking at both locations.

Session I
Saturday, April 25 and Tuesday, April 28, 2009 – Marge Bell
Probate and Guardianship Records
Church and Cemetery records

Session II
Saturday, May 2 and Tuesday, May 5, 2009 – Jane Knowles Lindsey
Immigration, Passenger Lists
Naturalization, Passports
Using Newspapers for Genealogical Research

Session III
Saturday, May 9 and Tuesday, May 12, 2009
U.S. Military Records – Susan Goss Johnston
Land & Property, Maps, Gazetteers – Lavinia Schwarz

Session IV
Saturday, May 16 and Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Reading and Transcribing the Handwriting of Colonial America – Marge Bell
Other Resources, Solving your Biggest Genealogical Problems – Jane & Marge

Parking is free in the lot behind the Breuner Building at 2201 Broadway on Saturdays and there is adequate parking at the FHC on Tuesdays.

PLEASE NOTE:
• Class size is limited. Walk-ins allowed if space available.
• Nominal fee of $15 is charged for materials.
• Saturday classes: obtain a placard from lobby security for the lot behind the building.
• Visit the CGS website or the ORFHC website for complete class descriptions.
• $10.00 off a CGS membership if you join by May 19, 2009.

Download the registration flier and mail with a check for $15 to the ORFHC, Attn: Marge Bell, 4766 Lincoln Avenue, Oakland, CA 94602.

Internet Genealogy – It's Just the Tip of the Iceberg

CGS member Lisa Gorrell allowed me to share this fantastic graphic created by her daughter Elizabeth.

The idea sprang from a conversation at the society between Lisa and fellow CGS-member, Tim Cox. They were remembering the "old days" before the internet and Lisa was commenting that most of her work had been done the "hard way." She explains:

During the conversation I casually said that researching on the Internet was like the tip of an iceberg – that there was so much more out there in libraries, courthouses, cemeteries, etc. Tim thought a graphic would be an excellent way to explain the idea.

At Tim's urging Lisa decided to pursue the idea of a graphic and took the idea to her daughter Elizabeth, a sophomore studying Art and Graphic Design at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. Lisa reports that Elizabeth had fun with the concept and the result speaks for itself.

Lisa and Tim discussed using the graphic as a fundraiser for the society. Lisa shared this idea:

What would be nice is to have a poster of it in every research facility – especially those with computers – to remind them that so little of their research will be found on the internet.

I was so impressed with the outcome of this meeting of CGS minds that I asked if I could share it on the blog. Any suggestions out there for ways to spread the word and use the graphic? Please leave a comment.

Elizabeth Gorrell obviously has a bright future. Great job, Tim, Lisa and Elizabeth!

Graphic reprinted with permission of Elizabeth and Lisa Gorrell.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday
A Typical Tuesday at the CGS Library
Lavinia Schwarz, Pat Smith and Lorna Wallace

Photograph courtesy of Jane Knowles Lindsey, 11/18/2008, Oakland, California.

One-Day Beginning Genealogy Seminar - April 18, 2008

Beginning Genealogy Seminar
Saturday, April 18, 2009, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
CGS Library, 2201 Broadway Suite LL2, Oakland, CA

Back by popular demand, the California Genealogical Society and Library (CGS) and the Oakland Regional Family History Center (ORFHC) present a full day Beginning Genealogy Seminar – all the material presented in one day.

COST: $15 for cost of materials and continental breakfast

PROGRAM:
8:30 - 8:55 Registration and coffee
9:00 - 10:30 Introduction to the Science of Genealogy – Marge Bell
10:30 – 12:00 Secondary Survey – Jane Lindsey
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch Break (bring your own lunch or local restaurants nearby)
1:00 – 2:30 Vital Records and the Calendar Change – Marge Bell
2:30 – 4:00 Census Records Including State Census – Speaker TBA

PLEASE NOTE:
• Class is limited to 30 participants.
• Free parking in the lot behind the building. Must get placard for car from security.

To register for the Beginning Genealogy Seminar, download the registration form from the CGS website and mail with a check for $15 to the ORFHC, attn: Marge Bell, 4766 Lincoln Avenue, Oakland, California 94602.

An eight class Intermediate Series starts the following week on April 25, 2009. It will be offered on Tuesdays and Saturdays for four consecutive weeks. Two classes will be presented at each session. For more information, download the Intermediate Series Flyer.

Finding Fintan's Family

One of the most satisfying outcomes of the recent Scots-Irish Research Seminar involved turning the tables on one of our speakers and helping him to find his family.

It started on the drive from the San Francisco International Airport when Fintan Mullan mentioned that his mother's first cousin had come to Oakland and the families had lost contact with each other. Fintan and Dr. Brian Trainor, of the Ulster Historical Foundation in Belfast, Northern Ireland were here for the CGS Scots-Irish Seminar.

As soon as we saw CGS President Jane Lindsey I informed her of Fintan's missing cousin. I know how much Jane loves a search so I wasn't surprised to learn the next day that she had made considerable progress in a short amount of time.

Fintan was able to provide Jane with some details about Hugh Moreland who had left Ireland and went first to Australia but settled in Oakland. Hugh had made one trip back to Ireland to visit family but they lost contact after that. Hugh died in California and Fintan knew the names of Hugh's children.

Jane worked the California Death and Birth Indexes and checked the California passenger records. She found Hugh H. Moreland, born in Ireland, came from Australia to San Francisco in April of 1930. Kathleen DiGiovianni of the Oakland Public Library helped the cause by finding Hugh's obituary in the Oakland Tribune.

Jane was able to locate Fintan's first cousin once removed, Eileen, who lives in Napa. Fintan called his mother in Ireland to tell her the good news. Eileen and her husband drove to Oakland the next day to meet with Fintan after the seminar.

First cousins, once removed: Eileen and Fintan.

Fintan and Eileen were reunited after almost thirty years of lost contact between their families.

Great work, Jane!

Photographs by Kathryn Doyle, Oakland, California, 3/7/2009.