Tip of the Iceberg Poster – Buy Three Get One Free!

It was in March of this year that I first reported on the "Tip of the Iceberg" idea that developed during a casual conversation between CGS member volunteers Lisa Gorrell and Tim Cox. Lisa asked her daughter Elizabeth to create a graphic image and the project snowballed after Dick Eastman mentioned it in his online newsletter.

Tim followed up and had a poster created which was unveiled at the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree in June.

Now Tim has sent word that the "Tip of the Iceberg" posters are available by mail order.

The charge for a single 11 x 17 poster is $13.00, including tax and postage. The poster is mailed in a protective cardboard tube.

Up to four posters can be mailed in one tube so the society is offering these price breaks:

Two posters – $23.00, including tax and postage.

Three posters – $33.00, including tax and postage plus one free poster!

Send request, including payment to:
The California Genealogical Society and Library
2201 Broadway, Suite LL2
Oakland, CA 94612-3031

Thanks for helping us spread this vital message.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday
California Genealogical Society and Library
Research Team - the Look-up Ladies
Judy Bodycote, Pat Smith, Lavinia Schwarz

Photograph by Kathryn M. Doyle, 3/3/2009, Oakland, California.

At the Library: A New Reference Homepage for Patrons

Something new has been added to the CGS computers. Designed to give welcome visitors and give them a starting place, "At the Library" is another innovation to make the technology as user-friendly as possible.

The first thing our patrons see is "Welcome To Our Library."

We are glad you are here! We will make every effort to make your visit to the California Genealogical Society Library comfortable and successful. If you have any questions or need help with equipment, please don't hesitate to ask.

Is this your first time here? If so, please ask for a tour of the library.

At the library, we offer access to subscription internet sites (to the left), the library catalog and reference indexes.

You many recall that the computers themselves are a new purchase for the library thanks to the generosity of our members.

It's the volunteer members of the CGS Computer Committee who keep hardware and software humming along and who handle any problems that may arise. The current members of the committee are Al Clark, Paul Mayer and Kathy Watson. Each Monday, one or two of them are at the library performing maintenance activities and fixing any reported problems. Paul has undertaken the effort to clean up the old computers. Al is the mainstay of the committee with the longest participation and history of the computer environment at the library.

Kathy gave me a quick tour of the "At the Library" features and she also showed me the special Desk Duty version installed on the computer at the reception desk. Calling it her brainchild, Watson informed me, "When there was talk of revamping the reference notebook for the Desk Duty Committee, I was inspired to deliver an electronic version rather than another paper version."

The reception desk version of "At the Library" is password protected and is designed to become an online procedure manual. Kathy's plan is to create a web version of everything in the CGS desk manual so volunteers will have every piece of information "at their fingertips."

Both versions of "At the Library" feature links to the CGS Library Online Catalog and to the following databases:

American Memory: California
Ancestry Library Edition
California Genealogy
Family History Archives
Family Search
Footnote.com
Historic American Newspapers
Information Wanted
Library of Congress Catalog
NewEnglandAncestors.org
Newspaper Archive
Rootsweb
S.F. Genealogy
World Vital Records
Vital Search-CA
Vital Search-World

CGS and the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire

The topic for the 77th Carnival of Genealogy, hosted by Miriam Robbins Midkiff at AnceStories, is Disasters. For the California Genealogical Society and Library that can only mean one thing: the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.

The California Genealogical Society, founded February 12, 1898, was only in its eighth year of existence when disaster struck. In an unpublished history of the society, the late Dorothy Fowler described it thus:

In 1906, the books--which by that fateful year numbered more than 300 – were housed in the apartment of the librarian, Mrs. Walter Damon Mansfield, in the California Hotel, Bush Street, between Kearny and Grant, San Francisco. The earthquake/fire completely consumed the fledgling library.

Amazingly the society survived and thrives today, but the disaster of over a century ago still remains always in the foreground. The significant loss of source documents presents a serious challenge to anyone researching 19th century San Franciscans. The work-arounds are the subject of the society's publication, Raking the Ashes: Genealogical Strategies for Pre-1906 San Francisco Research. Author Nancy Peterson describes the problem:

This was not the simple courthouse fire with which many of us with southern ancestry are familiar. Over one-fifth of the population of California lived at this time in San Francisco. Within three days 4.7 square miles of the city had burned, and about half the city's population was left homeless. Although the "official" death toll was set at 478, it has since been shown that at least 3400 lives and likely more were lost in a city that then was home to over 400,000. Losses in lives and property far exceeded those lost in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Not only were the documents genealogists are accustomed to accessing destroyed, but also the personal effects of a large part of its citizenry were lost. Marriage records, birth and baptismal certificates, deed and naturization documents were aboandoned and later destroyed as residents fled in terror to the outer reaches of the city or to its suburbs.

I've written before about A Most Dreadful Earthquake: A First-Hand Account of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire – with Glimpses into the Lives of the Phillips-Jones Letter Writers.  Both books were published by the society in 2006 to coincide with the centennial of the earthquake and fire.

What is less widely known, even to our own members, is the role that the California Genealogical Society played during the rebuilding years right after the earthquake and fire. The Panama Pacific International Exposition [3] of 1915 was a way for the city to showcase how far it had come in less than ten years.

The Panama Pacific International Exposition was the 1915 worlds fair held in San Francisco, California. Taking over three years to construct, the fair had great economic implications for the city that had been almost destroyed by the great earthquake and fire of 1906. The exposition was a tremendous success, and did much to boost the morale of the entire Bay Area and to help get San Francisco back up on its feet.

Officially, the exposition was a celebration of the completion of the Panama Canal, and also commemorated the 400th anniversary of the discovering of the Pacific Ocean by the explorer, Balboa. San Francisco was only one of many cities hoping to host the PPIE. New Orleans was its primary rival, but in 1911 after a long competition of advertising and campaigning, President Taft proclaimed San Francisco to be the official host city.

Exposition planners left no stone unturned in their quest to insure a world-wide audience. Building exhibits were elaborately designed from every state and many countries. Railroads and shipping companies were alerted to make preparations for vast numbers of visitors and the city fathers encouraged organizations from every walk of life to hold meetings in San Francisco in 1915.
Using newspaperARCHRIVES.com I was able to locate several article touting the Exposition from around the country in 1913 and 1914. Their headlines differed but all carried the same text, presumably taken from a press release with wide distribution, and beginning with these two paragraphs:

Reports received at the headquarters of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, from all parts of the world, indicate that the year 1915 will see more great congresses and convention assembled in San Francisco than have ever gathered together in any one city during a single year.

Throughout the United States, in South America, and in Europe, the greatest interest is being evinced by members and official of conventions, learned societies and congresses of all kinds. This is true of educational and scientific bodies, as well as of fraternal, church, civic, labor, social service, commercial, agricultural, athletic and other organizations. More than one hundred great congresses and conventions have already voted to meet in San Francisco.

This article [4] is from the July 7, 1914 issue of the Oakland Tribune.


The International Congress of Genealogy was held in San Francisco July 25-30, 1915, under the auspices of the California Genealogical Society.





Sources:

1. Fowler, Dorothy. "The California Genealogical Society's Library – A Century of Growth," Oakland: California Genealogical Society, 1996, unpublished manuscript.

2. Peterson, Nancy. Raking the Ashes: Genealogical Strategies for Pre-1906 San Francisco Research. Oakland: California Genealogical Society, 2006, xi-xii

3. Zoe, San Francisco Memories, "The Panama Pacific International Exposition," sanfranciscomemories.com, (http://www.sanfranciscomemories.com/ppie/panamapacific.html : accessed 31 August 2009).

4. "Genealogists to Hold World Meet," The Oakland (California) Tribune, July 7, 1914, p. 5, col. 3; digital images, newspaperARCHIVE.com, (http://newspaperarchive.com : accessed 24 July 2009)

Copyright © 2009 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

July Membership Meeting
Tim Cox and the "Tip of the Iceberg" Poster

Photograph by Kathryn M Doyle, 7/11/2009, Oakland, California.

Shelf Reading: A Top to Bottom Review

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 was Shelf Reading Day at the California Genealogical Society Library. Marianne Frey organized the event and provided a review of the Library of Congress call number system so volunteers could check their shelving skills.

Every book on every shelf was examined to insure its proper placement by the fourteen volunteer members who donated their day to the cause.

The industrious volunteers were: Diana Demeter, Mary Beth Frederick, Marianne Frey, Sandy Fryer, Evelyn Gray, Steve Harris, Arlene Miles, Kirsten Netterblad, Dick Rees, Craig Siulinski, Pat Smith, Laura Spurrier, Betty Walker and Bill Whitson.

CGS President Jane Lindsey wanted to publicly thank all the volunteers who came forward and sent this:

I am so pleased we got all the shelves read – a huge project done and all in one day. It was nice to see some new faces and some long-time members, too!

CGS Library cataloger Laura Spurrier added this:

I want to thank everyone for turning out too. Each time we do this, fewer cataloging problems turn up. That is not to say we're anywhere near perfect, but I can see a difference. It takes dedicated people like yourselves to identify problems so I can fix them. You're an integral part in making the books more and more findable and the library catalog more and more accurate. Thank you!

Photographs courtesy of Jane Knowles Lindsey, 7/22/2009, Oakland, California.

A Special Board Meeting and Lunch at Peralta Hacienda

The CGS Board of Directors meets on the third Wednesday of every month, usually in the conference room in the CGS Library. This month the directors took a field trip to The Peralta Hacienda Historical Park.



After a delicious lunch arranged by director Chris Pattillo we were led on a personal tour of the Peralta House by its Executive Director, Holly Alonso.




I've written before about the collaborative Peralta Project that was orchestrated by Chris when she learned that plans were being made for a Peralta family tree exhibit. Chris' firm, PGA Design, has been working with the Friends of Peralta Hacienda on the implementation of the landscape masterplan for the hacienda, a six-acre park, in the Fruitvale district of Oakland, which includes the restored 1870 home of Antonio Peralta and preserves the lost legacy of the 44,800-acre Peralta rancho that once covered nearly all of present-day Alameda County. The park site is a city and state landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places.



In the last room on the tour was what we had been waiting to see – the large wall mural featuring the Peralta family tree created by graphic artist Gordan Chan. The genealogy of the Peraltas was first researched by Beverly Enz, a descendant of Antonio Peralta, who put together a scrapbook of newspaper clippings, original letters and photographs.



Her work was painstakingly reviewed and documented by the CGS research team who then traced the descendants of Luis Peralta into the twentieth century. The team - Judy Bodycote, Dick Rees and Lavinia Grace Schwarz – were feted at a banquet last October.



The Peralta Tree Exhibit is fairly extensive, concentrating mainly on Antonio's branch, and covers two walls. It is a beautifully executed display and we were all thrilled to see the project completed and beyond our expectations. Well done, all!



Photographs courtesy of Kathryn Doyle and Jane Knowles Lindsey, Oakland, California.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday
Shelf Reading at the California Genealogical Society Library
Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Photograph courtesy of Jane Knowles Lindsey.

The CGS 2009 Nominating Committee

In fulfillment of the California Genealogical Society Bylaws, Article VII, Section 1, President Jane Knowles Lindsey has appointed the 2009 Nominating Committee. General members are Dick Rees and Lorna Wallace; director Chris Pattillo will act as the committee chair.

The committee is seeking nominees for two openings on the board of directors. They welcome suggestions of candidates or volunteers to serve. Nominees must be members of the California Genealogical Society. Please e-mail Chris with your suggestions.

The full requirements as stated in the society bylaws, page 3, are as follows:

ARTICLE VII: NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

Section 1. The Nominating Committee shall consist of at least three (3) members to be named not less that ninety (90) days prior to the Annual Business Meeting. The President shall appoint the Nominating Committee. The chairperson of the committee shall be from the Board of Directors and additional committee members from the general membership.

Section 2. The Nominating Committee shall submit its report to the Board of Directors and the Board shall give timely notice of nominations to the general membership prior to the Annual Business Meeting.

Section 3. Following the Nominating Committee’s report to the membership at the Annual Business Meeting, the floor shall be open to additional nominations, provided nominees have given consent to serve if elected.

Section 4. Nominees shall be members in good standing in the Society.

Section 5. Members in good standing who are present at the Annual Business Meeting shall elect the Directors. A plurality vote shall elect.

Section 6. If there is only one candidate for an opening, the ballot may be dispensed with by general consent and the election held by voice vote.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday
French-Canadian Special Interest Group
Mary Beth Frederick, Tom Gesner, Lorna Jones and Bill O'Neil
May 9, 2009

Photograph courtesy of Tim Cox, Oakland, California.

What You Missed: July Membership Meeting with Steve Danko

This month's second Saturday membership meeting on July 11, 2009, was a high tech show-and-tell by CGS member Steve Danko. Genealogist, blogger and specialist in Eastern European research, Steve recently earned his Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies (PLCGS) with specialties in both United States and Canadian records from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies in Toronto.




After some society business by CGS President Jane Lindsey and the unveiling of the new iceberg poster by Tim Cox, Steve presented Genealogy Gadgets and Gizmos: New Technology to Help in Your Research. He brought along lots of his favorite genealogy toys for a grown-up version of "show and tell." Tim got a shot of the collection of electronic devices that Steve brought to share.

Steve's Genealogy Gadgets and Gizmos.

Any regular reader of Steve's blog knows that he is one organized guy so it was no surprise that his presentation was well-ordered and his delivery crisp. Steve divided his gadgets into different categories of "family history" aides: gizmos for learning, for "finding your way," for recording, preserving, presenting and even "dressing for family history."

Steve and the 2GB Pulse SmartPen.

I won't go into detail about the items that Steve presented. He covered an impressive amount of technological gear and I don't even want to think about how he keeps track of all those power cords.

Steve spoke to a full house.

Needless to say, Steve's use of audio-visual aides gets an A+. (He even brought his own InFocus portable projector.) If you missed Steve you'll get another chance next year when he'll be presenting Genealogy Gadgets and Gizmos to the San Mateo County Genealogical Society on Wednesday, February 17, 2010, at 7:30 p.m.

Photographs courtesy of Tim Cox and Kathryn Doyle, 7/11/2009, Oakland, California.

Tim's Report from Jamboree 2009

Tim Cox sent this report from last month's Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree:

I planned my vacation around this year’s 40th Anniversary Jamboree, June 26-28, 2009. It was my first genealogy conference and I was so excited I decided to arrive a day early and to stay an extra night to catch up on my rest before heading home. Wise move on my part, I really needed it!

Before going, I followed the Jamboree blog that Paula Hinkel publishes – she and Leo Myers co-chair the event. One blog post was a call for volunteers to introduce the seminar speakers. I'd heard that classes fill up quickly so I figured if I was arriving early to introduce the speaker, I’d be guaranteed a seat. I responded with a list of the classes I wanted to attend and received confirmation for fifteen. WHEW!! I had my classes confirmed and would be introducing some of my genealogy idols! WOW! This was going to be so much fun!

Friday morning I arrived at the exhibit hall, found table #114 – among the sea of tables all draped with black linen – and sat down and looked around the huge room. The California Genealogical Society table was placed against one wall. To our right was the Immigrant Genealogical Society; to our left was lecturer Tony Burroughs who was a sharing with the National Institute of Genealogical Studies. Directly across was Ancesty.com and Family Roots Publishing with Leland Meitzler and Bill Dollarhide – a perfect high-traffic area.

Then it happened! Genealogy celebraties were coming in to set up their tables: Maureen Taylor, Lisa Louise Cooke, Leland Meitzler, Bill Dollarhide, Arlene Eakle, George G. Morgan, Dick Eastman, Dear Myrtle, Drew Smith. One by one they walked by. I was in heaven but I was way too nervous to say anything so I just took photos. It was still early and the exhibit hall was not open yet. I was in awe! These are accomplished genealogists! I’m in the company of these people. Call 911!

Luckily I snapped out of it so we could set up our table. We had membership brochures, fliers of some upcoming events and research trips, assorted candy, and books for sale. We also debuted the Tip of the Iceberg poster.

Tim Cox and the "Tip of the Iceberg" at Jamboree.

Diagonally from our table was the New England Historic Genealogical Society. It was really weird to see Chris Child and Michael Leclerc in person because we had their photos on the fliers for the upcoming "NEHGS Comes West" weekend at CGS in October.

Over the three days these CGS members rotated shifts to cover the table: Carolyn Steinberg, Kathryn Doyle, Ron Filion, Pamela Storm, Marston Watson, Geri Willinger, and Arlene Folker. I’m so glad they shared part of their weekend with me.

Introducing the speakers turned out to be a lot of fun. I was surprised to learn that there was more than just a short bio – they gave us a page and a half of ads to read, in addition to the speaker’s bio! I finally started asking the audience to participate and evidently they loved it. I found out I received several great reviews on the evaluation cards.

As it turned out, I didn’t do all the introductions I was assigned because some SCGS board members wanted to do some. That freed me up to shop, mingle, and visit. I realized after the first day that there was no way I could sit in class all day and not be able to network.

I attended the two Jamboee dinners. Friday night I enjoyed listening to Tukufu Zuberi from the PBS series: History Detectives. Saturday night's speaker was David Rencher who discussed the comical side of genealogy.

In all, the conference had over 1,500 attendees, from as far away as Tel Aviv. I was in awe at how well it was planned, managed and executed! Leo Myers and Paula Hinkel and the Southern California Genealogical Society really know how to put on a great event.

What was most interesting, though, was a personal choice I made. Instead of just passively attending classes and working at the table, I made a point of introducing myself and meeting people. I knew them already through the internet and podcasts, blogs, mailing lists, and other networking sites, I just hadn't ever met them face-to-face. This made my first conference so much better because I didn't feel alone or like I didn’t know anyone. So, if you are not sure about going to a conference because you think you don’t know anyone, you’re wrong. You know a lot of people there, you just haven’t met them face to face!

Maybe sometime in the near future I can work with someone to begin the discovery process of organizing a conference up here in Northern California. It will take us a few years to match the excellence of the Jamboree '09, but we can come pretty darn close! Anyone up for the challenge?

Looking Toward the Future

The best part of the recent Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree (for me) was meeting many of my fellow genea-bloggers face-to-face. We've been reading each others' blogs and getting to know one another on Facebook, but nothing beats real flesh-and-blood contact.

The youngest (by a few decades) of my new friends is Elyse Doerflinger, author of Elyse's Genealogy Blog and The Graveyard Rabbit Student.

Elyse and me.

Elyse has written a wonderful article Genealogy Societies Need To Look Towards the Future, which is full of sage advice and her honest opinions.

Think about what your average genealogist looks like: retired. People do not live forever (or stay in good health forever) and therefore, if societies truly want to survive, they must find ways to reach the next generation. Without reaching for the next generation, then all of their research, all of their hard work, and many of these societies are going to disappear.

Elyse goes on to inform her readers of her membership in the Youth Genealogists Association, an online genealogical "society" whose aim is "to provide opportunities and information to youth interested in their family history." It's heartening to know that there are kids out there who actually like genealogy!

I encourage our members to read Elyse's words of wisdom and let me know how they think CGS is doing. Are we providing opportunities for youth to be involved in our society? Are we reaching out to the next generation?

One thing does concern me. I checked our society website and was disappointed to find that the California Genealogical Society does not offer a student membership rate. You can be sure that I'll be bringing this up to our membership committee!

Update 7/11/09: Elyse has added a follow-up post with more suggestions and feedback. I'm happy to report that the California Genealogical Society and Library is doing several of the things that Elyse mentions!

CGS Iceberg Poster on YouTube

Tim Cox just let me know about Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems Jamboree video discussion with Randy Seaver of the Genea-Musings blog. At the end of Randy's Interview he mentions the CGS iceberg poster and Lisa includes a visual of the poster.

Thanks Randy and Lisa!



The complete catalog of Lisa's videos can be viewed at Genealogy Gems on YouTube.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

CGS on the Road in Santa Clara

Santa Clara Central Park Library
Monday, June 15, 2009

Photographs courtesy of Jane Knowles Lindsey and Lavinia Schwarz.

Workshop: Using Land Records in Genealogy - August 8, 2009

Using Land Records in Genealogy - A CGS Workshop with Pam Miller

Saturday, August 8, 2009
10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
California Genealogical Society Library
2201 Broadway, Suite LL2, Oakland, California

Join CGS member Pam Miller for this practical overview of land and property records and learn why they are absolutely necessary to your family history research. Discover how these often overlooked records can help you solve lineage problems, accurately identify ancestors, correct faulty information and enrich the story of those more distant ancestors.

Lecture topics will include terminology, abstracting, property law, the Public Land Survey System (PLSS, the aliquot system), the metes and bounds system, and the critical information found in deed books.

In addition, the workshop day will include a lunch break and "hands-on" sessions where participants can practice platting and locating specific lands. Bring your own land records to work on after learning how!

Attendees are encouraged to bring laptop computers; the six CGS computers may not all be available for the program. For the practical component Pam will supply graph paper and protractors. Suggested supplies are pencils, erasers and a ruler.

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 is a sign-up fee of $10 for non-members. (This fee can be applied toward membership on the day of the workshop.) Download the registration flier. Questions? E-mail or call CGS at 510-663-1358.

Pam Miller, a native of Dallas, Texas, attended Stanford University where she earned a B.A. in Linguistics and an M.A. in Spanish. She was employed as an educator in the Bay Area for twenty-eight years, teaching Spanish and computer science. Pam grew up "walking the family lands" with her parents, inheriting her family's love of maps and developing a severe case of what she calls "Tara Syndrome." She has been a member of CGS since 2005.

Graphic courtesy of Pamela A. Miller.

Fun at Jamboree!

Three exhausting but fun days at SCGS Jamboree 2009 are behind us. Tim has promised to write a report for the blog so I'll just share a few photos and express my appreciation to everyone who contributed to the CGS table in the exhibit hall.




Special kudos to Tim Cox and Carolyn Steinberg who organized every aspect of space #114 in the hall and who are already planning to make next year's CGS table even better. Heartfelt thanks also to CGS members Ron Filion, Arlene Folkers, Pamela Storm, Marston Watson and Geri Willinger for helping to staff the table.

Marston Watson and Tim Cox

Marston was a speaker at Jamboree this year. He graciously signed over his table in the hall to CGS and brought two of his Royal Families: Americans of Royal and Noble Ancestry books to sell: Volume Two - Reverend Francis Marbury and Five Generations of the Descendants Through Anne (Marbury) Hutchinson and Katherine (Marbury) Scott and Volume Three - Samuel Appleton and His Wife Judith Everard and Five Generations of Their Descendants.

Pamela Storm and Ron Filion

Pam and Ron of SFgenealogy.com brought their brochures and magnets and their expertise to the table. (And they wore their special tee shirts!)

Carolyn Steinberg, Steve Danko and Elyse Doerflinger.

Steve Danko of Steve's Genealogy Blog and Elyse Doerflinger of both Elyse's Genealogy Blog and The Graveyard Rabbit Student stopped by. They are both first-name-only geneabloggers since they have universal recognition in the gen-blog world (think Madonna). Steve will be our speaker at the July membership meeting.

Marston, Kathryn and Tim

Thanks, everyone, for a successful California Genealogical Society and Library presence at Jamboree!

"Tip of the Iceberg" Poster Debuts at Jamboree!

Back in March I reported on an idea based on a conversation between CGS members Lisa Gorrell and Tim Cox that turned into a wonderful graphic designed by Lisa's daughter Elizabeth Gorrell.

The "Tip of the Iceberg" graphic went viral after it was picked up by Dick Eastman who quoted Lisa's wish:

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.

Thanks to the efforts of Tim Cox, Lisa's dream has become a reality and the "Tip of the Iceberg" poster will make its debut on Friday at the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree.

Tim informs me that an 11 x 17 full color poster will be available at Jamboree for only $10, including taxes and a protective cardboard tube, at the California Genealogical Society and Library table #114. Tim, Carolyn Steinberg and I will be staffing the table with some other CGS members so please stop by and see us. And consider purchasing a poster to donate to your local public library!

Shelf Reading Day - July 22, 2009

Help Put Our Books in Order!
California Genealogical Society Library
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Marianne Frey sent this notice:

If you've been to the library you probably have admired our books on their nice new shelves (no more mismatched hand-me-downs), clearly marked and easy to find. But - are they perfectly arranged? No. Like cars on the freeway, the books bunch up in one place and are generously spaced in another. And books are occasionally re-shelved in the wrong place. With your help we can get every book in the right place.

Come to the library on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. for a review of the Library of Congress call number system and a chance to check your shelving skills. Then you can get to work putting the books in order.

We hope to have at least 20-25 people so this project can be completed in one day.

Volunteers who know how to read shelves can come earlier and begin reading at 8:00 a.m. Our librarians will be available for questions as shelves are checked.

Bring your own lunch or purchase one nearby and take a break with other members (dessert, iced tea and coffee will be provided.) Want to have some fun? E-mail Jane Lindsey if you can help!

SCHEDULE
08:00 a.m. Early Bird Shelf Readers - need no orientation
10:00 a.m. Orientation class on shelf reading
11:00 a.m. until done - read shelves, break for lunch, work in teams or alone. Stay as long as you can so we can complete this project in one day.

Announcing The California Nugget

After months of planning, writing, editing, designing, indexing, sourcing and proofing, The California Nugget, Volume 1, Issue 1, will be arriving in members' mailboxes any day. Its thirty-four pages of original articles - most contributed by CGS members - have been beautifully assembled by Jane Hufft and Lois Elling.

As announced earlier this year, CGS stopped publishing a paper version of the society newsletter and now communicates with members electronically via the monthly CGS e-News and this blog. The change has allowed our publication duo – Editor Hufft and Production Editor Elling – to turn their attention to a revival of the "Nugget" which ceased publication several years ago. As President Jane Lindsey notes in an introductory letter on page one, "We are delighted to be able to bring back a serial publication in a new and up-to-date format."

The inside cover is a goldmine of information about the society and includes the publication's mission statement:

The California Nugget, the magazine of the California Genealogical Society, is published twice a year. Its purpose is to share the unique genealogical material in the CGS library, add to the body of family history information about Californians, offer guidance and timely information to family researchers, and provide a forum for members to share their expertise and findings. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the society. The magazine is distributed free to members and is available to non- members for $5.00 an issue plus postage.

TABLE of CONTENTS
Twenty-First Century Genealogy
What Is a Genealogy Blog and Why Should I Care? By Kathryn Doyle
An Unexpected DNA Journey By Kathy Beals

California Ancestors
My Mallorcan Ancestor: Guillermo Castell Enseñat By Thomas Fox
Martin Bacon and Mary Elizabeth Shepley By Kenneth Haughton
Alfred Guile Thompson By Susan Hutchinson
William Mendenhall, “The Forester” By S. A Mendenhall

For Our Readers
Events Calendar for 2009
Research Trip to Allen County Public Library: Registration Form
Recent Acquisitions in the Library
NEHGS Fall Event: Registration Form
Guidelines for Submissions to The California Nugget
Book Review By Laura Spurrier
Books and Publications Order Form
Salt Lake City Research Trip \
News from the Society
New Members
Index

Please come back to this announcement after you've had a chance to read the first issue and leave your comments for Jane and Lois.

Wordless Wednesday

Desk Duty Committee Meeting

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Photographs courtesy of Jane Knowles Lindsey.

What You (and I) Missed: Morse and Morse on DNA

CGS membership meetings are held every other month in January, March, May, July, September and November but this month we had a special presentation by Steve Morse and his daughter Megan Morse on DNA on Saturday, June 13, 2009.

Steve Morse

We had a record turn-out (56!) which meant that I gave up my seat. Fortunately, two of my fellow genealogy bloggers were on hand – Craig Manson of Geneablogie and Steve Danko of Steve's Genealogy Blog. Steve has written up an excellent summary of the talks on his blog: Morse and Morse on DNA.

Megan Morse

I did sneak in to take a couple of photos, including this one of Petunia the opossum.

Petunia the opossum

We also took a minute to get a photograph together. (Thanks to Steve Harris for acting as photographer.)

Steve Danko, Craig Manson and Kathryn Doyle

Photographs by Kathryn Doyle and Steve Harris, 6/13/2009, Oakland, California.

Member Spotlight: Marston Watson

One of the speakers at the upcoming Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree is CGS member Marston Watson who will be presenting "Internet Research: Joys and Pitfalls."
Watson comes from a long line of genealogists and was introduced to the pastime as a very young child when his father created a typewritten genealogy from the hand written notes and pedigree charts of Marston's grandfather and developed a clever way to reveal the next pedigree chart by cutting rectangular bars on each page with a razor blade.

But it wasn't until 1991 when he noticed one of the names on his chart in a book by Frederick Weis, Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists that he was hooked on genealogy forever. He learned about his royal ancestor, Governor Thomas Dudley and began recording his ancestor’s data on an early version of Roots III. Today he uses TMG and his genealogy has grown from about 300 names to over 30,000, including six more royal lines.

His thirst for uncovering his family genealogy led to the discovery of Mayflower lines, colonial physicians, colonial governors, sixteen more Revolutionary War ancestors, and participants in the colonial wars. Each of these discoveries led to his acceptance in the related hereditary societies.

A member of the Sons of the American Revolution since 1967 and past president of the San Francisco Chapter, Watson was one of six compatriots to receive the prestigious Minuteman Award at the NSSAR Congress on Monday evening, July 6 in Atlanta, Georgia. It it their hightest honor and no more than six candidates are selected each year among 28,000 members.

His SAR California membership of nearly forty-two years includes his election as Oakland Chapter (now Thomas Jefferson Chapter) president and state secretary in 1968, state vice president in 1969 and state president in 1970.

Marston and wife Kathy joined the California Genealogical Society in 1993 and have been desk duty volunteers at CGS for many years. Kathy currently also serves on the computer and website committees. They are very much involved at the national level of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion as co-editors of the Journal. They have both been invested into the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem and traveled to the Holy Land in November, 2007. He is the Grand Editeur of the national journal and she is the Grand Webmaster for the Order.

A native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Watson spent his youth there and in Houston, Texas and completed his last two years of high school in Burlingame, California. He received his bachelor degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

He was a freelance writer for eighteen years with the Contra Costa Times and was a columnist there for eight years on the subject of job search. Marston has contributed articles to a number of national genealogical publications including The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Mayflower Descendant and SAR Magazine. He has written several books on royal ancestry and other genealogical volumes.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

First Saturday Free - June 6, 2009
Introduction to Genealogy Class with Lavinia Schwarz

Photographs courtesy of Tim Cox.

Member Book: The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley

Read any good fiction lately? How about some with a genealogy theme?

A few years ago, genealogist-extraordinare Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak wrote a series of articles for the 24/7 Family History blog about her pursuit of mysteries, cozies and other books with a genealogical theme. I haven't yet cozied up to any of Megan's suggestions and lately it seems that everything I read is on a computer (or iPhone) screen but all that may change this week.

On Thursday night I'll be heading to my favorite neighborhood bookstore to meet a new CGS member. Author Christina Sunley will be reading from her first novel, The Tricking of Freya, at A Great Good Place For Books.

What is her novel about? I hope Christina doesn't mind if I let her tell us in her own words. (You can read more at her blog.)

It’s about a young woman obsessed with unraveling a family secret that takes her all the way to Iceland.

It’s about turning your back on the past, then discovering years later that you can’t move forward in life without coming to terms with your own history.

It’s about forgiving the very family members who have hurt you most deeply.

It’s about being influenced by ancestors who died long before you were born.

It’s about writing your way to redemption.

Christina Sunley
The Tricking of Freya

Thursday, June 11, 2009
7:00 p.m.

A Great Good Place For Books
6120 LaSalle Avenue
Oakland, CA 94611

A-Files Update

On Wednesday, June 3, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS and the National Archives and Records Administration NARA held a formal joint signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. to "designate as permanent the immigration files created on the millions of aliens residing in the United States in 1944, as well as those arriving since then." The NARA press lease described the significance:

These Alien Case Files (commonly referred to as A-Files) document the famous, the infamous, the anonymous and the well-known, and are an historical and genealogical goldmine. The new agreement authorizes the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services/Department of Homeland Security to send A-files to the National Archives when 100 years have passed since the birthdate of the subject of a file. The National Archives expects to receive the first transfer of A-files later this year, and will store the files at National Archives facilities in San Francisco and Kansas City. Researchers will be able to access the files at these two sites, or request copies of files. An index will be available to support research use.

CGS member Jeanie W. Chooey Low has been a tireless advocate for the A-Files and active member of "Save Our National Archives" SONA, an ad hoc group formed in 1998 when the Regional NARA were threatened with closure. Jeanie was concerned that the recent publicity, including the USA Today article, made no mention of SONA's ten years of advocacy nor the major contribution of the late Congressman Tom Lantos, California. She sent this:

After ten years of SONA (Save OUR National Archives) advocating to the USCIS and NARA to schedule the accessioning of the Alien Files (A-Files), those two agencies now have an agreement to transfer custody of these invaluable immigration case files from USCIS to NARA. Then too, a major victory was gained by the NARA agreeing that for all time the Alien-Files in the Pacific Region would be allowed to remain at the NARA Leo Ryan Building in San Bruno, CA.

It is the only part of the A-Files in the nation to have "escaped" consolidation to Missouri, and instead be retained as a permanent collection of the Pacific Region National Archives as a local Bay Area treasure.

ACCESSIONING of the ALIEN FILES
Under the Alien Registration Act of 1940, all aliens in the United States were required to register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (now known as the USCIS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service). The Alien Registration Files (A-files) are the detailed evidentiary records collected for each of these registered individuals. The contents within these files may include photographs, birth and marriage certificates, visas, employment records, transcripts of testimony, personal artifacts, and other important biographical and historical information.

Although the A-files were first started in the 1940s, some of the A-files contain much older information that was collected and consolidated from earlier entries back and forth through ports of entry into America. For example, the immigration records (e.g. like those from the Chinese Exclusion Act era) that are currently available for public research and viewing at NARA, San Bruno (known as Record Group 85 case files) go as far back as the late 1800s.

The A-files stored at San Bruno are a valuable collection of historic immigration records from the Port of San Francisco, Honolulu, Nevada and Northwest. These A-files not only include records of Chinese immigrants during the Chinese Exclusion period, but also records of such people as German, Italian, and Japanese WW II alien internees; Holocaust survivors; Filipino Freedom Fighters; WWII “war brides”; immigrants from many different regions of Eastern Europe and the Pacific Islands.

In 1998, USCIS began consolidating all of its A-files at a non-research NARA facility in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. At that time a group of educational institutions, researchers, history and genealogical organizations, non-profit organizations, and individuals got together to form SONA (Save OUR National Archives). Their original goal was to prevent the closure of local NARA facilities but it was transformed into a coalition to make sure that the non-current A-files are transferred from the authority of USCIS to NARA so that they can be permanently preserved and made accessible to the public by database. 

For the past 10 years, SONA, under the leadership of former Congressman Tom Lantos (previously representing San Mateo) and others, were able to demand the A-files be stored at San Bruno and never move to Lee’s Summit. Indeed, USCIS has admitted the Pacific Region A-Files are the “lone exception” being the only A-Files that have not been moved to Missouri. However, since the A-files are still under the authority of USCIS, they are not viewable without submission of a formal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and are subject to possible censure to protect the privacy and/or government sensitivities as determined by USCIS officials.

What is so significant about the accessioning of the A-Files from USCIS to NARA is to make them part of the nation's permanent historic records and guarantee their availability to the public for all time. Government documents are not automatically preserved.

When a government agency such as USCIS normally retires its older documents, NARA must evaluate these records for their historical value before they can be considered for inclusion in NARA’s permanent collection. Approximately 98% of all the records produced by our national government are not preserved by NARA and the A-files were among those originally designated for destruction.

Thus, after 10 years of constant community clamor and support from a wide range of organizations as diverse and far as Australia, the two agencies have finally come to an agreement for the Alien Files to transfer from USCIS to NARA for protection and preservation for future generations of scholars, researchers and family genealogists of many nationalities.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday
The California Genealogical Society Library

Photograph courtesy of Judy Bodycote, Oakland, California, 2/27/2009.