Find Your Japanese Roots in the U.S. and in Japan: September 10, 2016

Are you a Nikkei who is ready to document your family history? Do you want to find those WRA camp files, Enemy Alien files or other records from WWII? Do you wonder if Obāchan was a picture bride? Or if Ojīchan was arrested and sent to a Department of Justice camp? Are you a genealogist who wants to know about different record groups? Or are you helping a Japanese American friend with their genealogy? Come learn how to find your Japanese roots.

Please join California Genealogical Society president, Linda Harms Okazaki, as she presents: 

Finding Your Japanese Roots in the U.S. and in Japan

When?

Saturday, September 10, 2016
12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m

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

Cost?
$30 for non-members (non-refundable)
Free for CGS members

How?
Register on Eventbrite

Part I of the three-hour seminar will be a brief overview of Japanese culture, history and language as it pertains to family history. Records available through the National Archives, USCIS, Ancestry.com, and FamilySearch.org will be covered. 

Topics will include: 

• the early political climate in the U.S. and laws of the time
• internment camps
• post WWII experiences, repatriation, resettlement, and redress

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

This seminar is suitable for all levels of research experience.

Limited to thirty participants; the fee may be applied towards membership on the day of the class.

Please visit our Eventbrite page to register for this seminar. Preregistration is required. Confirmations and a parking permit will be sent to the first thirty registrants.

Participants are invited to come early and meet others who share an interest in Japanese research. Use our computers, browse in our library, or bring a bagged lunch and meet at the library before the session. The library is open from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Copyright © 2016 by California Genealogical Society

1 million Angel Island immigrants: what genealogical clues were left behind?

Do you have Japanese, Chinese, Jewish, or South Asian ancestors that came through Angel Island? 

Join member Grant Din and learn about the more than one million people from over eighty different countries who were processed by officials on the island.  You might be familiar with Angel Island’s Chinese poetry-carved walls, but did you know that quite a lot of genealogical resources are now available to researchers?

Angel Island, photo courtesy of Linda Okazaki

Linda Okazaki, our current President says, “Grant is incredibly knowledgeable about the history of Angel Island, as well as the federal records generated when the immigration station operated there from 1910-1940. I've heard Grant speak several times while ‘on’ the island. Now I'm excited to have him present here at the California Genealogical Society’s Library.”

What’s the format?

Learn from case studies of Chinese, Jewish, South Asian and Japanese immigrants.  Find out about the National Archives and other resources that might be available for your own research.

Topics covered

• Gain an understanding of the different groups who passed through Angel Island.
• Resources for Angel Island and West Coast immigrant research that available online and at the National Archives in San Bruno.
• Interpret documents such as ship manifests to find valuable information.
• How to obtain government files such as "A-files" (A for "Alien") via online requests.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Member Grant Din has been working in Bay Area non-profit organizations for more than thirty years and has conducted genealogical research for even longer.

He works as the community relations director at the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, where his work includes managing the Immigrant Voices website.  It currently houses 200 stories of Pacific Coast U.S. immigrants from throughout the world, including many who passed through Angel Island.

Grant's interest in genealogy started at a wedding reception in his youth, where a relative showed him to be the 36th generation of the Gong family on a family tree.  Later he learned that he’s a member of the 24th generation of Owyangs on his mother's side.

He recently received a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University and has traveled throughout the U.S. and China for his research.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:

Pre-registration is required. Class size is limited so please register early. CGS members enjoy free admission. 

Not a member? Not a problem. 

Non-member admission fee is $30.00 and can be applied towards a new one year CGS membership (starting at $40) the day of the class.

Copyright © 2016 by California Genealogical Society

Nikkei Genealogy with Linda Okazaki: Ethnic Discussion Group Series

The California Genealogical Society will be hosting a series of ethnic discussion groups that are free and open to the public.  

Maruko Okazaki, ca. 1937, Santa Maria, California

The first in the series will be on Japanese Research-- on Saturday, August 2, 2014, CGS Volunteer Linda Okazaki will be leading an introductory workshop and discussion on Nikkei Genealogy.

Here's a brief description of the introductory workshop:

Searching for your Japanese roots can be challenging but not impossible. Getting started is no different than researching any other ethnic group. Begin with yourself and work backwards, collecting birth, marriage and death records. Then venture into census, land and immigration records. For Nikkei, internment camp records and A-files are critical. All of these documents can give you clues needed to get your records in Japan.

Earlier this month, she presented her "Finding Your Japanese Roots” workshop on behalf of the Nikkei Genealogical Society at the 2014 National Conference for the Japanese American Citizens League. The JACL is the oldest Asian civil rights organization in the US, and was founded in 1929. To learn more about the JACL, visit:  http://jacl.org/about/about.htm

We’re also happy to announce that Linda will be presenting her workshop "Finding Your Japanese Roots: In the U.S. and in Japan" at CGS on Saturday, September 27 from 10-2 pm.  Come & learn how to document your unique family history! 

Registration is already open: http://tinyurl.com/Japanese2014Reg

For more details, please contact Linda at loaklazaki@californiaancestors.org


Copyright © 2014 by Ellen Fernandez-Sacco, California Genealogical Society and Library.