Putting It All Together

Do you know how valuable you are to The California Genealogical Society (CGS)?  Our member-volunteers are why our genealogy society and library exist.  From our first president, Dr. Edward Stephen Clark, in 1898 to our current president, Linda Okazaki, our society is filled with dedicated volunteers that are always pushing for genealogical excellence. You are now part of this heritage and we want you to know how your society can help you.

Visit the library

One way to help is to remind you to visit our research library. It is an amazing resource to historians and family history researchers alike.  Have you been to the library lately? Just a reminder that we're located in Oakland's Uptown District and the area is hopping with great restaurants, cool coffee shops and wonderful stores that are filled with the energy from the neighborhood. Luckily, we're in the middle of it all!  

Full of surprises

One of the unsung heroes of the library is our Manuscript Collection. It is comprised of 108 linear feet on the shelves, as well as loose papers, research and family histories that have been donated to our library over its almost 118 year history.  We are forever grateful to volunteers Pat Bonderud and Linda Darby for cataloguing and organizing this treasure trove. The incredibly helpful and insightful Georgia Lupinsky and Virginia Turner are now the volunteers who manage our collection. They created a thirty-page inventory (in pdf format) available for download our website.

This searchable database provides a synopsis of each collection, providing enough information to help you determine if further examination of a manuscript is beneficial to your own research. Individual collections may be viewed at the Library by appointment.

Another way we can help you search for research materials is to use our online Library Catalog. I think you'll be amazed once you start looking at what's available to assist in your genealogy search.

Our Capital Campaign Needs Your Donation

Even with all of the free labor given by our volunteers, we still need money to continue our mission. Between high real estate costs in the Bay Area, continual upgrades to our computer equipment, offering high quality speakers and classes, along with keeping our library filled with new resources (including online databases), a group of long-term volunteers realized the society needed a committee dedicated to raising long-term funding for CGS. So earlier this year, the Capital Campaign was born. 

Chris Pattillo (Chair), Jane Lindsey and Sandy Fryer began raising money that will help cover the shortfall in the annual operating expenses of CGS.  Think of it as a substantial rainy day fund that lets us all benefit by having access to great classes, seminars, plus all of our online and library resources.  

How you can contribute:
*  Make a donation on our website or send a check.
*  Become a Life member to support the campaign. 
*  List CGS as a beneficiary in your will or personal trust. 
*  Provide a tax-deductible donation through your IRA or 401K .

There are many ways to donate, so choose what works best for you. 

Questions? Send an email to Chris Pattillo or Jane Lindsey. They're waiting to hear from you.

  
Become a part of the campaign, and make a donation today.  Thank you for your continued support.

Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society

Untold Stories: A Champion for Children's Rights

by Georgia Lupinsky

This month we highlight the powerful and inspirational story of Nellie (Patterson) Baldwin that was found among the papers of CGS Past President John Ellis Hale that are now part of our manuscript collection.  She was his maternal grandmother.

Her early life

Born 11 June 1865 in Muskegon, Michigan to Robert Burnside Patterson and Mary Graham Miller, she was a bright student, finishing the three-year high school program in Ludington, Michigan when she was fifteen. The school added another year, so she went back in 1882, at age seventeen and became the first and only graduate of the four-year program.

Afterwards, she taught school in the area for several years. Her teaching experience shaped her outlook towards children, which would come into play in her later years.   

Her next chapter takes shape

In 14 September 1887 she married Edward Lewis Baldwin in Ludington and the couple moved to San Francisco about 1890.  Nellie became active in a variety of women’s clubs, serving as state chairman of Civics in the General Federation of Women’s Clubs from 1906 to 1908 and as President of the California Club from 1908 to 1910.

After her husband’s death in 1912, Mrs. Baldwin managed her husband’s business, the Ferry Drug Store, known as “the first drug store from the Ferry” at 20 Market Street that was, “found to be a convenient store by the trans bay and tourist trade. By her careful supervision she increased steadily the prestige of the store.”

A noble purpose blossoms in San Francisco

In November of 1919 members of various civic and women’s clubs endorsed Mrs. Baldwin as their candidate for appointment to the Board of Education, their purpose being to have the next vacancy filled by a woman who has taken “an ardent interest in the welfare of the children of the city.”

 A leader in women’s social work, she served as Chairman of the Probation Committee of the Juvenile Court for twelve years.  And, on August 7, 1920, an article appeared in the San Francisco Examiner entitled “S.F. Woman is Juvenile Judge.” Mrs. Baldwin had the distinction of being one of only five women “ex-officio” judges in the nation. This announcement appeared in other newspapers nationwide. 

The Seattle Daily Times stated, “every city of any size now has its women attorneys, but the appointment of women to the bench is still rare enough to attract wide attention.” Each Thursday morning Mrs. Baldwin heard cases in which girls were involved and worked hard to keep juveniles out of the mainstream of criminal courts.

Later in life Nellie lived with her daughter and son-in-law, Marion and William Morrell Hale, on Ashby Avenue in Berkeley and died there 10 September 1945. Her grandson believed her teaching experience and her concern for children helped him through difficult times in his young life.

How to use our manuscript collection

To learn more about our collection, please visit our website, then select the Databases tab in the upper right hand corner on the home page. Under “Databases Free to All” click on the “CGS Manuscript Collection Index” and a current copy of the database will appear for the reader’s review. The database is organized by:  title, geography, timeframe, description and surname.

If you find a collection that is pertinent to your research, call to make an appointment with a member of the Manuscript Collection Committee or the Desk Duty volunteer to view items, as this is a closed stack collection. We have many wonderful research resources for the genealogy community and look forward to seeing you soon!

Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society

Our Manuscript Collection: Here’s How It Can Help Preserve Your Family Story

by Virginia Turner

Did you know that you can have your family papers or book preserved using archival standards so that they are available for generations to come? That is a key function of our manuscript collection and the volunteers who maintain it. Keep in mind that a manuscript contained in the California Genealogical Society library can range from just the beginnings of research, such as papers and letters about your family story, to a fully published book.

This month we highlight what makes up our manuscript collection, along with some helpful tips on how you can create and protect a manuscript for your family’s story.

Things to keep in mind

When a person begins the process of recording notations leading to a finished manuscript or book, the researcher does not have to wait until a finished product is ready for the library shelf.

If a published book is the ultimate goal, it is wise to donate a copy of the beginning manuscript to a library location for safekeeping, as well as for use by others who may be helpful in rounding out the final product through exchange of information between two or more searchers. At our library, we index the items collected by surname.  Next, the indexes are placed online and are made available to the public on request.

Safe storage is key

Acid free boxes and paper supplies will keep research materials safe from deterioration from the environment. A safe location of the copy in the library manuscript collection will keep it free from destructive processes of theft, plagiarism, insects, and moisture.

Manuscripts come in many shapes and sizes

Research as small as a family group sheet with factual references can find a place in the miscellaneous collection boxes.  The first letter of the family surname alphabetizes these group sheets.

It can grow to include additions of pedigree charts for related families. Copies of references from letters, books, and published genealogies of related people will eventually lead to the author’s final product.

If you want the eventual book or article to be more interesting for the reader, then add copies of family photographs, maps, photocopies of letters, family bible inscriptions, newspaper accounts, tombstone inscriptions and other historical material.

Another way to approach it is to make several separate small manuscripts, which will eventually be combined into a published family genealogy, or a collective genealogy that includes many family writings, which are related to a particular locality or subject.

Ready to publish?

Small manuscripts may find a place in various genealogical magazines. These days, publishing companies can assist you in editing and publishing your articles of genealogy.

Did you know that certain members of the California Genealogical Society could assist in readying your manuscript for submission to specialized genealogical magazines interested in your stories?

When your manuscript is ready for saving in the California Genealogical Society Collection, please contact Georgia Lupinsky or myself for advice on editing and preparing your work for publication. Our goal is to give you the courage to meet your goal.

I hope that makes clear what our manuscript collection is, how your research can become a part of it and how, ultimately, we can help you get your manuscript published.

Contact us today with your manuscript questions.  We’d love to hear from you!

       

Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society

From Our Manuscript Collection: Joaquin A. Silveira

Joaquin A. Silveira

by Georgia Lupinsky

Have you checked our Manuscript Collection’s searchable database which is available on the California Genealogical Society website? You might find a surname you've been researching and uncover material that will further your research.

This month we highlight the story of Joaquin A. Silveira as revealed in a scrapbook donated to the Manuscript Collection by the Silveira family. Articles within the scrapbook tell how Mr. Silveira built a successful life in the United States and contributed to his Bay Area community.

Born at Ribeira d’Areia, St. George, Azores Islands on October 17, 1873 to a wealthy dairy farmer and his wife, Joaquin Silveira set out in 1891 for California. He arrived in San Francisco with only a ten dollar gold piece left in his pocket, speaking only his native Portuguese. Soon he made his way to Benicia, where he found work on a ranch milking cows.

After a few years in California, he went into the dairy business and began to sell his eggs and butter along a route in West Oakland. In 1906 he opened the American Creamery in Oakland. It eventually became the largest institution to supply dairy products in Alameda County and Richmond on a wholesale and retail basis. In that same year he became a stockholder in the Portuguese American Bank of San Francisco and in 1911 was elected President of the bank. At that time he was the youngest bank president in America.

Next, Mr. Silveira was a commissioner of and primarily responsible for providing funds for the Portuguese Pavilion at the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition. In 1934 he was awarded the Military Order of Christ by the government of Portugal for his public service and philanthropic efforts in behalf of American citizens of Portuguese birth or descent.  A long-time resident of Oakland, he died May 2, 1947 and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery.

To find out more about our collection, visit the CGS website, select the Databases tab in the upper right hand corner on the home page. Under “Databases Free to All” click on the “CGS Manuscript Collection Index” and a current copy of the database will appear for the reader’s review. The database is organized by:  title, geography, timeframe, description and surname.

If you find a collection that is pertinent to your research, call to make an appointment with a member of the Manuscript Collection Committee or the Desk Duty volunteer to view items, as this is a closed stack collection. We have many wonderful research resources for the genealogy community and look forward to seeing you soon!

Copyright © 2017 by California Genealogical Society

Spotlight on the Manuscript Collection: The Covell Family Papers

Just over a year ago the California Genealogical Society celebrated completion of the Manuscript Project – a comprehensive review and organization of the collection of donated family materials made to the society over its 112 year history. The collection totals ninety linear feet which has been cataloged and stored in a specially prepared archive room. Boxes of family information including the usual ancestry charts, family group sheets, ancient documents, letters, photographs, and many other types of items are alphabetically arranged.

A comprehensive document contains a descriptive synopsis of each family collection, providing the family surnames, geography, timeframe and description of the material. The latest version of the CGS Manuscript Collection Database was uploaded to the website in July 2010, and is free and available for download.


Materials continue to be donated to the society. Those recently received include materials from the Fischbeck, Covell, and Young families, and a Mills Terrace Christian Church, Oakland, photo album with more than 70 identified photographs.

Manuscript Committee members Georgia Lupinsky and Virginia Turner are the current caretakers of the collection and they hope shine a periodic spotlight on some of the family treasures under their care. This month's focus is COVELL.

Georgia Lupinsky and Virginia Turner

The Covell collection was received in March 2010 and contains vital, deed and probate records, obituary and news articles, family correspondence, mementos, many original photos and portraits, school yearbooks, pedigree charts and family history files on the Covell and Coover families and related lines. It was compiled by Leah Jeanette Porter Gainer, great-granddaughter of Frank Marion Covell and Ann Eliza Peffers, granddaughter of Archer Morgan Covell and Leah Coover, daughter of Leah Jeanette Covell and Homer Porter. Mrs. Gainer died December 29, 2007.

Ann Eliza Peffers Covell

The patriarch of the family in California was Frank Morgan Covell, born to Morgan Covell and Laura Chamberlain on March 12, 1851 in Ridgebury Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania. Frank came to California by 1871 and settled in the Santa Cruz area. His interest in genealogy is evidenced by his 1918 hand-written account of the family that details military service by his ancestors in the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

 

The collection is filled with personal material that can enrich and amplify a family history. Items include a diary that Frank kept for a brief period of time in which he notes: “May 10th 1872. Took Annie Peffers to dance. Made Charly Myars mad. He won’t hurt anybody I guess.” Frank and Annie were married a year later.

Also in the file is Frank’s 1926 letter written to granddaughter, Esther Covell, reminiscing about his 1868 high school graduation and sharing with her some of the hopes and dreams he had as a young man. These items and many more are awaiting the visits of interested descendants and researchers.

The Covell Family papers are a 40 linear inch collection with the following surnames: Aronen, Chamberlain, Chisolm, Coleman, Coover, Covell, Farum, Finley, Gainer, Gammon, Holway, Kane, Maki, Peffers, Porter, Quinn. The family geography includes: California, Connecticut, Kentucky, Ohio, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.


Photographs by Kathryn M. Doyle. COVELL family information provided by Georgia Lupinsky and Virginia Turner.

Copyright © 2010 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

A Valentine From the Manuscript Collection

This month's word prompt for the 20th Edition of the Smile For The Camera Carnival is "Valentine."

Love is in the air, so celebrate with Smile by sharing a photograph of a Valentine; be that person or paper. The interpretation of Valentine is yours. Admission is free with every photograph!

This special valentine is part of the California Genealogical Society's manuscript collection. Linda Darby shared it with me and it was so adorable I snapped a couple of photographs. Now I have the perfect opportunity to share them.

This valentine is neither paper nor person - it is actually a piece of fabric - muslin, I believe - and seems to have been created to commemorate a GRIFFIN family event.

It is a list of family names and the upper right corner includes the following:

August 11, 1908

Souvenir

Picnic Dinner

Griffin Family

Detail - Upper Right Corner

The California Genealogical Society manuscript collection, stretching ninety linear feet on the shelves, consists of loose papers, research and family histories donated to the library over its 100‐plus year history. A searchable document provides a synopsis of each collection and can be downloaded from the society's website.

Photographs by Kathryn M. Doyle, November 16, 2009, Oakland, California.

Wordless Wednesday

Organizing the Manuscript Collection

Photograph by Kathryn M. Doyle, November 16, 2009, Oakland, California.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday
California Genealogical Society and Library
Manuscript Collection

Photographs courtesy of Jane Knowles Lindsey, 10/3/09, Oakland, California.

Announcing the CGS Manuscript Collection

Please come to the California Genealogical Society Library this Saturday, September 12, 2009, at 12:30 p.m. and join us at an open house to celebrate the completion of the Manuscript Collection Project. Light refreshments will be served. There will be a five to ten minute presentation about the project at 1:00 p.m. at the start of the membership meeting.

The CGS Manuscript Collection consists of loose papers, research and family history material totaling ninety linear feet which have been donated to the society over its 111 year history. A comprehensive review and organization of the collection has recently been completed by member volunteers Pat Bonderud and Linda Darby. All materials have been cataloged and a comprehensive document has been created to describe the society's holdings. Thanks to a generous grant by the BayTree Fund, all items are now arranged on open shelving in a separate room at the library and the documents are stored using acid-free and museum quality archival enclosures.

Pat Bonderud, Judy Avery and Linda Darby.

Besides the preservation of materials, it is the intent of the society to open the collection to interested researchers. A twenty-three page inventory is available in pdf format at the society website on the Searchable Databases page. It includes a synopsis of each collection and provides enough information to help you determine if further examination of a manuscript is beneficial to your research. Individual collections may be viewed at the library by appointment once a team of volunteers is identified who will oversee the collection.

If you are interested in helping the society offer this new service, please email CGS.