Bounty Land and the War of 1812 Soldier

Saturday, May 19, 2012
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

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

Sociologists and historians make frequent use of the many records created by the War of 1812 soldiers' quest for bounty land. Genealogists should do the same, but few know how to make their way through these valuable records. What's the difference between an application and a warrant? Why does it matter if my soldier was in the Army or the militia? What on earth is scrip? Join Susan Goss Johnston and learn more about the treasures that can be found by courageous researchers.

Register online.

The class is limited to thirty participants and is a free benefit of membership. Non-members fee is $20.00 (non-refundable) and can be applied towards membership on the day of the class.

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

Susan Goss Johnston was a member of Yale University's first undergraduate class of women, earning a B.A. in physics. After graduation, she began working in medical research while studying voice at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. The natural outgrowth of this experience, mixed with two children, led to genealogy, research that didn't require grant writing! She has been involved in teaching and researching for thirty years. Sue currently teaches genealogy courses in the Community Education division of Las Positas College in Livermore, California, and is a member of the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society and co-presenter at the group's Tri-Valley TMG (The Master Genealogist) Users Group. She is a ProGen Study Group alumna, completing the program in 2011, and she is a graduate of the National Institute on Genealogical Research and the "Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis" at the Samford University's Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research. Her personal research focuses on families in New England and the Mid-Atlantic region, and she specializes in military records and federal land records.

Copyright © 2012 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Civil War Research: It's More than Compiled Service and Pension Records

Susan Goss Johnston

Saturday, June 25, 2011
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m

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

It you haven't heard Susan Goss Johnston speak about military records, you are in for a treat! In honor of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, Johnston is presenting two talks: Recreating the Life of the Civil War Soldier and It Becomes My Painful Duty: Uncovering the Stories behind Letters of Condolence.

Recreating the Life of the Civil War Soldier
Pension records are wonderful presents waiting to be unwrapped and studied. They are rich in genealogical information, but they’re not the only records worth exploring. In fact, these records are only a fraction of the many records that were created during the Civil War. Case studies will be used to find and examine records – and record substitutes – created in the time between a soldier’s draft registration and his burial. What records exist? Where can they be found? What will they tell us?

It Becomes My Painful Duty”: Uncovering the Stories behind Letters of Condolence
We genealogists tend to read documents for the answers they provide, but these letters of condolence sent from the Civil War battlefields still evoke strong emotions one hundred fifty years after they were written. They may provide answers, but they also provoke strong questions. Who was the soldier and his heart-broken widow or grieving father? What were the circumstances behind his death? What does the letter say about the writer? The search for these answers will take the researcher into seldom-used records, and the stories uncovered bring history to life.

Register online

Susan Goss Johnston was a member of Yale University’s first undergraduate class of women, earning a B.A. in physics. After graduation, she began working in medical research while studying voice at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. The natural outgrowth of this experience, mixed with two children, led to genealogy – research that didn't require grant writing! She has been involved in teaching and researching for thirty years. Sue currently teaches basic and advanced genealogy courses in the Community Education division of Las Positas College in Livermore, California, and is a member of the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society and co-presenter at the group’s Tri-Valley TMG [The Master Genealogist] user group. She is a graduate of the National Institute on Genealogical Research, "Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis" at the Samford University's Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, and the National Archives' course, "Going to the Source." On her first day of research at the National Archives, Sue found three Civil War pensions, and she has loved military records, especially those of the Civil War era, ever since.


Copyright © 2011 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.

American Military Research Seminar - August 9, 2008

The Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society, in association with the Livermore Family History Center, is hosting Help! My great-great-great grandfather is missing! - a free American Military Research Seminar and Workshop, Saturday, August 9, 2008, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., 950 Mocho Street, Livermore, California.

The schedule for the day includes three presentations during the morning session, a noon break for lunch and Genealogy Jeopardy and an afternoon workshop of online interactive case studies.

L-AGS member and genealogy instructor, Susan Goss Johnston, will present a two-part lecture entitled "American Military Research Online: What’s There and What’s Not!" Johnston will create a timeline of American military history and show all the record types that were created. She will cover what is available online and what isn’t, using both non-subscription and subscription sites.



Trevor Hammond, Marketing Manager at Footnote.com will conclude the morning session with "An Introduction to Footnote.com"


To reinforce the information learned in the morning lectures, the afternoon session will be an interactive workshop " Going Beyond the Obvious: Problem-solving with Online Military Records."



Four online military research case studies will be presented. Attendees with wireless laptops will be able to follow along using the Internet. Footnote.com has given us access for all researchers who bring their laptops. The session will be displayed for those without laptops. The Livermore Family History Center, working through Salt Lake, is making wireless internet available for attendees.
Susan Goss Johnston is a graduate of Yale University with a degree in physics. She began working in medical research while studying voice at the Peabody Conservatory, then became interested in genealogy research. Johnston is also a graduate of the National Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research course, “Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis,” and the National Archives’ course, “Going to the Source.” She developed a workshop on source citations for her own advanced genealogy course while in Baltimore, a workshop subsequently presented to several Maryland genealogy societies. She teaches beginning through advanced genealogy classes at Las Positas College in Livermore, and is a co-teacher of the Tri-Valley TMG Users Group.

Trevor Hammond has been a marketing manager for Footnote.com for two years. Prior to joining Footnote.com, he worked four years for Ancestry.com in customer intelligence and customer support. A native of Utah, he has a B.A. from Utah Valley University in Business.

Attendees will be eligible for a $10.00 discount from the Footnote.com membership for first time subscribers. Although the seminar is free, everyone is encouraged to pre-register.Please register early, space is limited. (Registration at the door will be accepted on a space available basis starting at 8:30 a.m.)
The registration deadline is August 7, 2008. Download the seminar flier or go to the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society Web site for further information and for online registration.