This blog is for and about the California Genealogical Society. We hope you will join us on our genealogy journey!
Recent Posts
 |
| Photo credit: Erik Jacobs Photography |
In case you live out of the area or you missed the show, KTVU's Bay Area People with Rosy Chu showcased the society in a very creative way.
Past-president Jane Knowles Lindsey shared a few member photographs that have been previously featured in the California Genealogical Society and Library eNews. It was a great visual way to share some interesting ancestor stories and showcase what we do.
These are the featured photos and the stories as told by our member submitters:
This is my favorite photograph of my father's mother, Myrtle Helen Kavaney. She was born in Wellston, Ohio in 1890 to Michael Kaveny and Emma Rebecca Handley, both of Irish ancestry. In 1908, Myrtle's coal-miner father died leaving the family destitute. Myrtle decided to seek her fortune in the goldfields of Alaska. She made the trip by stagecoach, ship, train, and riverboat with her aunt, Norah Handley Morley, who was rejoining her family. They lived in Fairbanks and ran a business hauling people and supplies to the Ester Creek mining operations. The first person Myrtle met when the riverboat docked in Fairbanks was the man who would become her husband, Ralph Hugho Harris from Selma, California. In the next few years, Myrtle lived in North Vancouver Island with her aunt and mother. The photo shows Myrtle and Norah working a float of logs in their long skirts and high-button shoes in 1911. By 1920, Myrtle and Ralph married and moved to California to farm in Selma. The rest of Ralph's family also returned to California from their 20-year adventure in Alaska to a ranch in Napa.
This 1886 photo is of my ancestor Job Daniel Joseph Semler (holding donkey), his pregnant wife Lillie Belle (Orvis) Semler (holding child), and their first two children, George (by chair) and Daisy (held by her mother).
Job Semler applied for this homestead on 20 May 1878. After proving that he had made the necessary improvements to the land and paying the $4 final payment, he was awarded a patent in January 1884. The general land office records documenting his homestead are held at NARA in Washington D.C. and include information about his experience such as details of improvements, his times in residence at and absence from the property and testimony of his neighbors about his lifestyle and credibility.
In the Fall of 1888, after his health had failed, Job Semler moved to the nearby town of Sargent and became a butcher. He was able to support his family until 1895 when a major drought destroyed the local economy. Unable to sell his home for an amount sufficient to cover his mortgage, Job abandoned the house and moved back to Illinois in the fall of 1895. In the Spring of 1896, he moved his family back to Sargent, and started again.
On 25 October 1899, the Burlington & Missouri train arrived in Sargent. The town and many of its occupants began to flourish, including Job Semler who resumed work as a butcher. Records in the county clerk's office indicate that he also became a rather active buyer and seller of land. Job Semler continued on this path until his death 17 May 1939. I descend from his youngest daughter, Rozell Ferne Semler.
This image was taken by a now-famous Nebraskan photographer, Solomon Devore Butcher. He lived in Custer County, Nebraska, and photographed a large number of homesteaders in that area. I found this photograph of my ancestor in the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog on the Library of Congress website.
This photograph was taken at the Godeus Art Studio on Sixth Street, San Francisco. Handwritten on the back is the phrase: "Joe Mendizábal or Perry."
Born in San Francisco in 1871, Joseph B. Mendizábal was the second son of José I. Mendizábal Cantera of Mexico City and Zacatecas, Mexico, and Merced Sanches-Castellanos Sanches-Sevillanos of Bolanos, Jalisco, Mexico and San Francisco, California. [Note: Sanches also may be spelled Sanchez.]
Joseph and his elder brother Ismael attended the Spring Valley School in San Francisco where they lived with their mother, Merced, and stepfather, Joseph Politta, a dairy man and grocer.
In the 1880s Joseph held employment as a messenger for the American District Telegraph Company and later as a carriage painter. He lived in San Jose and later in Alameda. In July 1891, Joseph was the best man at his brother's wedding in San Francisco.
By 1902, Ismael was living in Alameda, and their sister, Isabel Mendizábal Schmitz Blasi, was living in Berkeley but there is no sign of Joseph. We cannot find him in the 1900 U.S. Census. The last known mention of Joseph Mendizábal is in his mother's 1904 obituary in which he is listed as one of her children.
According to family legend, Joseph ran away because of employment issues and changed his name, possibly to Perry. What really happened to Joseph? Did he change his name to Joe Perry or assume some other name? Does anyone know the man in this photo? If you can help please email Susan.
A great aunt had these photographs of my second great-grandparents, Andrew and Matilda "Ellen" (Wilson) Livingstone of McLeod's Crossing, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. I loved the fact that Ellen had fur on her winter coat. The family was not well-to-do – Andrew was a coal miner.
Ellen died on February 5, 1917. Their daughter, my great-grandmother, was living in New York at the time. She began the long trip home when she was notified of her mother's death. By the time she arrived home she had also lost her father, Andrew, who died on February 20, fifteen days after his wife.
On a visit to Cape Breton, a cousin and I were doing research and I suggested that we go to the library to look for obituaries. I had their death records, but I was having trouble finding their siblings and learning what had happened to their children. My cousin remarked that Andrew and Ellen were too poor to have obituaries, but knowing their exact dates of death, we headed to the library.
Imagine my delight when I found these notices!
Sydney Daily Post, Wednesday, February 7, 1917, page 5, under Local & General News: "The LATE MRS LIVINGSTONE - The death occurred at her home yesterday morning of Mrs. Andrew Livingstone of McLeod's Crossing. She had contracted a cold which later turned into pneumonia from which she died. The late Mrs. Livingstone had lived in town for a good many years. She was 76 years old and is survived by her husband and two children. Mrs. Knowles of NY and Charles at home. She is also survived by five brothers and one sister. David Wilson of McLeod's Crossing, William with an ambulance Corp in England, Benjamin and Vincent in Dominion. Henry in Glace Bay. The sister is Mrs Lewis of Glace Bay."
Sydney Daily Post, Wednesday, February 21, 1917, page 5, under Local & General News: "Death of A. Livingstone - The death of Andrew Livingstone occurred Monday at his home, McLeod's Crossing. He did not long survive his wife who died only a couple of weeks ago. He was 76 years of age and lived at McLeod's crossing for 16 years coming from Low Point. He is survived by one son Charles at home. One daughter Mrs. Knowles of NY. Four sisters also survive. Mrs. David Wilson of Reserve. Mrs Daniel McSween of MacKay's Crossing, Mrs William Kelly of Nashua NH and Mrs Daniel McNeil of New Glasgow."
Jonathan Johnson was born a slave, probably in Kentucky, the birthplace listed in the 1870 census. His owner was Jacob Omer of Jeffersontown, Kentucky, my ancestor. There is a written family account that tells how Jonathan was a playmate of Jacob's children. This lovely photograph of Jonathan's handsome family, probably taken about 1877, has been handed down the OMER line, my mother's line, to me. Set in a beautiful black carved frame, it always hung on the wall in each Omer household that inherited it in turn. Jacob Omer (there were several men by this name in the large Omer clan) was reputed to be a hard master, and one of his sons, my direct ancestor, left Kentucky to settle in Illinois because he could no longer abide living in a slave state. The records show that Jonathan remained in contact with another son of Jacob's, George W. Omer, and that George settled Jonathan's will when he died in Louisville, Kentucky in the early twentieth century.The society thanks KTVU, host Rosy Chu and producer Grace Kaddu for the opportunity to promote the California Genealogical Society on Bay Area People.
In the photo, Jonathan Johnson is with his wife and six children, whose names can be assigned, based on the Jefferson County, Kentucky 1870 census for Jeffersontown, by their cited ages, and their heights in the photo, probably as follows, left to right: Kate, William, Isabel, Marcus, Eliza, and George. Jonathan and his wife, Elizabeth, farmed in Jefferson County on land given to him by the Omer family after the Civil War was over, as the story goes, and the census listing bolsters that account. The children in the photo are wearing dresses that look like they were made, probably by Elizabeth, from the same bolt of fabric. Efforts to trace Jonathan's descendants past 1910 have not yet been successful.
Some of you may not know that in addition to blogging for the California Genealogical Society and Library, I also edit our electronic newsletter, the CGS e-News. Until now, the only way to view an issue was via email.
Now the society is offering an online archive of all past editions of the newsletter. The CGS e-News ARCHIVE can be accessed through the society website. The link is in the left sidebar.
The e-News ARCHIVE contains all of the previously published issues of the CGSL monthly electronic newsletter, organized by year.
The CGS e-News is e-mailed to members and subscribers on the first of each month. Besides the time sensitive announcements of society meetings, classes and events, the newsletter also contains two regular features that may be of interest long after publication:
1. New trends in the world of genealogy are the focus of Editor's Picks: Suggested Links from the Blogosphere.
2. Members submit old family photographs to CGS Ancestors: Photo Tributes to the CGS Family. This feature, edited by Cathy H. Paris, has already helped one member to find a new branch of her Hetrick family.
I hope you will check out some of our old issues. Please let me know if you find a new connection.
My favorite type of genealogical pastime is newspaper research. I've wiled away more hours than I care to admit scrolling through microfilmed papers borrowed through inter-library loan from the Pennsylvania State Library. Obituaries, legal notices, passenger arrivals and news articles provide important information and often point to documents needed for the search. But the really fun stuff resides in the personal columns – the collections of gossip often grouped by neighborhood or town – that offer glimpses into the lives of our ancestors.
Lookups volunteer Patricia Smith stumbled on to a personal item in an Indiana newspaper that led to an unexpected find when the California Genealogical Society acquired NewspaperARCHIVE.com last summer.
According to Pat, CGS President Jane Lindsey was helping her to navigate the site and found an item in the personals about the 50th anniversary of Pat's great-grandparents, Alanson and Laura Ross, in The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. It was published " Tuesday morning" January 2, 1917, under the headline "Pleasant Lake News."
Mr. and Mrs. Alson Ross celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary last Sunday and a public reception was given them at the home of their daughter, Mrs. Frank Chadwick, from 2 to 4 p.m. The Pleasant Lake concert orchestra furnished music during the afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Ross were seated in the large window beautifully decorated for the occasion. Those present from a distance were: Mrs. Lucey Widney, of Auburn; Otto Ross and wife, of Louisville, Ky.; Bessie Cross of Fort Wayne; Mrs. Bert McNett and children of Nevada Mills; Donn Ross and wife of Monpelier, O. Miss Laura McEthenie sang "Put on Your Old Grey Bonnett." L.L. Matson gave a short eulogy on the couple and closed by reading Riley's "That Old Sweetheart of Mine." Mrs. Frank Chadwick gave a short poem on "Mother." Miss Helen Huffman read "When This Old Ring Was New" with Miss Maurine Huffman presiding at the piano. A vocal solo, "Silver Threads Among the Gold," was sung by Maurine Huffman. Light refreshments were served, after which the Ross family sang "Bless Be the Tie That Bonds," with the guests joining in the chorus. It is not often that a couple celebrates their fiftieth anniversary who are as supple and robust as Mr. and Mrs. Ross. Fred Fay was present and took the family picture.
I recognized the name "Mrs. Bert McNett" as that of my mother's cousin – Parepa Walker McNett – and I remembered that I had a family photograph that included her. When I retrieved it, I noticed that almost everyone mentioned in the article was in the photograph. On the back was written "Taken at Pleasant Lake, Indiana."
The family of Alanson and Laura Ross (left to right): Nellie Ross Chadwick, Alanson Ross, Don Ross, Parepa Walker McNett, Laura Ross, George McNett, Walker McNett, Bessie Ross Cross, Esther Westergren Ross, Ella Ritter Ross, Otto Ross, Gertie Ross and Harry Ross.On closer inspection, I could see that it was taken in the winter – you can see some snow on the ground. Parepa's little boys were born about 1913 and 1915 and would have been approximately four and two years old, if this photo was taken in 1917, which looks about right. I also know that Perapa had a daughter born late in 1917 and although her waistline isn't totally visible, she doesn't appear to be pregnant, or if she was, she was not far enough along to show.
The news item states that Fred Fay took the family picture and I think, given the above information, that this photo was taken on that January day in 1917.
One of the photographs from the CGS 110th anniversary bookmark, was this one taken on the wedding day of Clare and Alta McAllister THOMSON, parents of Thomas Thomson, who is the husband of Shirley Pugh Thomson, CGS board member and recording secretary. 
The young bride and groom (she only 18, he age 19) were photographed 4 June 1916, in Sullivan County, Indiana. In the back seat are their best friends and witnesses, Paul and Lena Sharpe. The Buick was owned by the groom’s father, as was the camera, and it was dad who took the picture.
The blog description prompted this response from CGS News Editor, Jane Hufft: "The copy you have with the photographs is so informative and interesting. The picture sparked a connection for me: I have a photo of my grandparents c. 1916 that could be a twin to Shirley's; everyone is dressed up, looking out of an open car, event unknown, and it NEVER occurred to me that it possibly is a wedding photo -- and we don't have any others for them. Perhaps that was a photographic style then. Thank you so much for the clue."
I checked with Maureen A. Taylor, the Photo Detective, who has written about old automotive photographs, most recently in an article entitled "Motor Trends" in the July 2007 issue of Family Tree Magazine.
She agrees that there may be other photographs that appear at first glance to be just folks in old cars, but which in fact are chronicling weddings or other significant events.
Maureen notes: "You see a lot more people in front of cars once they are more enclosed. Men drove, women generally didn't. How interesting that the woman is behind the wheel!"
The cover of Katherine Scott Sturdevant's book, Bringing Your Family History to Life Through Social History, depicts a family dressed in their Sunday best in a circa 1910 automobile.
The photograph, identified as "William H. McKernan, Brooklyn" was supplied to the publisher as a research experiment. Ms. Sturdevant analyzes the photograph on page 89 and presents a case study which includes dating the vehicle and city directory and census research on the family. She makes a strong case that it is the family of William H. McKiernan and notes that the children in the photograph match the "genders and ages of the census children... if the oldest child, Mary, was elsewhere when the photograph was taken. She would have been about twenty."
Knowing what we know now from Shirley's and Jane's photographs, I wonder if the family was off to attend Mary's wedding?
Written for the 45th Carnival of Genealogy, Cars as stars!
Lois Elling, creator of the CGS 110th anniversary bookmark, contributed two of her own family photographs to the project.
The first is Lois' grandmother, Caroline (or Karoline) PERRSON, who came to America from Sweden with her cousin Ida in 1902, at the age of 20. She worked as a domestic in the Boston area, where she met and married William A. ROBINSON, Jr., who was working as a chauffeur. After the death of their first child at just 11 months, the couple moved to Southern California to live near one of Caroline's sisters. They settled in Los Angeles and in 1912 had a son, Herman, and a daughter, Alice, in 1915. William made a living as a machinist and auto mechanic.
Lois' second photograph is her father, Herman ROBINSON and sister, Alice, taken at a studio in Los Angeles in 1918. One of William Robinson's hobbies was photography, which is how Lois came to have a good-sized collection of photographs of the young family.
The 110th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday was a resounding success. Steve Danko has posted a detailed report on the day at his blog: Maureen Taylor, Photo Detective. I was struck by Maureen's incredible talent and passion for her subject, which we learned is a fusion of her expertise in history, photography and genealogy. I came away with a new appreciation for the value of photographs -- not just as a supplement to our family history but also as a research tool. We all have to become "photo detectives" to make sure we have gleaned all of the clues lying in wait in our own family photographs.
All 140 attendees went home with a special souvenir of the day. CGS President, Jane Lindsey, planned early on to create a bookmark to commemorate the anniversary but it was CGS News Production Editor, Lois Elling, who thought to merge the idea with the theme. She combined her design skills and love of ancestral photographs to create a keepsake that perfectly complemented Maureen's presentations.
Several CGS members submitted photographs for the bookmark. I promised that I would include a personal "thank you" to each and give a bit of background and biographical information about the CGS ancestors featured. I'll start with the two photos that I submitted.
The first is a photograph of my uncle and mother taken in 1938 in Sendai, Japan. My uncle, Iwao OKAMOTO, was graduating from high school and had been instructed by his mother to stop by the local studio to sit for a graduation photograph. He took along one of his younger sisters, Miyako, age 8. My grandmother was surprised to find that all of his portraits included his sibling! Iwao was unconcerned. He told his mother that if she didn't want to include his little sister she could be cut off. I'm so grateful that she wasn't.
The second is from my husband's extended NICKLES family. It is of two siblings, Pauline and George Nikolaides, taken about 1928 in the village of Tsintzina, near Sparta, Greece. The brother and sister spent their childhood years in two villages - summers spent in the mountains in Tsintzina, where it is cooler, and the winters in Zoupena; migrating back and forth, up and down the mountain each spring and fall, as has been the custom for hundreds of years. They came to the U.S. with their father and siblings in 1937; their mother remained in Greece throughout her life. Pauline Nickles Poulos died in 1986. George P. Nickles died November 22, 2007. May their memories be eternal.
This is one of only three photographs taken on the wedding day of Clare and Alta McAllister THOMSON, parents of Thomas Thomson who is the husband of Shirley Pugh Thomson, CGS board member and recording secretary. The young bride and groom (she only 18, he age 19) were photographed 4 June 1916, in Sullivan County, Indiana. In the back seat are their best friends and witnesses, Paul and Lena Sharpe. The car was the groom’s father’s Buick.
Two photographs were contributed by CGS member Lisa B. Lee. David Moses LEE was born in 1847 in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, the son of William Barnard Lee and Eleanor Jane Smith, and descendant of William Lee, a black Loyalist who fought in the Revolutionary War on behalf of the British Crown. In his early 20s, he moved to Buffalo, New York with his mother and worked first as a blacksmith and then as a male nurse, a position he held for over 50 years. For much of his adult life, he worked in Dr. Pierce's Hospital, an institution on Buffalo's Main Street. Lee died in 1936 in Buffalo at the age of 89.
Lisa's second contribution was the photograph of the MILLER Family. William Miller was born in Pennsylvania about 1811 and escaped slavery to Ontario and settled in the Wellington County area around 1835. He and his wife, Mary Ann Clement (a Canadian native) had at least 11 children. Those pictured in the photo are William Miller's grandson John Sylvester Miller, John's wife, Amanda Cromwell (whose grandfather was a black Loyalist in Nova Scotia) and their children, Joseph, Jane, William and Cecil.
I have a few more details to gather for the remaining photographs so stay tuned.
Today is the last day to reserve your place at the 110th Anniversary Celebration, this Saturday, February 9, 2008, at the Concord Hilton. You won't want to miss this special day-long program with Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective, who will present four seminars:
Tales from The Photo Detective
Identifying and Dating Family Photos
Preserving Family Photographs
Reading Immigrant Clues in Photos
$45.00 includes all seminars and lunch.
CGS News Editor, Jane Hufft, has organized a special silent auction as part of the festivities. Donated items include a set of champagne glasses in a carrying case, a basket of Irish coffee glasses and accoutrements, two sets of framed botanical prints, Fleetwood Mac wines, a handmade baby blanket, a set of two Malaysian baskets and much, much more.
The society is also honored to announce that our event is the book launch of Maureen Taylor's newest title, Capturing Memories (Your Family Story in Photographs). All of Maureen's books will be available for sale at the event.
President Jane Lindsey has been planning a couple more surprises for the day, including a special commemorative souvenir designed by the CGS News production editor, Lois Elling.
Back in December, George Morgan and Drew Smith, The Genealogy Guys, read the press release of our event on their podcast. George gave Maureen this glowing recommendation:
"If you've never heard Maureen speak about preservation of photographs, identifying photographs, identifying time frames... you're going to find this a tremendous, tremendous session."
Photographs of Maureen Taylor courtesy of Erik Jacobs Photography.
I'm just back from a holiday vacation and while catching up with the various genealogy blogs, I found some great advice in a recent post to 24-7 Family History Circle. Maureen A. Taylor, the Photo Detective, wrote Saving Your Family Treasures: Four Destructive Habits.
Maureen, who will be our special guest lecturer at the California Genealogical Society and Library 110th Celebration, on February 9, 2008, tells how mishandling, poor storage, laminating and mislabeling practices can harm our family photographs.
Maureen has also submitted a sneak preview of her detective skills to Roots Television. In her 4 1/2 minute slide show Solved by the Photo Detective!, Taylor guides us through three examples as she describes in her own voice the clues she used to analyze photos of a building facade, an immigrant woman and her own grandmother.
The California Genealogical Society and Library will celebrate 110 years of helping people find their roots at a day-long program with Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective at the Concord Hilton on Saturday, February 9, 2008, from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Tales from The Photo Detective
