Angel Island Foundation Dinner - September 12, 2008

CGS member Jeanie W. Chooey Low sent this announcement:

There's still time to get your tickets to the The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation Annual Fundraising Dinner held next Friday, September 12, 2008 at the Westin San Francisco Market Street, 50 Third Street, San Francisco. Tickets are $200 and proceeds go to continuing the Foundation's efforts to inform the public about the rich history of the Immigration Station and its implications today.

The keynote speaker is Dr. Erika Lee, co-author of Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America with Judy Yung. The book is due out in 2010, but you will get a preview of the new stories emerging from their studies of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian immigrants, who passed through Angel Island between 1910 and 1940.

Pianist/composer Jon Jang will perform Prologue to Angel Voices, a series of musical compositions inspired by new translations of the Chinese poems carved on the Detention Barrack walls, Japanese poems written about the Angel Island experience, and excerpts from a Russian immigrant's letters about his stay on the island.

Come learn about the upcoming reopening of the Immigration Station on February 15, 2009. To buy tickets, email your contact information to info@aiisf.org or call Julie at 415-262-4429.

From the The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation Web site:

The immigration experience is a common thread binding the histories of most Americans. Whether escaping persecution, poverty or lack of economic prospects, immigrants have come to the United States for the ideals it represents — freedom, democracy, and opportunity. Most Americans know the story of Ellis Island, where immigrants crossing the Atlantic Ocean were processed. But the story of its West Coast counterpart, Angel Island, is little-known.

Located in the middle of San Francisco Bay, Angel Island Immigration Station was routinely the first stop for immigrants crossing the Pacific Ocean. The Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF) is the nonprofit partner of California State Parks and the National Park Service in the effort to preserve, restore and interpret the historic immigration station.

Serendipity in the New Books Section

The California Genealogical Society is fortunate to be the recipient of many wonderful donated books to the library. In addition, thanks to the financial generosity of our members, books and media are purchased to round out the collection. New books are housed on a special book shelf so members can peruse the latest additions.

Recently, CGS volunteer Sandy Fryer decided to take advantage of some quiet time while on "desk duty" and spend some time looking through the new books section. She had one of those serendipitous genealogical moments when she opened a book and found an ancestor.

Sandy Fryer found the portrait of her ancestor, Dr. John Clarke.

Sandy had heard of the portrait of her ancestor, Dr. John Clarke of Boston, Massachusetts, but she had never seen it.

Colket, Meredith B., Founders of Early American Families: Emigrants from Europe 1607-1657. Second Revised Edition. Cleveland, Ohio, The Order of the Founders and Patriots of America, 2002.

Photographs by Kathryn M. Doyle, July 15, 2008.

Wordless Wednesday

Lunchtime at the California Genealogical Society.

Left to right: Arlene Miles, Nancy Peterson, Sandy Fryer, Pat Smith and Verne Deubler.

Photograph by Kathryn M. Doyle, Oakland, California, July 15, 2008.

Tuesday Tales From the Road - Suffield, Connecticut

Mary is continuing her amazing genealogy research trek across the country. She's reached New England. This is her sixth report:

“Are you Mary?” asked the man in the Boy Scout Scoutmaster uniform. How fitting this uniform is for my Suffield, Connecticut hero, Art Sikes, who is the Vice President of the Suffield Historical Society (SHS). One day last year, I “googled” the last of my 2nd great-grandmothers to be researched. A few keystrokes later I arrived on the Suffield Historical Society Web site. I then clicked on “Families.” To my total amazement, Art had built the genealogy of the major founding families! The family trees and his sources are on the Web site! I hope some of you reading this blog have Suffield ancestors and can use this amazing site. By the time I finished, I had thirty surnames across as many as six generations. Although Art works full time and donates his time to many organizations, he always answered my e-mail questions. How many months, if not years, of research did he save me? I was delighted to take him and his wonderful wife, Bev, to dinner. I told them that I wish I could take them every night for a year. If there were a Boy Scout badge for genealogy, Art would be the first recipient.

Obviously, thirty surnames represent an impossible task for one week. Just imagine how many gravestones exist? Suffield kept continuous records from its founding in 1669, and almost all have survived with only a few lost to fire. Birth, marriage and death records are on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. I copied Barbour’s Suffield listings for my surnames to expedite the microfilm search. The big jackpot is the existence of the minutes of the town meetings from 1669 through 1745. I copied most of them, as some ancestor appears in nearly all of the pages. Reviewing them will take a long time. I’m praying for a rainy San Francisco winter to do this.

Art also opened “the dungeon” in the basement of the Kent Memorial Library where SHS keeps the private archives. These include family farm ledgers, letters and many original documents, pictures, etc. I would need a month to make a dent. So, I am already planning my next trip to Suffield.

Oh, yes, one last item. Sometimes, luck plays a significant part in genealogy! I was reading H. S. Sheldon's book with the town meeting minutes and some comments that he added. He was talking about Joseph Sheldon, who was a leader of the town and a Connecticut representative to the Colonial Legislature in Boston. We have some Sheldons in our line in Suffield but not Joseph, or so I thought. Bingo, the list of his children included Benjamin Sheldon (born 1705), who was tied into another line not in Suffield. We had not researched his parents! After some more digging, I was thrilled to find that Joseph and Mary (Whiting) Sheldon were indeed Benjamin's parents. Then, came the real jackpot! Mary Whiting was the granddaughter of John Pynchon, who created the towns of Suffield, Brookfield, Deerfield and others! What a grand discovery!

Next stop – assorted Vermont towns.

Your genealogist on the road,

Mary Mettler

Read the entire series:
Part One: Salt Lake City
Part Two: Indiana
Part Three: Pennsylvania
Part Four: More From Pennsylvania
Part Five: Washington D.C.
Part Six: Suffield, Connecticut
Part Seven: Vermont
Part Eight: Dorset, Vermont
Part Nine: West Point and Back to Pennsylvania
Part Ten: Some Final Thoughts From Home

A Joint Venture for Family History Month

In celebration of October as Family History Month, the California Genealogical Society and the Oakland Regional Family History Center are combining resources and expertise to offer a four session Beginning Genealogy Course.

Each of the four classes will be offered twice – on Saturday, at the CGS Library, from 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. and on the following Tuesday, at the Family History Center, from 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. The same teachers and handouts will be used in both sessions and students can attend classes at either facility.

Classes are free but there will be a $10 charge for a notebook containing a syllabus of the four classes. Those students wishing to join the California Genealogical Society will also receive $10 off their memberships after attending all four classes. Free parking is available at both locations. The Oakland Regional Family History Center is located at 4766 Lincoln Avenue, Oakland, California.

Preregistration is necessary to ensure adequate handouts. Drop-ins will be welcome on a space available basis. Please register by telephone 510-531-3905 or E-mail fhcoakland@yahoo.com.

The class outline and schedule are as follows:

Part 1 – Introduction to the Science of Genealogy
In this introductory class, Marge Bell Assistant Director of the ORFHC, will teach students how to get started and cover basic genealogical terminology, forms, computer programs, and organization of research files.
Saturday, October 4, 2008, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. at CGS
Tuesday, October 7, 2008, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the FHC.

Part 2 – Secondary Survey
In the second class, Jane Lindsey President of CGS, will introduce students to the basic Internet research sites that feature compiled genealogies including, but not limited to, FamilySearch, Rootsweb, USGenweb. It will also include using digital library catalogs to help plan research and locate resources.
Saturday, October 11, 2008, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at CGS
Tuesday, October 14, 2008, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the FHC.

There are no classes on Saturday, October 18 or on Tuesday, October 21.

Part 3 – Vital Records and the Calendar Change
This class, led by Marge Bell, will teach students how to locate birth, marriage, and death records at the various governmental levels, what one can expect to find on them and how the new information can lead to other clues and records. The class will also include the 1752 change in the calendar.
Saturday, October 25, 2008, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at CGS
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the FHC

Part 4 – Censuses, Including the State Census
Richard Rees, CGS member and research consultant, will provide a short history of the U.S. census, explain how to use it and discuss ways to work around the common problems. As time permits, there will be an overview of state census records: what's available and how to access the records.
Saturday, November 1, 2008: 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at CGS
Tuesday, November 4, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the FHC

Download the CGS Family History Month brochure for the full offering of October classes, workshops and consultations.

Illustration: "The Family Tree" by local artist Lyn White, from the cover of the Oakland Regional Family History Center brochure.