Wordless Wednesday

Daughters of the American Revolution
Berkeley Hills-Oakland Chapter

Meeting at the CGS Library

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Photographs by Kathryn Doyle, 12/6/2008.

Towers of Gold

Last Saturday night I attended a book reading by Frances Dinkelspiel at A Great Good Place for Books in Montclair. Frances is the author of Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California. The challenge was to try and distill 335 pages and an eight year process into a fifteen minute talk. It can't be done but Frances shared enough about her great-great-grandfather that it left her audience wanting to know more. The story behind the title is priceless and begs the question, "Is there a modern-day Isaias Hellman who can solve today's financial crisis?"

Frances and I actually "met" a few months ago because of the CGSL blog. I was looking through Sitemeter or MyBlogLog stats and noticed that a reader had come from a blog called Ghost Word. That reader was Frances and Ghost Word is her blog about books and reading. I learned that she was a local (Berkeley) author about to publish her first book.

Frances has been getting rave reviews for Towers of Gold. I've been following her progress as she climbs the Amazon.com sales rank. And I'm happy to report that CGS Events Chair Carolyn Steinberg is scheduling Frances to come and speak at CGS in 2009. It's fitting because a bit of her research was done at our library – a small bit when compared to the time she spent at the California Historical Society reviewing over forty cartons of her gg-grandfather's papers.

Susan Kitchens of the Family Oral History Using Digital Tools blog wrote a fantastic review – Towers of Gold: History of the Man Indistinguishable From the History of California. She admonishes everyone to "Just Read It."

The book has much to offer. If you’re interested in the history of California and the West, or history of Jews in America, or the history of railroads, banking or how large economies are built, or if you wish to contrast the dynamics of today’s economic gloom with yesteryear’s boom, you will find Towers of Gold to be an eminently worthwhile read. Additionally, if you’re a personal or family historian, this is a valuable reference for those whose ancestors crossed paths with Isaias Hellman. Finally, Towers of Gold is a triumphant example of the best possible outcome from a visit to your local historical society.

I'll amend this post as soon as I know the specific date that Ms. Dinkelspiel will speak at CGS.
Update: CGS is pleased to have Frances as our March Membership Meeting speaker on Saturday, March 14, 2009.

Intermediate Classes in Genealogy

GENEALOGY: INTERMEDIATE SERIES coming in January!

The class schedule has been finalized for the Intermediate Course in Genealogy following the success of the recent beginners' classes held during Family History Month. A total of fifty students took advantage of the classes offered jointly by the California Genealogical Society and the Oakland Regional Family History Center.

The Intermediate Course will consist of eight sessions – each class offered twice – on Saturday at the CGS Library and on the following Tuesday at the Family History Center. All classes are from 10:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. The same instructors and handouts will be at both sessions and students can attend classes at either (or both) facilities.

Classes begin on Saturday, January 17, 2009 at the CGS Library with Military Records taught by genealogy instructor and military records specialist Susan Goss Johnston.

The full schedule includes the following topics:
January 17 & 20: Military Records
January 24 & 27: Probate and Guardianship Records
January 31 & February 3: Land and Property Maps, and Gazetteer
February 7 & 10: Church and Cemetery Records
February 14 & 17: No classes
February 21 & 24: Newspaper Research
February 28 & March 3: Reading and Transcribing the Handwriting of Colonial America
March 7 & 10 - No classes
March 14 & 17: Immigration, Passenger Lists, Naturalizations and Passports
March 21 & 24: Other People Finders, Continuing Education and Giving Back

Parking is free in the lot behind the Breuner Building at 2201 Broadway on Saturdays and there is adequate parking at the FHC on Tuesdays. Preregistration is necessary to insure adequate handouts. The course fee is $15 to cover the cost of materials. Individual sessions cost $2 each. Register by telephone 510-531-3905 or E-mail.

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

Wordless Wednesday

San Jose State University
Society of American Archivists Student Chapter (SAASC)
Group Visit to CGSL
Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Photographs by Arlene Miles and Kathryn Doyle, Oakland, California.

Gaye Lenahan's Report on the Got-Genealogy Academy

CGS member and Desk Duty volunteer Gaye Lenahan was the lucky winner of a full-tuition scholarship to the Got Genealogy Academy held November 14 - 15, 2008. Lisa B. Lee donated the prize which was awarded at the volunteer reception Thanksgiving at CGS! in November. Gaye sent this report.

The year is 1883. Did you know that was the year The Ladies Home Journal began publication? And the year that Mussolini was born? The Web has many sites with historical timelines to help you add context and interest to your family histories. This is just one small example of the tricks and treats I picked up at the inaugural session of Lisa Lee' s online genealogy boot camp.

The class began early Friday morning with Search Engines (ever hear of Dogpile or Cuil?) and Search Techniques – soundex versus wild card, for instance. The eight students in attendance were provided a laptop computer, information binder and personal attention. For the computer-challenged (yours truly), there was much to learn. Did you know that Rootsweb has a soundex converter? Very handy!

What a rich world of information Lisa introduced to us! Example: Google Books, where I not only found great references but also mileage to the closest library where the books are located. That's only the beginning of the richness of this site.

Saturday was devoted to exploring Ancestry. Many of you may be aware that there is more to this site than census data. I was ignorant. I can hardly wait to follow through at a CGS computer. For a student seeking military records, vital records, passenger lists, etc., this class pointed the way. We all found new information about our families that we hadn't known before. Lisa put the bits and pieces on a CD for us to take home to our own computers.

Lisa Lee is an experienced teacher who uses her humor and energy to keep the class alert and motivated. If you think you know all about online census sources, I respectfully suggest you probably don't! Lisa's Got Genealogy? is offering a class in Sacramento in April for those who would like to become census-savvy.

Thanks to CGS for giving me the opportunity to improve my online genealogical skills.