Honored to Be Nominated by Family Tree Magazine

The California Genealogical Society and Library blog is honored to be included in the Local/ Regional category of Family Tree Magazine's 40 Best Genealogy Blogs nominees. The magazine will name the Family Tree 40 in the July 2011 issue and they are asking for your help!

The nominated blogs are divided into eight categories:

• Everything
• Cemetery
• Technology
• Heritage
• Research Advice/ How To
• Local/ Regional
• New 
• My Family History

Voting is open until 11:59 p.m. Monday, Dec. 20, 2010. Choose five blogs in each category.


Among the nominees are several other CGS member blogs:

Elyse's Genealogy Blog by Elyse Doerflinger

Little Bytes of Life by Elizabeth O'Neal

The Educated Genealogist by Sheri Fenley

The Internet Genealogist by Leah Allen

We Tree by Amy Cofin


One of the five genealogy blogger panelists who lent their expertise in formulating the blog categories and qualifications (and whose blogs have been excluded from consideration) is "far-flung" (as he calls himself) member Thomas MacEntee, author of Destination: Austin Family and GeneaBloggers. The other Family Tree 40 panelists are Lisa Louise Cooke, DearMYRTLE and Randy Seaver.

Now, please go vote for your favorite blogs!


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

Workshop: Getting Started in German Genealogy with Shirley Riemer

Saturday, January 29, 2011
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

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

Join Shirley Riemer for this informative workshop to get you started with your German research!

This session will focus on the first steps the German family historian must take to gain an understanding of the cultural, historical and genealogical facts essential to German ancestral research. The basics of the Second German Empire as they are relative to German research will be laid out so as to create an understanding of  the basic organization of German and German-American records. A brief overview of German church and civil records, some peculiarities of such records, and several other basic research tools will be discussed.

The workshop is FREE for CGS members but is limited to twenty people. Non-members fee is $20.00 (non-refundable) and can be applied towards membership on the day of the workshop. Preregistration is required. Walk-ins will not be admitted.

Register online.

A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Shirley Riemer earned her Masters Degree in English from Carnegie-Mellon University. She taught high school English for ten years, then worked in communications for 22 years in Pennsylvania. Following her retirement, her book, The German Research Companion, was published in 1997, followed by a second edition in 2000, now sold out. For the third edition, which appeared in April 2010, she added two additional authors for their expertise: Dr. Roger P. Minert and Jennifer A. Anderson.  In 2001 she co-authored with Dr. Roger P. Minert the book Researching in Germany: A Handbook for Your Visit to the Homeland of Your Ancestors.

For the last 18 years, she has published Der Blumenbaum, the award-winning quarterly journal of the Sacramento German Genealogy Society. For the last nine years she has also published the quarterly newsletter, Mitteilungen, for the Sacramento Turn Verein German-American Cultural Center – Library.

In response to her never-ending awe of the history and culture of our ancestors, Shirley will make her 42nd visit to Germany later in 2011. As the editor of German-interest publications, she has worked extensively with German family history researchers known nationally for their expertise in the field, in order to disseminate information helpful to descendants of German immigrants who are actively pursuing their German family history.


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

Three Ways to Give Back

Carly Perez-Banuet, Operations Manager of Cushman & Wakefield of California, Inc., the management company of 2201 Broadway, sent this announcement about the annual Breuner Building holiday drives:

This holiday season we are supporting three wonderful ways to give back in our community.

The cold weather is here! Please consider donating a warm winter coat to our coat drive. Coats and jackets should be clean and gently used. The goal of One Warm Coat is to provide any person in need with a warm coat, free of charge. Carly has a collection box in her office, or feel free to leave them with security. Coats will be collected until February 1, 2011.

 

The Alameda County food donation barrel is in the main lobby. Last year the Breuner Building  collected about 350 lbs. –  about 270 meals for local folks. Let’s top last year!

This is a list of most needed non-perishable foods:

• Canned Fruit & Vegetables
• Canned Meats and Fish
• Peanut Butter
• Pasta
• Beans
• Rice
• Canned Soup
• Dry Cereal and Oatmeal
• Tomato Sauce
• Powdered Milk

The food bin will be located in the main lobby through the first week of January.

Our neighbors at the Insight Center for Community Economic Development, Suite 815, are hosting a Toasty Toes sock drive to benefit a woman's shelter – A Friendly Manor. Please deliver new adult and youth sock donations directly to Suite 815; they have a box in their front lobby and will collect socks up until December 17, 2011.


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

Wordless Wednesday

Jane Lindsey and Laura Lee Karp

Photograph by Kathryn Doyle, Oakland, California, 3/16/2010.

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

eNews December 2010, volume 4, number 12

The December 2010 issue of the eNews, volume 4, number 12,  has been published and emailed to members and friends. As always, the eNews features timely information about the California Genealogical Society and our upcoming events. Each edition also includes Suggested Links From the Blogosphere and a photo feature: California Ancestors.

This month's photo, submitted by member Maureen Hanlon, is of her grandfather, Daniel Martin Hanlon (1868 - 1938), the fifth of six children born to Daniel HANLON and Emilie FRANCK in San Francisco.

Learn more about Daniel and exactly what he thought about this photograph of himself!


Past issues of the eNews are available at the eNewsARCHIVE.

The January 2011 issue will be emailed on December 31, 2010. To receive a copy, please join our mailing list.


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