Wordless Wednesday

Online Newspapers with Janice Sellers

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Photographs courtesy of Tim Cox, Oakland, California.

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

Two Member Coffees in June!

Saturday June 11, 2011, 9:30 a.m.
or

Thursday June 23, 2011, 11:00 a.m.

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

Attention, members!

Please choose a date and join us for a get-together at the library.

Who: Any member who would like to learn more about the library, see what the society has to offer, and compare notes with other members.

What: Tour the library, learn about what is going on at the society, meet other members, share research interests and get a little help with your research.

Membership Committee Chair Sandy Fryer and Volunteer Coordinator Jane Lindsey cooked up the coffee idea as a way to network and to learn more about how best to assist our members with their family history research. It is also a way for members to discover volunteer opportunities at the library.

The coffees last about an hour, but members are encouraged to stay and do some research.

Sandy plans to schedule member coffees twice a month so if you can't make a date in June, please watch the society calendar for future events.

The coffees are limited to fifteen members. Please RSVP online or by telephone at 510-663-1358.


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

East Bay Teens on a Familiar Journey

Today's San Francisco Chronicle carries a story on page A-1 under a heading I've never before seen on the front page: Genealogy. The article, "Emotional Peeks at Family History" has a different headline in its online version: Genealogy Search Expands East Bay Teens' Worlds.

Chronicle staff writer Jill Tucker reports on Family Journey – an ancestry program that has East Bay high school and community college students meeting weekly to learn about their roots. The program launched in February during Black History Month and will conclude with a special presentation on June 4, 2011.

The Family Journey Ancestry project is a collaborative effort by the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC), the Oakland Regional Family History Center (ORFHC) and staff from the office of Alameda County's District 5 Supervisor Keith Carson. The supervisor's April 27, 2011 newsletter carries this quote from Carson:

A few years ago I had the chance to look into my family history and it gave me a deeper appreciation for what my parents and grandparents went through in their journey out of the South. I wanted youth in Alameda County to have that same chance to connect with a deeper sense of who we are.

I was curious about Supervisor Carson's "look" at genealogy so I called his office and learned that he took part in the 2007 Black History Month program at the ORFHC with then-mayor Ron Dellums.

You can read more about Family Journey Ancestry at the AAGSNC blog. Nicka Smith has written an insightful piece on the program's challenges and rewards AAGSNC Teams Up With County Supervisor for Program. Her use of Michael Jackson's ancestry as an example for the kids is brilliant. 

Kudos to Supervisor Carson and to Nicka Smith and our colleagues at AAGSNC and the ORFHC for introducing a new generation to their ancestors.


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

Wordless Wednesday

Celtic Roots with Cath Madden Trindle

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Photographs courtesy of Kim Cotton, Oakland, California.

Copyright © 2011 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.