“I’m Sorry, Those Records Were Lost” California Genealogical Society Publication Gives Researchers New Hope

The California Genealogical Society (CGS) is pleased to announce publication of Raking the Ashes: Genealogical Strategies for Pre-1906 San Francisco Research, second edition, a guide to circumventing the enormous record loss in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire.

This authoritative book by Nancy Simons Peterson, Research Director at CGS, is a must have for researching San Francisco ancestors, providing invaluable guidance on which records were lost in the 1906 earthquake and fire, which records survived, and where to find them.

Peterson alerts the reader to lesser-known sources, recently published references, and newly discovered documents. Sources are clearly identified and evaluated, while graphics, statistics, and historical background enrich the text. Not limited to San Francisco, Peterson's solutions for working around lost records and her emphasis on casting a much wider net than is customary will be especially welcomed by researchers wherever natural disasters have destroyed historical documents. First published in 2006, the second edition has been substantially updated and expanded.

ISBN 978-0-9785694-5-7
Format: Perfect-bound paperback, 242 pages
Dimensions (inches) 8.5 wide × 11.0 tall
Retail Price: $25.00
Publisher: California Genealogical Society

Additional information at: http://rakingtheashes.weebly.com.

About the author:
Nancy Simons Peterson is a certified genealogist and author of numerous articles. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford University.

About CGS:
The California Genealogical Society, founded in San Francisco in 1898, maintains a library, gathers and preserves vital records, and offers research services and online databases. CGS disseminates information through publications, meetings, seminars, workshops and its website, CaliforniaAncestors.org.

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

2011 Nominating Committee

In fulfillment of the California Genealogical Society Bylaws, Article VII, Section 1, President Stephen Harris has appointed the 2011 Nominating Committee. General members are Kim Cotton, Linda Okazaki and Pat Smith; director and past-president Jane Knowles Lindsey will act as the committee chair.

The committee is seeking nominees for three anticipated openings on the board of directors. They welcome suggestions of candidates or volunteers to serve. Nominees must be members of the California Genealogical Society. Please e-mail Jane Lindsey with your suggestions.

The full requirements as stated in the society bylaws, page 3, are as follows:

ARTICLE VII: NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

Section 1. The Nominating Committee shall consist of at least three (3) members to be named not less that ninety (90) days prior to the Annual Business Meeting. The President shall appoint the Nominating Committee. The chairperson of the committee shall be from the Board of Directors and additional committee members from the general membership.

Section 2. The Nominating Committee shall submit its report to the Board of Directors and the Board shall give timely notice of nominations to the general membership prior to the Annual Business Meeting.

Section 3. Following the Nominating Committee’s report to the membership at the Annual Business Meeting, the floor shall be open to additional nominations, provided nominees have given consent to serve if elected.

Section 4. Nominees shall be members in good standing in the Society.

Section 5. Members in good standing who are present at the Annual Business Meeting shall elect the Directors. A plurality vote shall elect.

Section 6. If there is only one candidate for an opening, the ballot may be dispensed with by general consent and the election held by voice vote.

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

Do You Descend from a California Suffragette?

October 10, 2011 is the 100th anniversary of California women's right to vote and women all over the state are planning parades and other events to commemorate the centennial.

October 10, 1911 was election day when the men of California voted to allow what only five other states had done. Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Washington were the first five states to grand suffrage. By 1914, seven more states followed and a national campaign towards a federal suffrage amendment began in earnest. By the time of the 1916 presidential election the party platforms of both Democrats and Republicans had endorsed suffrage reform. Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment in 1919. It was ratified by three-fourths of the states the following year and became law.

One of the iconic images of the California campaign was taken on August 27, 1908 in Oakland. Three women – Lillian Harris Coffin, Mrs. Theodore Pinther, Jr. and Mrs. Theodore Pinther, Sr. – led a parade of 300 suffragists to the Republican state convention.

Lillian Harris Coffin, Mrs. Theodore Pinther, Jr. and Mrs. Theodore Pinther, Sr.

CGS member Carol Norberg brought the photograph to my attention. Carol is helping to plan a Centennial parade and she thinks it would be wonderful to find descendents of the Oakland marchers to take part in the celebration. She would like to honor the early California suffragists by reaching out to their descendants, including those who may not even know what their ancestors did.

In her research in Oakland newspapers, Carol has secured the names of thirty women who were mentioned there, but being new to genealogy, she has not been able to make much progress. She would especially like to locate descendants of Lillian Harris Coffin and the Mrs. Theodore Pinthers.

I had time to do just a little sleuthing and was able to find records for the Pinthers in San Francisco. While there was more than one Lillian Cofflin living in the Bay Area, records for a Lillian Harris Coffin point to her being the wife of Horace Coffin of Marin County.

If you descend from a California suffragette, have time to do some research or have other information to share, please email Carol Norberg.


Sources:
1. Silver, Mae and Cazaly, Sue, The Sixth Star: Images and Memorabilia of California Women's Political History 1868-1915, Ord Street Press, San Francisco, 2000, http://lwvc.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/sixthstar00silv.pdf : accessed 17 July 2011.

2. Rodes, Donald Waller, "The California Woman Suffrage Campaign of 1911: A Thesis Presented to the Graduate Faculty of California State University, Hayward, In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in History,"  1974, http://lwvc.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/casuffrage.pdf : accessed 17 July 2011.


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

I've Tested My DNA, Now What?

Saturday August 27, 2011
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

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

Join Katherine Borges for answers to these questions, and more!

• I have my results, what are the next steps I should take?
• How do I understand the results?
• What projects should I join?

This class is limited to forty participants and is a free benefit of membership. Non-members fee is $20.00 (non-refundable) and can be applied toward membership only on the day of the class.

Preregistration is required. Registration confirmations will be sent to the first forty participants who register. Additional names will be collected and placed on a waiting list in case of cancellations. Walk-ins will not be admitted.

Register online.

Katherine Hope Borges is co-founder and director of The International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG), which promotes and educates about genetic genealogy. ISOGG has grown to over 8,000 members in sixty-six countries. Through ISOGG, Katherine has increased professional standards in the practice, research, and discussion of relevant issues in DNA testing, interpretation, and ethics. She organized a speakers bureau and has given many presentations on genetic genealogy to groups across the United States and in the United Kingdom. She administers several surname, regional, and haplogroup DNA projects, including one on the study of null alleles.



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

Greek Like Me by Cathy Paris

When Cathy Paris brought her new book Greek Like Me into the library everyone gathered around to marvel at her creativity. Cathy wrote the book so her children and grandchildren could learn about their Greek heritage and their roots in the Greek village of Koroni.

One of Cathy's acknowledgments is to her father-in-law for "enduring my relentless questions about his life in Koróni." From his recollections as a young boy, Cathy tells the story of his grandparents, Pavlos Psaropoulas and Irini. She describes how the events of history impacted the lives of the citizens of Koroni, especially the family of Pavlos and Irini.

Greek Like Me is a seventy-nine page illustrated children's book with an overview of Greek history from ancient times until the 1930s.

The book is filled with colorful images in which Cathy has magically added photographs of her grandchildren. I can only imagine their delight in seeing themselves inserted into the pages of their family history.

Greek Like Me was published on Lulu.com. She has also published a private version of the book for family only.


Photograph by Kathryn M. Doyle, 5/3/2011, Oakland, California.

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