San Francisco History Expo – March 3 and 4, 2012 at the Old Mint

The Second Annual San Francisco History Expo will take place at the Old Mint, 88 Fifth Street at Mission, on Saturday and Sunday, March 3 and 4, 2012. The Expo will run from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day, and admission is free (donations are welcome).


This year the California Genealogical Society will have a presence thanks to the generosity of  SFgenealogy.org and the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogy Society who are sharing their space. 

Dozens of neighborhood-based and other historical associations representing the diversity of San Francisco will present mini-museums displaying artifacts and sharing information about their organizations.

In addition, there will be an exhibit entitled “Elegant Pit Stops,” images of historic garages from around the city. Artist Alan Zimmerman will display his large-scale oil-on-wood paintings of Gold Rush San Francisco.

Historic figures will mingle with the crowd and there will be historic films presented on the vault level and several special presentations during the weekend.

You can find the latest information on the Expo at SFHistoryExpo.org.


Copyright © 2012 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Three Directors at SLIG 2012

Three happy California Genealogical Society board members just finished a week of intensive learning at the 2012 Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, sponsored by the Utah Genealogical Association. President Jeff Vaillant and Recording Secretary Lisa Gorrell were here with me although we rarely saw each other since we were taking different courses.

Kathryn Doyle, Jeff Vaillant and Lisa Gorrell at SLIG 2012.

We were able to sit together at last night's banquet and compare notes about our courses, instructors, and what we learned. Bottom line: we all need to catch up on sleep but we had a fantastic time and learned so much.

Read Jeff's reports on previous SLIG years at Jeff Valliant's Reports.

Thanks to Kim von Aspern-Parker for acting as our photographer.

Copyright © 2012 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

San Francisco Bay Area Genealogy Calendar: February 2012 Published

February 2012 events have been published on the San Francisco Bay Area Genealogy Calendar – a collection of local genealogical society classes, workshops and meetings within a 75 mile radius of San Francisco.

The February calendar has more than fifty classes and events at various venues around the Bay Area, sponsored by twenty different societies and genealogy libraries.

If you would like to add your group's events to the calendar, please email the information by the 15th of each month for publication on or before the 25th. (Please put "SFBA Calendar" in the subject line.)


Copyright © 2012 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.

What You Missed: 2012 Annual Meeting

The Annual Business Meeting of the California Genealogical Society was held on Saturday, January 21, 2012, at 1:00 p.m., at the library. President Stephen Harris welcomed members and introduced the board of directors. He announced the book sale in the Media Room and thanked the library committee members who organized it: Barbara Hill, Arlene Miles, Diana Wild and Henry Snyder.

Recording Secretary Lisa Gorrell read the minutes from the 2011 meeting which were approved. Treasurer Laura Lee Karp gave reports on the reading of the society’s books and on the financial health of the society before presenting the 2012 budget which was approved.

Nominating Committee representative Linda Okazaki presented the slate of nominees for seats on the board of directors. Kim Cotton, Ellen Fernandez-Sacco, Pat Gallagher, Karen Lemelin, and Nicka Smith were elected by acclamation. Strategic Planning Committee chair Tom Gesner summarized the proposed changes to the bylaws which were emailed to members in December. The motion to accept the bylaws changes was approved.

Committee reports were delivered by Diana Wild (Library), Publications/Marketing (Shannon Reese), Sandy Fryer (Membership), Lavinia Schwarz (Research), Kathy Watson (Technology), Tim Cox (Events), Jeffrey Vaillant (Facilities), Tom Gesner (Strategic Planning) and Chris Pattillo (Investment).

Diana Wild presented Steve with a card and cymbidium orchid in appreciation of his service as society president.

The business meeting was adjourned at 2:15 p.m. The board of directors met briefly to elect officers for 2012. The new officers are:

President: Jeffrey Vaillant
Vice-president: Diana Wild
Treasurer: Laura Lee Karp
Recording secretary: Lisa Gorrell
Corresponding secretary: Karen Tracy Lemelin

2012 Board of Directors

Photographs courtesy of Shannon Reese and Tom Gesner, 1/21/2012, Oakland, California.


Copyright © 2012 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Using Online Historical Black Newspapers for Genealogical Research

Saturday, February 25, 2012
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

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

Many historical black and abolitionist newspapers are available online, with more being added. Most are on subscription sites, and some are free. This class will give an overview of the role of black newspapers, tell what is online and where to find it. Instructor Janice Sellers will suggest access strategies and show sample search results.

Register online.

The class is limited to thirty participants and is a free benefit of membership. 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. Registration confirmations will be sent to the first thirty registrants. Additional names will be collected and placed on a waiting list in case of cancellations.

Janice M. Sellers is a professional genealogist specializing in newspaper and Jewish research. She is the editor of two genealogy journals and is publicity director for the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society. Janice is a member of Association of Professional Genealogists, Genealogical Speakers Guild, California Genealogical Society, California State Genealogical Alliance, and Gesher Galicia. She has been on the staff of the Oakland California Family History Center for eleven years.


Copyright © 2012 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library