Coming in February: A New Special Interest Group – Genealogy Writing

The California Genealogical Society sponsors Special Interest Groups (SIGs) for members to pursue the study of a particular geographical research area or genealogy discipline. These groups are a benefit of society membership. SIGs meet on specific days every month. A new writer's group will be starting in February. SIG meeting days and times are as follows:

RootsMagic SIG Meets third Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Next meeting January 15, 2013. San Francisco SIG Meets third Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.  Next meeting January 19, 2013. Writing SIG Will meet second Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. First meeting February 13, 2013.

The new Genealogy Writing Special Interest Group will provide a venue for members to share their experiences with writing their family history. Each meeting will be facilitated by a member of the group. Discussions will include topics common to family history writing: managing organization, developing content, adding context, and addressing common grammatical questions. There may be guest speakers invited to speak to the group. The Writing SIG will be coordinated by Tim Cox, Lisa Gorrell, and Jane Hufft.

The first meeting will be open to the public. Everyone is invited to attend the inaugural session on Wednesday, February 13, 2013, from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. in the library classroom.


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

eNews December 2012, volume 6, number 12

The December 2012 eNews, volume 6, 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 we honor Joseph Dory, Jr. (1786-1864) and his wife, Charlotte Hellenbolt (1801-1887), ancestors of California Genealogical Society member Lynne A. Dory.

Joseph Dory, Jr. and Charlotte Hellenbolt

Past issues of the eNews are available at the eNews archive.

The January 2013 issue will be emailed on December 30, 2012. To receive a copy, please join our mailing list.

Photograph courtesy of Lynne A. Dory.


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

First Saturday Intro Classes – 2013 Schedule

February 2012 First Saturday Free class 

The California Genealogical Society offers a free introductory class on the first Saturday of every month, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the library at 2201 Broadway, Suite LL2, Oakland, California, in the historic Breuner Building.

The class – Genealogy: An Introduction – is part of our monthly First Saturdays Free event when we welcome non-members and the general public. We open the library and share our resources with anyone interested in learning more about their family history. The library is a benefit of membership and is available to non-members for a $5.00 day fee during the rest of the month.

Volunteers take turns teaching the class which focuses on basic research methods and terminology. The class covers common (and uncommon) family history records and the resources available, both online and in libraries, repositories, and archives. The two-hour session also includes a tour of the library and an overview of our extensive holdings.

And don't think you have to be a beginner to benefit from the class! Our instructors do a great job of tailoring each session to the experience and needs of the participants so everyone comes away with new knowledge.

The 2013 schedule, with instructors, is as follows:

January 5, 2013 – Lisa Gorrell
February 2, 2013 – Kim Cotton
March 2, 2013 – Dick Rees
April 6, 2013 – Muriel Sonne
May 4, 2013 – Pam Miller
Jun. 1, 2013 – Lavinia Schwarz
Jul. 6,  2013– Muriel Sonne
Aug. 3, 2013 – Lisa Gorrell
Sep. 7, 2013 – Kim Cotton
Oct. 5, 2013 – Pam Miller
Nov. 2 – Dick Rees
Dec. 7 – Lavinia Schwarz

Register online for the January 5, 2013 class.

Photograph courtesy of Linda Okazaki, 2/4/2012, Oakland, California.

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

A Trifecta of Honors from Family Tree Magazine

For the third year in a row, the California Genealogical Society website, CaliforniaAncestors.org, has been honored by Family Tree Magazine.

"A Fine State" by Contributing Editor Rick Crume (pages 20-27) is the cover article in the December issue which lists the magazine's 2012 picks for the seventy-five best U.S. state-focused websites for genealogical research.

In selecting this year's best state websites, we looked especially for databases (at least one per state) where you can search for your ancestors' names.

We're very proud of our California Names Index, a surname-based index to more than 350,000 records in these databases:

• San Francisco voters registered 1890
• San Francisco IOOF Crematory and Cemetery records
• Biographies of individuals prominent in early 20th century California
• Records from the First and Third Congregational Churches of San Francisco
• Deaths in San Francisco 1865-1873, 1882-1889, 1894-1896, and 1901-1904
• Probate Records: Registers of Actions 1906-1942

Thank you, Family Tree Magazine, we're honored to be one of three Golden State selections!

Also chosen, for the second time, is the California Digital Newspaper Collection, founded by our director and Library Committee Chair, Dr. Henry Snyder.

This site puts more than 5 million articles in California Newspapers (1846–2011) at your fingertips.

This year the magazine added a third California website, SFgenealogy.com, founded by our members Ron and Pam Filion.

In addition to extensive resources for the Bay area, this site has statewide indexes to birth (1905–1995) and deaths (1940–1997).

Congratulations to Henry, Pam, and Ron, and a special "thank you" to Kathy Watson and Larry Youngman and the Website Committee for their continuing work for the society.

You can read the online version of the article at the magazine's website: Top 75 State Websites of 2012.

Family Tree Magazine is America's largest-circulation genealogy magazine, helping readers discover, preserve and celebrate their family history. In addition to their bimonthly print magazine, they publish how-to genealogy CDs, books, free monthly podcasts and weekly e-mail newsletters and the Genealogy Insider blog.


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

Bad Indians: a Tribal Memoir – Book Event with Deborah Miranda

Saturday, January 26, 2013
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

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

The California Genealogical Society is pleased to welcome author Deborah A. Miranda who will read from her new book, Bad Indians: a Tribal Memoir.

The book integrates California Mission Indian tribal history, family and oral histories and also features a genealogy based on her mother's work that traces her Ohlone/Costanoan-Essalen ancestors A powerful account of loss and survival, Miranda reassembles the shards of her people's past in this groundbreaking book.

Seating is limited. Please arrive early.

Bad Indians: a Tribal Memoir

2013 by Deborah A. Miranda

Paperback, 6 x 9, 240 pagesISBN: 978-1-59714-201-4
$18.95

Deborah A. Miranda is an enrolled member of the Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation of California, and is also of Chumash and Jewish ancestry. The author of two poetry collections – Indian Cartography, which won the Diane Decorah Award for First Book from the Native Writer's Circle of the Americas, and The Zen of La Llorona, nominated for the Lambda Literary Award – she also has a collection of essays, The Hidden Stories of Isabel Meadows and Other California Indian Lacunae, forthcoming from the University of Nebraska Press. Miranda is an associate professor of English at Washington and Lee University and says reading lists for her students include as many books by 'bad Indians' as possible.

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