Wordless Wednesday

Field Trip to the Sutro Library

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Photographs by Kathryn M. Doyle, San Francisco, CA.

Copyright © 2013 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Members Gathered after a Week of Teaching and Learning at SLIG 2013

Thomas MacEntee, Lisa Gorrell, Cath Trindle, Linda Okazaki, Tim Cox, Eva Goodwin,
Virginia Kysh and Julia Redford at SLIG 2013. (Not shown: Diana Powell)

The California Genealogical Society was well-represented at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) this year. They took the time to pose for a group photo and to send me some of their observations.

Our "far-flung" member from Chicago, Thomas MacEntee, coordinated a new offering this year – Course 6 – A Genealogists' Guide to the Internet Galaxy. He described the course as a "boot camp for genealogists who feel overwhelmed by technology and also have a fear of falling behind in terms of their 'tech quotient.'"

Cath Madden Trindle, CG, was an instructor for Course 1 – American Research and Records: Focus on Localities, coordinated by Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FUGA, FMGS. Cath has recently retired so this was her last teaching "gig."

Lisa Gorrell attended Course 4 – Germany: Advanced Tools and Methods coordinated by F. Warren Bittner, CG.

I had a great time at my second SLIG, meeting lots of people who do German research. Our class had several certified genealogists which added to the knowledge. We learned about German history and how important it is to know the history of your area. I was able to spend a couple of afternoons at the Family History Library and found an 1807 marriage record for my husband's Wollenweber line in Kusel and went back another generation!

Tim Cox was enrolled in Course 9: Advanced Genealogical Methods coordinated by Thomas Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL.

Linda Okazaki and Diana Powell attended Course 5: Researching in Washington DC without Leaving Home, coordinated by Pamela Boyer Sayer, CG, CGL, and Richard Sayer, CG. This was Linda's first SLIG:

I was a little intimidated going in, but on Sunday night there was a get-together and I was chatting with a lovely woman only to discover she was my co-instructor! The rest of the week was a whirlwind of information. A high point for me was the reception and banquet on the last night. I spoke with Valerie Elkins who has been helping me with my Japanese research. She introduced me to Eric Stroschien, a professional genealogist with expertise in Japanese-American internment camp records. The timing couldn't have been better. I am eager to put into use all that I learned from the Sayres, then consult with Eric before heading to Washington, D.C. in February.

The Utah Genealogical Association's Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy offers a full week of instruction by national experts. Students receive at least twenty hours of in-depth instruction. The 2014 lineup of courses has been published. It's not too early to start planning for next year!


Copyright © 2013 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Talking Maritime Records at the San Francisco Special Interest Group

Sandra Britt-Huber sent this report from the Saturday, Jan 19, 2013, meeting of the San Francisco Special Interest Group. Thanks, Sandra!

We had a great meeting, with twenty-three members in attendance. Ted Miles, reference librarian at the San Francisco Maritime Library and husband of volunteer extraordinaire Arlene Miles) presented a talk about San Francisco maritime records and history, focusing on the Pacific Maritime 1840 - 1900.

Ted Miles and Lloyd's Register

Ted brought a volume of Lloyd's Register. Interest was high and Ted fielded lots of questions.

Lloyd's Register

Ron Filion and Pam Storm did a presentation about shipping and maritime records at SFgenealogy.com. They also updated SIG members on what's new on their site: Holy Cross and Calvary Cemetary records are digitalized and the removals from Calvary to Holy Cross.

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, as follows:

• Writing SIG
• Meets second Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. First meeting February 13, 2013.
• San Francisco SIG
• Meets third Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Next meeting February 16, 2013.
• RootsMagic SIG 
• Meets third Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Next meeting February 19, 2013.

Photographs courtesy of Judy Bodycote, 1/19/2013, Oakland, California.



Copyright © 2013 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Lavinia's Visit with the Chula Vista Genealogical Society

Lavinia Schwarz spent some time in San Diego this month and took the opportunity to visit with a local genealogical group. She attended Randy Seaver's regular second Wednesday meeting of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society.

It was terrific. Fifteen folks attended. I think their format would work well for some of our membership meetings at CGS.

Chula Vista Genealogical Society meeting of January 9, 2013.

Randy had internet access and his computer was hooked up to a projector. 

He started with a topic — this month a question: "What did you get for Christmas?" —and he went around the group for anyone who wanted to answer. Many passed. One brought a flip cam and did a quick demonstration; a few mentioned brilliant breakthroughs they'd had (one on Christmas Day after a phone call from a Rootsweb message board correspondent); and one who talked about finding his line back to Adam, which led to Randy's article My Purported Line Back to Adam and Eve – 140 Generations from Adam to Randy. This round robin took about forty minutes. 

Next, Randy presented in detail what he had recently put on his blog about a few essential websites and some mapping. It was brilliant. I have in depth notes on that to share. 

Last was another round robin. This time it was "Do you have a pesky problem? Let's ask the group for help." Among other things we found someone there who had not been able to find himself on the 1940 census. We failed at finding another one, but it was a terrific demonstration of wildcarding and trying various routes to circumvent poor indexing or spelling. 

All in all, it was just great. The meetings are free for Chula Vista Society Members. As we said our goodbyes, Randy good-naturedly told me that facilitating the two hour sessions can be "like herding cats."

You can read Randy’s meeting report CVGS Research Group Summary - 9 January 2013 Meeting at the Chula Vista group’s blog.

The Chula Vista Genealogical Society is a non-profit corporation founded in 1987 and affiliated with the library system of Chula Vista, California. The society draws members from the city of Chula Vista and the surrounding communities of southern San Diego County. They meet regularly at library facilities so all meetings and programs are open to the public. They encourage membership so as to gain access to the wealth of knowledge and experience of its members.


Copyright © 2013 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

San Francisco Bay Area Genealogy Calendar: February 2013 Published

February 2013 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 lists fifty-seven events at various venues around the Bay Area, sponsored by thirty societies, libraries and archives.

If you would like to add your group's events to the calendar, please email the information by the 15th of the month. (Please include "SFBA Calendar" in the subject line.)

Copyright © 2013 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.