Encore Presentation! Platting and Locating Lands from Metes and Bounds Deeds

Saturday, May 25, 2013

1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

California Genealogical Society Library

2201 Broadway, Suite LL2

Oakland, California 94612

Using deeds and other land records to assist with researching family history can help us gain a better understanding of the family, the land, and the community. Unfortunately, land records are often overlooked by beginners and by more experienced researchers.

Pam Miller is back with an encore of this popular workshop. Pam knows how the art of surveying land has changed over time and she can help you navigate this rich record set. She will simplify the "metes and bounds" terminology seen in early deeds.

This hands-on workshop will help you:

• understand the terminology of metes and bounds deeds
• extract the critical information for platting and locating
• create a hand-drawn plat of actual properties
• use some of the online land platting tools
• locate old properties on current maps

Supplies:

Please bring a calculator and pencils with erasers. Pam will furnish graph paper, rulers, and protractors. Laptops are strongly encouraged, but not required.

If you have an old deed, please bring it for the hands-on exercise.

Register online.

The class is limited to twelve 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 twelve registrants. Additional names will be collected and placed on a waiting list in case of cancellations.

Pam Miller, a native of Dallas, Texas, attended Stanford University where she earned a B.A. in Linguistics and an M.A. in Spanish. She was employed as an educator in the Bay Area for twenty-eight years, teaching Spanish and computer science. Pam grew up "walking the family lands" with her parents, inheriting her family's love of maps and developing a severe case of what she calls "Tara Syndrome." She has been a member of CGS since 2005.


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

Wordless Wednesday

Research Committee

California Genealogical Society and Library

Photograph by Kathryn Doyle, Oakland, California, 8/14/2013.


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

eNews April 2013, volume 7, number 4

The April 2013 eNews, volume 7, number 5, 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.

As we commemorate the 107th anniversary of the 1906 Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire on April 18, 2013, we pay tribute to member Jean White's parents: Grace Alice Penaluna and Clinton Hollis Stanbridge.

Grace Alice Penaluna, Clinton Hollis Stanbridge, and Mary Hitchcock among the ruins in April 1906,

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

The June 2013 issue will be emailed on May 31, 2013. To receive a copy, please join our mailing list.

Photograph courtesy of Jean L. White.


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

Appreciating Our Volunteers

This year National Volunteer Week will be celebrated April 21-27, 2013. We think one week just isn't enough time to honor the volunteers at the California Genealogical Society and Library so we will be celebrating throughout the month of April.

2013 Board of Directors: Lisa Gorrell and Laura Lee Karp [holding sign]; Tom Gesner, Nicka Smith, Kim Cotton, Shannon Reese, Karen Lemelin, Henry Snyder, Jim Sorenson, Steve Harris, President Jeff Vaillant. Not shown: Diana Edwards and Ellen Fernandez-Sacco.

Here's a message from our president:

Every facet of our society depends on our member volunteers – they run the library, maintain our computers, and process mail, book sales, research requests and membership renewals. Volunteers also work from home: writing, editing, proofing and formatting our many publications; coordinating member programs and events; managing our Web presence, and so much more. 

Our volunteers come from many walks of life and their experience brings an added dimension to our society. Members with financial know-how keep our books and safeguard our investments. Librarians maintain the highest professional standards in our facility and online catalog. And everyday volunteers stretch to learn new skills to expand our reach using social media, video, electronic publishing, and other online registration, sales, and communication tools. 

Volunteers are working across committees to find new ways to raise funds to keep our library open. 

We will be honoring our volunteers throughout the year. If there is someone special you would like to recognize, please let me know. 

Thank you for all you do, 

Jeffrey Vaillant 

President, 2013

Here at the blog we will be running a monthly "Committee Spotlight" article to tell you more about the work our volunteers do and to mention them specifically by name. Look for an article about our Events Committee next week.

And please be sure to come to the membership meeting on Saturday, April 13, 2013, and celebrate the spirit of volunteerism within our society. We will be honoring our longest serving volunteers. 


Photograph courtesy of Arthur Karp.

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

Steve Morse's One-Step Webpages - Saturday, August 17, 2013

Please note:
Due to a scheduling conflict with a special Oakland event, parking will not be available on May 11, 2013. Dr. Morse will present his lecture on:

Saturday August 17, 2013
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

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

Genealogists who work smart use Steve Morse's One-Step Website. The site started as aid for finding passengers in the Ellis Island database. Shortly afterward it was expanded to help with searching the 1930 census. Over the years it has continued to evolve and today includes about 200 web-based tools divided into sixteen separate categories ranging from genealogical searches to astronomical calculations to last-minute bidding on eBay.

The California Genealogical Society is pleased to welcome Dr. Morse back for an update. The first half of the presentation will describe the range of One-Step tools available and will give highlights of each one. The second half of the lecture will cover several lesser-known but extremely useful One-Step tools.

Register online.

This 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 class.

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. 

Stephen Morse is the creator of the One-Step Website for which he has received both the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Outstanding Contribution Award from the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, Award of Merit from the National Genealogical Society, first-ever Excellence Award from the Association of Professional Genealogists, and two awards that he cannot pronounce from Polish genealogical societies.

In his other life Morse is a computer professional with a doctorate degree in electrical engineering. He has held various research, development, and teaching positions, authored numerous technical papers, written four textbooks, and holds four patents. He is best known as the architect of the Intel 8086 (the granddaddy of today's Pentium processor), which sparked the PC revolution thirty years ago.


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