California Genealogical Society blog

02 January 2014

eNews January 2014, volume 8, number 1

Posted by Kathryn Doyle

The January 2014 eNews, volume 8, number 1, has been published and emailed to members and friends.

The new year brings a new editor to the eNews. Marcelle White has been involved in the nonprofit world for more than twenty years and has extensive experience writing and editing newsletters. She has been a member of the California Genealogical Society since 2009 and has been serving as a volunteer on the Library Committee. Welcome, Marcelle!

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 Jim Sorenson's great-great-great-grand uncle, Henry Clark Wright. By researching his ancestor's brother Jim found the information needed to break through a genealogical brick wall and and bring insight into his ancestors' lives in upstate New York.

Henry Clark Wright, 1797-1870

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

A mid-month issue of the eNews will be emailed on January 15, 2014. To receive a copy, please join our mailing list.

California ancestor photograph courtesy of Jim Sorenson.

31 December 2013

33rd Annual Ancestor Roundup - January 25, 2014

Posted by Kathryn Doyle

Kitty Nevin, CGS member and Volunteer Chair of Ancestor Roundup 2014 sent this announcement:

The 33rd Annual Ancestor Roundup Genealogical Seminar will be held Saturday, January 25, 2014, 8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., at the LDS Church, 1024 Noche Buena at Plumas Avenue, Seaside California.

Ralph F. Severson, Director of the Oakland FamilySearch Library, will give the keynote address and will teach three classes: "Using 'FamilySearch' and 'Family Tree' Optimally," "Why Mormons do Genealogy," and "Azores/Portugal Research."

Choose from over 30 classes designed to help you research your family tree!

Download the information flier.

Download the 2014 class schedule and registration form..

Early registration ends January 15, 2014. The event is sponsored by the Commodore Sloat Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, Monterey, California.

For more information email Serita Sue Woodburn.

The National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution granted a charter to the Pacific Grove Chapter on September 29, 1922. In 1934, the chapter name was changed to Commodore Sloat Chapter to commemorate the historical significance of Commodore John Drake Sloat in California history. In 2011, to reflect the historical importance of Commodore Sloat's landing in Monterey, the chapter location was changed to Monterey, California.

The California Nugget - Fall 2013, Volume V, Issue 2

Posted by Kathryn Doyle

The Fall 2013 edition of The California Nugget, edited by Jane Hufft and produced by Lois Elling, has been mailed to members. Here is Jane letter from the editor:

Dear Readers,

For most genealogists, it is all about the chase: to find the maiden name, the death date, the elusive spouse. Were there five children or six? What made them leave there to come here? It is a whole tapestry that we family historians want to weave, and it takes patience to bring all the strands together, perseverance to untangle the knots and determination to tug out the threads that don’t match. We hope that the articles in this issue will inspire you to keep on with your own researching and writing, not only to preserve your family’s story, but to share your discoveries with others.

Bill O’Neil’s World War I ancestor gave his life for his country, and the small town Richard Howard Ferrell came from will never forget his sacrifice. We are inviting more WWI ancestor stories for our next two issues, Spring and Fall 2014, to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of this calamitous upheaval that tragically altered forever the lives of so many families around the world. Bill’s article is in our “ Twenty-First Century” section to acknowledge that online resources and newspapers are major avenues for WWI research.

Henry Snyder’s ancestor, the brilliant and restless lawyer and newspaperman William Wal- lace Theobalds, traveled up and down the West Coast with his family in the nineteenth century. Were the early western states, so open and full of opportunities, a magnet for the talented and the restless? Because of the new, and magnificent, newspaper archives that are now online, the kind of detailed, careful and thorough research that Henry Snyder carried out is something more of us can aspire to. The powerful technology of OCR (optical character recognition) continues to improve, opening new avenues of information.

Georgia Lupinsky’s beautiful story of her grandfather’s life captures a bygone era and paints a portrait of a courageous, loving and kindly man. It is a perfect example of how a memoir can become part of a genealogist’s work.

Laura Lee Karp didn’t give up the search! Her story will rekindle your energy to keep on looking for that missing gravesite and lost ancestor. Although Find-a-Grave is marvelous, not all cemeteries and gravesites are yet included in its huge database, and sometimes we have to rely on tenacity and—gravestone karma.

Jane Hufft, Editor

TABLE of CONTENTS

Twenty-First Century Genealogy

Richard Howard Ferrell, World War I Soldier in France by Bill O’Neil

California Ancestors

William Wallace Theobalds: Itinerant Lawyer, Newspaper Editor, Professor by Henry Snyder
Ellis Shinkle Baker of Morning View Kentucky by Georgia Lupinsky
James M. Everett’s Gravesite: Do Our Ancestors Signal Us from the Grave? by Laura Lee Karp
1883 Pensioners: Phippen, Marg’t to Von Prieson, Victor

At the Society

Save the Date!

Member Anniversaries

For Our Readers

Send Your Stories, Sketches, and Articles to "The Nugget"

Name Index

Do You Have a WWI Ancestor?

The California Nugget, the journal of the California Genealogical Society (CGS), is published twice a year. Its purpose is to share the unique genealogical material in the CGS library, add to the body of family history information about Californians, offer guidance and timely information to family researchers, and to provide a forum for members to share their expertise and findings. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the society. The journal is distributed free to members and is available to non-members for $5.00 an issue, plus postage.

23 December 2013

San Francisco Bay Area Genealogy Calendar: January 2014 Published

Posted by Kathryn Doyle

Genealogical societies throughout the Bay Area are gearing up for a new year of meetings and events.

January 2014 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 January calendar lists forty-four 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 each month. (Please include "SFBA Calendar" in the subject line.)

20 December 2013

Two DNA Lectures by Dr. Stephen Morse

Posted by Kathryn Doyle

Saturday January 25, 2014
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

California Genealogical Society Library

2201 Broadway, Suite LL2

Oakland, California 94612

Steve Morse is back with two lectures about DNA.

From DNA to Genetic Genealogy: Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask

Steve's first lecture will introduce genes, chromosomes, and DNA, and will show how DNA is inherited. Classical genetic genealogy deals with the Y chromosome and the mitochondrial DNA. The Y chromosome test is for males only and traces the direct male lineage. The mitochondrial DNA test is for everybody and traces the direct female lineage.

Genealogy Beyond the Y Chromosome: Autosomes Exposed

Dr. Morse's second talk will explain how recent advances in genetic genealogy make it possible to trace all lineages by testing the autosomes. Although the autosomes can be used to find ethnic mixes as well as recent cousins, it has some limitations.

This classes are limited to thirty participants and are a free benefit of membership. Non-members fee is $20.00 (non-refundable) and can be applied towards membership on the day.

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.