Scots-Irish Seminar: Registration Now Open!

Do you have Scots-Irish ancestry? 

Did you believe that researching Irish ancestors is a near impossibility because of the destruction of the Public Record Office in 1922? 

Actually it's not-- and there's more.  
We have a special Irish and Scots-Irish seminar scheduled for Sunday March 29 featuring Fintan Mullen and Gillian Hunt from the Ulster Historical Foundation, one of Ireland's foremost genealogy research organizations and publishing houses. Mullen is Executive Director and Hunt is a Research Officer with the foundation.  

This all-day seminar will provide very practical and detailed information on how to trace your Irish ancestors, with a range of topics that include an introduction, overview of records and history, to solving your brick walls. 

We'll be providing additional details in future posts, but wanted to give you the opportunity to take advantage of our Early Bird Special for registration. 

Registration for our Scots-Irish Seminar is now open!


Copyright © 2015 by Ellen Fernandez-Sacco, California Genealogical Society and Library.

The Path to Becoming a Genealogy Educator: Part I

By Craig Siulinski

Since 2008, I've been on a stimulating journey to immerse myself in the ways of genealogy.  My genealogy education has included taking a series of beginner and intermediate classes through the Oakland FamilySearch Library and the California Genealogical Society.  As a member of CGS, I also attended countless presentations and workshops, and volunteered in the areas of desk duty, technology maintenance and teaching the Beginner’s class on Saturday mornings. 

All of these experiences provided far more than knowledge-- they provided opportunities for learning genealogy, both inside and outside the classroom through networking, sharing and giving back.  After gaining so much knowledge from several years of genealogy self-education and from befriending an extremely supportive researcher community, I felt confident and prepared to submit a proposal to Berkeley Adult Education in 2012 to teach a nine-week genealogy class.  Although my proposal was accepted, I did not end up teaching the class because I moved shortly thereafter to Massachusetts for a new job. 

After adjusting to my new job and community, I pulled the proposal off the shelf and prepared a one-hour genealogy talk to be delivered as a special presentation at the local senior center.  My interest was to tap the community’s interest in genealogy.  Several months earlier, I had started volunteering as the leader of the weekly iPad Club so my reputation to engage with seniors had already been established.  The talk was well received.  It was also recorded live by the local cable television network, which gave more exposure to the idea of a genealogy class.  When I was packing up my materials, I was pleased to see that ten people had signed the form I had set out to determine interest in enrolling in a future genealogy class to be held at the center.

 

Members of Craig's genealogy class in Auburn, MA. Photo: Craig Siulinski

So now I knew there were enough people who were passionate and curious about genealogy to populate a weekly class at the center.  A few months later, the class started meeting on Wednesday evenings.  After introductory discussions, the class moved right into foundation-laying genealogy lectures with homework assignments to jumpstart them into searching for home sources and starting online research.  Each week, the level of enthusiasm seemed to go higher and higher, particularly when individuals shared feedback from their initial research and from interviews with family members.  The class culminated with trips to the local library in which I was able to assist students in real time with their researching on Ancestry.com.

In Part 2 of “The Path to Becoming a Genealogy Educator”, the journey continues as I branch out to teach at an Adult Education program, and get involved in starting my own business.  I’ll also tell about a special student from my first class, to provide a highlight of the value that teaching genealogy brings. 

Copyright © 2015 by Ellen Fernandez-Sacco, California Genealogical Society and Library.

Before the Year Ends...

The roots of CGS began near the time of this photograph. Lake Merritt, 1898-1905. Image: Wikimedia Commons.  

I'd like to thank all of you who've helped CGS this year, whether you're a member, a volunteer or a board member. Mil gracias! 

Without your dedication and support, we wouldn't be able to move forward.

So, just a gentle reminder, please support CGS - if you've already donated to our Annual Appeal, thanks so much-- if you haven't yet taken the opportunity to donate for the 2014 tax year-- the year is almost over!

Donate by check or visit us online at http://www.CaliforniaAncestors.org & click “Donate.”

All my best for 2015!

Ellen Fernandez-Sacco
President, Board of Directors

Copyright © 2014 by Ellen Fernandez-Sacco, California Genealogical Society and Library.

Looking for Landowners? The HistoryGeo database at CGS

By Philip Hoehn

HistoryGeo is a useful tool for finding ancestral names on old maps, along with related information such as land records.  It has two parts:

First Landowners Project.  You can search the surname of more than 8.8 million original landowners in most of the 30 public land states plus Texas.  The number of states covered is growing and currently includes Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin. The results lead to detailed Bureau of Land Management-General Land Office township plat maps showing properties and highlighting the landowner name.  It can also be informative to see names of surrounding landowners who could well be relatives.  While viewing the map you can click to view parcel details plus links to the boundary history of the county, the area on Google Maps, the BLM-GLO source, and an image of the actual land patent document.  You can also search by county name.  Recently added to the expanding coverage are California, Florida and Oregon.

Antique Maps Collection.  This is an expanding collection of some 4,000 maps from various sources, areas and time periods.  Most of the maps are searchable by surname.  Results take you to a zoomable map of the relevant area.  Searching can also be done by map name, for example a city or county name, and by latitude and longitude.

Sample from Antique Map collection available on HistoryGeo 

To take full advantage of various searching and navigation features, you are encouraged to view the two informative, if somewhat folksy, tutorials available at www.historygeo.com 

HistoryGeo is available on-site on all of our Library’s public computers.

The Library’s subscription to this database is provided through generosity of member Sally Houston.

Copyright © 2014 by Ellen Fernandez-Sacco, California Genealogical Society and Library.

Help us Help you: The CGS Annual Appeal

Holiday Lights. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

At the heart of the holiday season, we at the California Genealogical Society give our sincere appreciation for your support. If you're a member in California, you'll soon be receiving our Annual Appeal letter, so don't forget to donate. Your help is crucial to increase the breadth and diversity of our classes and events, as well as add to the library's collection and teach generations of genealogists how to research and tell their families stories.

Thank you for being part of our largest membership in our 117 years.

Over the years, CGS has survived earthquakes and migrations, and grew by staying true to the goals of members and directors of previous years -- to maintain and share a high quality genealogical library and help others learn about their own family history. 

Don't forget-- when you contribute, you're helping to sustain a dedicated genealogy library with over 38,000 volumes of hard to find materials that can further your family history research. 

Our volunteers donate thousands of hours to help our members and the broader community to discover and tell the stories of their ancestors, at the library and through archival visits and research services. Thanks to them and to your support, we've grown a community of like-minded lovers of genealogy. So many people have learned from each other, discovered new family connections and even found a distant cousin among CGS members. Many realize what an invaluable resource it is to belong to a community of like-minded individuals focused on one thing: genealogy. 

• We’re proud to announce a new membership perk: a discount on new annual World Subscriptions with FindMyPast.com. 
• We’re finalizing details on our events calendar, including a special Irish Heritage event in March. 
• We’re building on our nationally recognized website to bring new online services for our members.
• We’re adding to our library collections and the ways you can discover our materials.

Keep an eye on your inbox for more information on these new benefits and other exciting news from the dedicated volunteers at California Genealogical Society. 

Help us grow better and stronger by donating today. California Genealogical Society is maintained entirely by volunteers---we have no paid staff.

 Your gift goes directly to supporting the library’s rent, acquisitions, publications, subscriptions, bookshelves, computers, website and outreach. 

Donate by check or visit us online at http://www.CaliforniaAncestors.org & click “Donate.”

With gratitude and many wishes for a wonderful New Year, 

Ellen Fernandez-Sacco                       President	Kim Cotton                        Vice President

California Genealogical Society is a 501-(c)(3) non-profit corporation, so your donation is tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Please note that the Society is solely supported by individual donations like yours -- we do not receive funding from the city, county, state nor Federal government!   CGS Federal Tax ID #:  #94-6130842

Copyright © 2014 by Ellen Fernandez-Sacco, California Genealogical Society and Library.