California Genealogical Society blog

04 May 2021

Now online: Documents from the Griffin Collection

Posted by Chris Pattillo

By Chris Pattilo

The newest addition to the CGS website is a set of documents from the Griffin Manuscripts Collection. Member Stewart Traiman scanned the material and created a detailed list of the contents, which include marriage, death and other vital records, wills, deeds, personal notes, genealogical worksheets and a few photos for multiple generations of the Charles Griffin family as well as allied lines including Ashfield, Benson, Blatchford, Deboy, Dudley, Haverhill, Maxwell, Taylor and more.

Captain Francis Marion Griffin of
Boston, 1909: from the Griffin Collection

Dr. Charles Francis Griffin was the tenth president of the California Genealogical Society (CGS). He served from 1923 to 1931. He was born 26 April 1869 in Lassen County, California, the son of Francis Marion Griffin and Margaret Malloy Griffin. Griffin attended school in Vallejo, California, and Cooper Medical College in San Francisco. He received an MD degree from Stanford University in 1891, and practiced medicine in San Francisco.

In addition to being an active member of CGS, Dr. Griffin was a contributing member of the California Historical Society. In that capacity he compiled an Index to the Annals of San Francisco which was published in 1935. He was also an officer in the Society of Mayflower Descendants for many years.

Dr. Griffin was killed in a bus accident in Guerneville, California, on 23 December 1950. Upon his death his estate donated his vast collection of genealogical books to CGS.[1]

To browse the Griffin Collection via our website, log in and go to the Research Tab, select "Online Resources" from the pull down menu, and scroll down to Resources Developed by CGS Members, where you will find a link to the Charles Francis Griffin M.D. Collection. Note: These online collections do not include everything held by our library because some items are under copyright. To view the entire collection you’ll need to visit the library when it reopens.

[1] Information gleaned from an article written by A.T. Leonard, Jr. for California Historical Society Quarterly, 1 March 1951, and from previous CGS blog articles.

01 May 2021

Online genealogy, week of May 2-8

Posted by Jennifer Dix

Our weekly roundup of upcoming genealogy events. Numerous associations offer online genealogy classes every week. Most are free. To register for one of the events below, click on the name of the host organization.

CGS Events (for the month of May):

May 4: "Remembering Our Ancestors in Asian American Cemeteries."

May 11: "WWII 'Internment Camps' and Mass Incarceration in the U.S."

May 8: Monthly Board Meeting: all welcome

May 15: Family Tree Maker Special Interest Group

Conferences & Workshops:

May 7 & 8: 2021 Virtual Heartland Family History Conference

May 8: 2021 Virtual Spring Conference featuring Cyndi Ingle (New Hampshire Society of Genealogists)

May 8: Spring Genealogy Conference (Genealogical Society of New Jersey)

American Ancestors

May 3: "Shalom/Salem: Archival Stories from Salem’s Jewish Community" by Stephanie Call

May 6: “Stories from the Archives: Diaries”

May 6: “Names of New York: Discovering the City's Past, Present, and Future Through Its Place-Names"

BYU Family History Library

May 2: "Discovering Your Ancestors in England" by James Tanner

FamilySearch Family History Library

May 3: "Using the Family Search Catalog"

May 4: "Using the Family Search Wiki"

May 6: "Skimming the Surface: A Look into Ontario Land Records"

Legacy Family Tree

May 4 & 5: “Comparing Australian Content on the Giant Genealogy Websites"

May 5: "Solving a Brick Wall with DNA – A Case Study"

May 7: "Researching the Descendants and Ancestors of the Weeping Time People"

Other Listings

Sutro Library's Bay Area Genealogy Calendar lists a wealth of Bay Area events and exhibits, including regular genealogical group meetings. This week's highlights:

May 6: “Your Camera As A Genealogy Research Tool”

May 7: Screening of “The Valley” with filmmaker Saila Kariat (Los Altos History Museum)

May 8: Irish Genealogy Club (United Irish Cultural Center)

Conference Keeper has a large calendar of classes (too many to list) hosted by genealogical organizations around the country and abroad. Lots to explore, and new events are added often, so be sure to browse the entire calendar. Here's a sampling of the coming week's offerings:

May 3: “Akira Toki and the Purple Heart Battalion” (Wisconsin Veterans Museum)

May 4: “Preserving and Digitizing Personal Photo Albums and Scrapbooks” (US National Archives)

May 5: “Using atDNA to Identify an Immigrant’s Place of Origin” (Minnesota Genealogical Society)

May 6: “How to Research Your House” (Thomas Balch Library)

May 7: “Portals to a Jewish Heritage: Researching Jewish Genealogy with a Southern Accent” (Library of Virginia)

May 8: “Genetic Insights into Ancestral Origins: Native Americans and Spanish-Mexican Families in Colonial California” (Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research)

See our post "Genealogy Learning in the Time of Coronavirus" for links to classes archived online at Ancestry, FamilySearch, RootsTech, and more. Be well, stay safe, and happy learning!

26 April 2021

When helping is harmful

Posted by Jennifer Dix

Volunteers who tried to clean these old grave markers
caused serious damage. Photo: Lilly Price/Capital Gazette

A recent article in the Maryland Capital Gazette* shared the sad story of two well-meaning cemetery buffs who intended to clean headstones but ended up damaging them. Using harsh chemicals and steel wool, the amateur genealogists left markings like zebra stripes on hundreds of old and historic stone markers, some dating from the Civil War, in the cemetery of All Hallows Episcopal Church in Davidsonville, as well as another nearby graveyard. The cemetery committee estimates it will cost $10,000 to undo the damage.

The perpetrators were discovered when photos of the newly cleaned headstones appeared on the website BillionGraves.com. Contrite, one of the women who had unwittingly defaced the stones contacted the church, and she and her fellow volunteer had a cordial meeting with the cemetery committee. Ironically, a list of all the information the amateurs sought to uncover was already available; the committee keeps a detailed record of every grave at the site, including names, dates, and some causes of death.

Damage to cemeteries is a perennial problem, but it's especially sad when caused by people who love genealogy and intend to help. Today you can find ads on the Internet offering grave-cleaning materials, and some websites aimed at genealogists have even suggested that amateurs might want to turn this hobby into a side business. Do not do this without educating yourself! For several reasons:

1. You must have permission to clean any gravestone not associated with a family member. It is actually unlawful in some places to clean a grave marker without permission. Also, some cemeteries have rules about when and how to clean a gravestone. The U.S. National Cemetery System, for example, forbids cleaning markers on federal land unless the temperature is above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. For best practice, contact the cemetery office or other property owner for permission before undertaking to clean a headstone. They may also have tips and suggestions about cleaning methods appropriate for their cemetery.

2. Frequent cleaning contributes to the erosion of headstones. The wrong sort of cleaner can easily damage a headstone. Acidic cleaners such as vinegar can eat away at the stone. Never use strong chemicals such as bleach--they can soak into porous stone and form crystals that tear the stone apart from the inside out. Use only soft bristle brushes, never wire brushes or steel wool.

The group Cemetery Conservators For United Standards was formed a decade ago by a handful of "tombstone tourists" who revere cemeteries and want to preserve and protect them. They now have members all around the country. They sift the good information from the bad, and share tips on their website. They even offer classes for would-be conservators. Consulting this site or similar sources can help you plan appropriately before you set out to clean gravestones.

But always ask first.

*Thanks to Maureen Hanlon for bringing this story to our attention.

24 April 2021

Online genealogy, April 26-May 2

Posted by Jennifer Dix

CGS Events:

May 1: 1st Saturday FREE Intro to Genealogy. This month: "Genealogy Basics"

Conferences & Workshops:

April 28-May 1: “Empire State Exploration” (New York Genealogical and Biographical Society)

April 30-May 2: “Sleuthability: Virtual Conference on Irish Genealogy, History and DNA” (BBNY Group LLC)

May 1: 50th Anniversary Seminar Series with Janice Nickerson (British Columbia Genealogical Society)

May 1: “Family Searching in Ontario” (Victoria Genealogical Society)

May 1: “Genealogy in Bloom” with Mary Kircher Roddy (Rochester NY Genealogical Society)

May 1: “2021 Spring Conference: Plant Your Genealogy So You Will Know What Will Grow” with Thomas MacEntee (Iowa Genealogical Society)

May 1: DNA Doubleheader with Michelle Bray Wilson (Northwest Suburban Genealogy Society)

May 1: Family History Conference: "All Roads Lead to Missouri" featuring Patti Hobbs (St. Louis Genealogical Society)

American Ancestors

April 29: "My Broken Language: A Memoir" by Quiara Alegría Hudes

May 3: "Shalom/Salem: Archival Stories from Salem’s Jewish Community" by Stephanie Call

BYU Family History Library

April 25: "Discovering Your Ancestors in Australia" by James Tanner

FamilySearch Family History Library

April 26: DNA Seminar

May 1: Scandinavian Day

Legacy Family Tree

April 28: “94% European and 6% Nigerian - Tracing My Missing Nigerian Ancestor” by Yetunde Moronke Abiola

Southern California Genealogical Society

May 1: “WikiTree: The Free Family Tree” by Sarah Callis

Other Listings

Sutro Library's Bay Area Genealogy Calendar lists a wealth of Bay Area events and exhibits, including regular genealogical group meetings. This week's highlights:

April 27: “Cracking Your Brick Wall with DNA Matches” by Ross Reynolds (Oakland FamilySearch Library)

April 27: “Her Side of the Story: Tales of California Pioneer Women” by John Hogan (Society of California Pioneers)

April 29: “Adolph Sutro's Urban Forest” by Jacqueline Proctor (California State Library Foundation)

May 1: “WWII Japanese Internment Camps” by Linda Okazaki (Solano County Genealogical Society)

May 1: “The Mountains Sing Book Talk” with author Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai and illustrator Thi Bui (Oakland Asian Cultural Center)

April 26: “Get Started with DNA: From Testing to Results” (FamilyTree University)

April 27: “Confusing American Indian Records: 1896 Applications, Dawes Final Roll, Guion Miller Roll” (Wake County NC Genealogical Society)

April 28: “You Can Do This: Photo Organizing and Preservation” by Thomas MacEntee (Central Jersey Genealogical Club)

April 29: “The Nuts and Bolts of Publishing Your Family History (Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center)

April 30: “Scrapbook Preservation” (Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research)

May 1: "Funeral Home Collections: Utilizing Genealogical Societies and Others for Crowd Sourcing" (Afro-American Genealogical & Historical Society of Chicago/Chicago Genealogical Society)

See our post "Genealogy Learning in the Time of Coronavirus" for links to classes archived online at Ancestry, FamilySearch, RootsTech, and more. Be well, stay safe, and happy learning!