2016 Black Family History Day

This is the sixth year that the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California and the Oakland FamilySearch Library are partnering to to offer a Black Family History Day in honor of Black History Month, with this year's event taking place on Sunday, February 20, 2016.

The family history day is scheduled for 1:00–5:00 p.m. at the Oakland FamilySearch Library, 4766 Lincoln Avenue, Oakland, California.  There is no charge to participate, but we encourage you to preregister, so that we will have a better idea of how many attendees to expect.

A short introductory workshop will be the first stop for new researchers, who will then receive help in creating their initial family tree information.  After that they will enjoy one-on-one assistance in learning how to do research and and look for documents about their family members.  More experienced researchers will have the option of going through the workshop or heading directly to the one-on-one research stage.  It's a good idea for all attendees to bring copies (please leave your originals safely at home!) of any documents you already have with you, so they can be used as references during your searches.

I will be one of the AAGSNC volunteers helping people with one-on-one research.  I'm looking forward to assisting attendees in doing research and hope we make some wonderful discoveries.

Black Family History Day, February 15, 2015

The African American Genealogical Society of Northern California, with the support of the Oakland FamilySearch Library, will hold its seventh Black Family History Day on the Sunday of Presidents' Day weekend, February 15, 2015.  The society's event, created to celebrate Black History Month, began in 2011.

The family history day will take place from 1:00–5:00 p.m. at the Oakland FamilySearch Library, 4766 Lincoln Avenue, Oakland, California.  There is no charge to participate, but it helps if you preregister, so we have a better idea of how many people to expect.

New researchers will attend a short introductory workshop and then receive assistance in creating their initial family tree charts.  From there they will go to one-on-one assistance and start to learn how to do research and search for documents about their families.  Attendees who already have some research experience will be able to go directly to the one-on-one research stage.  Whether you're a beginner or already have done some work, it's a good idea to bring copies (please leave your originals at home!) of the information you have so it's at hand if you need to check it.

I have helped at every Black Family History Day since the first one, and I will maintain my perfect attendance record by being there this year also.  (Lucky for me, it's the day after RootsTech/FGS ends, and I was able to schedule my return flight for late Saturday.)  I really enjoy helping people learn how to find their family histories, so I'm looking forward to another fun day of family discoveries!

Black Family History Events

Researchers working on black family history can attend two upcoming genealogy events in the greater San Francisco Bay area.  The first is Black Family History Day, taking place this coming Sunday, February 16, from 1:00–5:00 p.m. at the Oakland FamilySearch Library, 4766 Lincoln Avenue, Oakland, California.  The event is free and is presented by the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC) and hosted by the Oakland FamilySearch Library.  This is the fourth year that AAGSNC and the library have worked together on the event, held in celebration of Black History Month.  Attendees can participate in genealogy how-to workshops and receive one-on-one assistance with their research.  More information, including a link to preregister (always a good idea!), is available on the AAGSNC Web site.  I will be one of the volunteers helping people with one-on-one research assistance.

Not too far away, on Saturday, March 8, the 9th annual African American Family History Seminar will be held from 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. at the Sacramento FamilySearch Library, 2745 Eastern Avenue, Sacramento, California.  This event is sponsored by Sacramento City Council member Bonnie Pannell, the California Black Chamber of Commerce, the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau Juneteenth Committee, and the Sacramento FamilySearch Library.  It looks like there will be twenty classes this year covering a range of topics, from Reconstruction to newspapers to cemetery records and more.  The seminar doesn't have a Web site, but you can download the registration flyer from my site.  I'll be teaching two classes in Sacramento:  using online historical black newspapers, and finding women's maiden names.

Classes can be a great way to help you make progress with your research, and the different perspective another person can give in individual research sometimes makes a huge difference.  See if one or both of these events fits in your schedule, and maybe you'll be the one making a huge leap in your research this year!

2014 Black Family History Day and Other Upcoming Events

This past week I have been very busy with running around, going to meetings, and doing research, but I wanted to let everyone know about some events coming up in the San Francisco area that are of interest to genealogists.  Maybe I will see some of you there.

The African American Genealogical Society of Northern California will be holding its 2014 Black Family History Day on Sunday, February 16, 1:00–5:00 p.m., at the Oakland FamilySearch Library, 4766 Lincoln Avenue.  While this is a particularly good way for beginners to start researching their families, it is also helpful for those who have already done some research to learn new techniques or get some help to break through a brick wall.  The page still has information about the 2013 days but should be updated soon.  And even if it doesn't get updated, come anyway!  I'll be one of the volunteers helping attendees with their research.

The California Historical Society (CHS) will host a reception on Sunday, January 26, 2:00–4:00 p.m., to celebrate the opening of a bilingual exhibit about Juana Briones (1802–1889), an important early settler and entrepreneur in the San Francisco Bay area.  The exhibit will run from January 26 through June 8, 2014.  Part of Briones' original 1850's home was saved from destruction, and CHS has a project to help preserve it.

Remember the 1992 movie A League of Their Own, about women playing professional baseball during World War II?  According to the baseball scholars who will be speaking at the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL), women's baseball began at Vassar in 1866!  SFPL will host a panel discussion on women's baseball titled "Linedrives and Lipstick:  The Untold Story of Women's Baseball", also to be held on Sunday, January 26, this from 1:00–4:00 p.m. (decisions, decisions).  The panel will include baseball scholars David Block, Jean Ardell, Dorothy Mills, Leslie Heaphy, and Monica Nucciarone.  The accompanying exhibit at the library will run from January 25 through March 16, 2014.

"The Baobab Tree" Summer and Fall Issues

Back in March I posted about being named the new editor of The Baobab Tree, the journal of the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC).  My first issue as editor came out in September, just barely squeaking in for the summer.  Articles in that issue included a man figuring out just who a previously unknown brother of his great-great-grandmother was; the story of a freed slave from Arkansas who became a master carpenter and left the South for California; the second half of a story about a family that was very active in the fight for civil rights in the South; and someone who went to a Black Family History Day for assistance, followed up on the research suggestions, and found great information on his family.

The fall issue is almost finished and should be published soon.  (Gotta get the schedule back on track ....)  This issue includes articles on how a chance DNA match led to more questions than answers; thinking about the many variations names and nicknames can take; a collection of helpful online links for black family history research; and the educational benefits of attending genealogical conferences.

Articles for The Baobab Tree are accepted from both members and nonmembers of AAGSNC.  If you submit an article that is published, you will receive a copy of the issue with your article even if you are not a member.  Submissions may be articles and/or graphics, both original and previously published, and must be relevant to black family history research.  Submission guidelines, including deadlines, are available online.

Members of AAGSNC receive The Baobab Tree as a membership benefit.  Individual back issues are available for purchase.

Black Family History Day, February 10, 2013

For the third year, the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California and Oakland FamilySearch Library are presenting a Black Family History Day in honor of Black History Month.  This year's event will take place Sunday, February 10, from 1:00-5:00 p.m. at the Oakland FamilySearch Library, 4766 Lincoln Avenue, Oakland.  As usual, the event is free, but you are encouraged to register for a free consultation, either through the Web site or by calling (877) 884-2843.  This is particularly important for the February event, as we usually have more attendees during Black History Month.

When people arrive they will register, then beginners will go to a short introductory workshop and have guidance in filling out a basic four-generation family chart, and then some one-on-one assistance in research and looking for information on their families.  Intermediate researchers and those who already have some solid information on their families will register and go straight to the one-on-one research.

I've invited some friends again who have said they want to get going on their own family history research.  I'm looking forward to seeing them and everyone else next Sunday!

Family History Month? How about Family History *Week*?

Hmm, I'm not quite sure how I did this to myself.  Somehow I am scheduled for nine genealogy events in nine days, starting today (Saturday).  I mean, I love genealogy as much as the next person (okay, probably more than the next person!), but I may have gone a bit overboard this time.

Saturday was our fourth Black Family History Day, held at the Oakland FamilySearch Library (formerly the Family History Center) and coordinated by the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California.  We had about 55 attendees and a dozen and a half volunteers.  As usual, I was helping people with one-on-one consultations, where we sit down and actually look for records relating to the family.  I worked with five people today and was able to find at least one record for each person.  One man's ancestor was a free person of color living in Virginia who rendered assistance to the Confederate government.  We found several documents relating to the ancestor on Fold3.com, showing what he sold to the government and how much he was paid.  My only disappointment was that none of the friends I invited came today.  Maybe they'll be at the next one, in February!

Sunday morning I will teach my genealogy class at the Jewish community high school in Berkeley, and then drive to Davis to give a presentation to the Davis Genealogy Club on how even when you start with very little information, you can still methodically build on what you have step by step and learn more about your family.  Tuesday I will give my new talk about vital records (which was originally going to be in September; boy, I wish that had worked out) at the Oakland FamilySearch Library, for the California Genealogical Society.  Thursday I will be at the Napa Valley Genealogical Society with my overview of how helpful online newspapers can be in family history research.  Saturday is the Concord FamilySearch Library's annual Digging for Your Roots one-day conference, and I will teach the online newspapers class and the class I am teaching in Davis.  And I will wrap up my family history marathon the next day, when I will be at my high school genealogy class in the morning, and then preside over the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society meeting in the afternoon (where Steve Danko will explain how the scientific method can be applied to genealogy problem-solving).

Oh, and I'm doing all that while maintaining my regular work and research schedule.

Oy!  I better stock up on Mountain Dew!

Black Family History Day, October 13, 2012

The African American Genealogical Society of Northern California and the Oakland FamilySearch Library are presenting the fourth Black Family History Day, this one timed for Family History Month.  It will run from 1:00-5:00 p.m.  The event is free, but you are encouraged to register for a free consultation, either through the Web site or by calling (877) 884-2843.  If we follow the same procedure we used in February, attendees will register, then go to a short introductory workshop for beginners, to assistance in filling out a basic four-generation family chart, to one-on-one assistance in research and looking for information on their families.

At the February 2012 event we had about 125 attendees and 35 volunteer researchers.  The October 2011 Family History Day drew fewer people, but we volunteers were able to give more assistance to each attendee.  We almost always manage to find records for each person who comes.  This year I've invited several friends to come.  I'm looking forward to another great day of introducing people to family history!

Black Family History Day

The African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC) held its third Black Family History Day today at the Oakland Family History Center.  Volunteers were told at the beginning of the event that 125 people had preregistered, and we knew we would have walk-ins.  I have not heard how many people we actually had, but it didn't seem crowded.  The February 2011 event drew between about 175 attendees; the event in October 2011 had 64 preregistered people and only a few walk-ins.  The fact that February is Black History Month probably gives some people more incentive to come.

Besides an introductory workshop for beginners and one-on-one consultations for individual research, today's event also included a performance by a church choir and a lecture on the Roots into the Future Project, given by Dr. Joanna Mountain of 23andMe.  Dr. Mountain's talk was presented twice so that attendees could take turns between the lecture and computer research.

About 35 volunteers (including me!) from AAGSNC, the California Genealogical Society, and the Oakland Family History Center were on hand to assist attendees.  Almost everyone found some information on their families.  In one way we were victims of our own success when we had so many people searching databases at the same time that the FHC server slowed everything to a crawl.

Last year I helped a friend of mine find herself in the 1930 census as a two-year-old girl.  I didn't have any results that dramatic this year, but I did help one woman find her grandmother in the California birth index under her birth name (she was informally adopted in the early 20th century).

It's great that these events get so many people to come and work on their family history, but I have noticed that very few of the attendees return to the Family History Center to do more research.  I hope they're working on it at home!

Black Family History Day, February 11, 2012

The African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC) and the Oakland Family History Center will host another Black Family History Day in celebration of Black History Month.  The event will take place Saturday, February 11, from 1:00-5:00 p.m. at the Oakland Regional Family History Center, 4766 Lincoln Avenue, Oakland, CA 94602.   It is free and open to the public.  Feel free to bring a family member or a friend with you!  Everyone is welcome, but AAGSNC is requesting that attendees register online beforehand.

Volunteer genealogists (including me) will again be available to answer genealogy questions and provide individual research assistance.  A free DNA test kit will be given to each attendee.  I was told that a speaker will give a presentation about DNA twice during the afternoon, but there is no information on the AAGSNC site about that.  Perhaps it will be posted soon.

For more information, call (877) 884-2843 or send a message.

Second Black Family History Day

The second Black Family History Day put on by the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC) and the Oakland Regional Family History Center was very successful.  We had 64 participants this time, as opposed to the roughly 175 people who attended in February, but we had three times as many volunteers as last time, and we were able to give much more focused assistance to the people who came (but we still could have used more volunteers and more time!).

Nicka Smith of AAGSNC had organized a good flow for the attendees.  They went from registration to a short introductory workshop for beginners, to assistance in filling out a basic four-generation family chart, to one-on-one assistance in research and looking for information on their families.  (I already warned Nicka that I am going to borrow her ideas for the Jewish genealogy open house being planned for November 13.)  I heard that a couple of people were not able to find any records, but most people found something -- I saw lots of census records, some draft registration forms, and a few additional records.  I helped four attendees in the one-on-ones and lent back-up assistance to a few others.

Nicka plans to continue to have these family history days twice a year, in February for Black History Month and in October for Family History Month.  I'm looking forward to the next one, and to seeing these new researchers come back to the Family History Center to continue their research.  I hope they don't put their new finds on a shelf and wait until February to take the next steps!

October Is Family History Month

It's easy to tell that Family History Month is here -- several special genealogy events are happening in the San Francisco area this month, complementing the regular meetings and lectures hosted by local genealogical societies.  Events I will be participating in:

Northern California Family History Expo, October 7-8:  This two-day event will take place at San Mateo County Event Center, 2495 S. Delaware Street, San Mateo, CA 94403.  Paid registration is required, and many classes are being offered.  On October 7 I will teach a class on using newspapers for genealogy research.  I will also be blogging from the Expo.

Black Family History Day, October 8:  The African American Genealogical Society of Northern California and the Oakland Regional Family History Center are presenting this event, which runs from 2:00-5:00 p.m. at the Family History Center, 4766 Lincoln Avenue, Oakland, CA 94602.  This is a follow-up to the family history day that was held in February.  The event is free, but you can reserve a consultation time.  I will be available for consultations and to assist with research.

Family History Day at the California State Archives, October 15:  This free event is presented by Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society and the California State Archives.  It runs from 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. at 1020 O Street, 4th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814.  I will be teaching a class on newspapers here also and will help at the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society exhibitor table.

Digging for Your Roots, October 15:  This is presented by the Concord Family History Center.  It runs from 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the LDS Church, 1590 Denkinger Road, Concord, CA 94521.  Registrations are still being accepted, but a syllabus is no longer guaranteed.  I will be teaching two classes:  newspapers for genealogy research, and a case study on researching when you start with almost no information.  The schedule shows that I will teach the newspaper class twice, but the 3:30 class has been cancelled.

Just looking at the schedule makes me tired already!  I'll have a couple of weeks to rest up, and then more big events are coming in November.  It's a good thing I love what I do!

AAGSNC Black Family History Day

Wow.  I am exhausted.  I was one of the volunteers today at the first AAGSNC Black Family History Day, hosted by the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC) and the Oakland Regional Family History Center (ORFHC).  Electra Price, the organizer of the event and a well known and beloved researcher, expected about 75 people to come.  We had between 150 and 175 participants.  We were thrilled at the turnout but were kept busy every single minute.

Before the open house actually began, we had a surprise thank you ceremony and cake for Electra, who recently retired from coordinating the monthly African American Research Workshops at the ORFHC.  She appeared to be totally surprised and was self-effacing as always.  After we all told her how much we appreciated her, she reminded us that we had to get to work!

People began arriving well before 2:00, excited about the opportunity to get an overview of family history research and to have assistance in getting started.  We had several volunteer genealogists lined up to help, and we were fortunate to have Lisa Lee of GotGenealogy.com show up as an extra volunteer.

Writer and historian Antoinette Broussard, author of African American Celebrations and Holiday Traditions, spoke at 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. about her great-aunt Dr. Nettie J. (Craig) Asberry.  She is completing research for a memoir about her great-aunt, who earned a doctoral degree in music in 1883 and was likely the first black woman to earn a doctorate.  From what I heard, it was an excellent presentation.

I had a special surprise of my own.  A dear friend of mine whom I had not seen since I lost my job last May came to the open house.  I was able to help her find herself in the 1930 census with her parents and her seven sisters.  She promised to come back and continue her research.

Most of the participants found at least one record relating to their family, whetting their interest to come back and look for more.  No one wanted to stop, but we had to close so we volunteers could get home and reclaim the remainder of our Sunday.  Everyone enjoyed the open house, and we're already talking about when we'll hold the next one.

Black Family History Day 2011

The African American Genealogical Society of Northern California and the Oakland Regional Family History Center are working together to present an open house to celebrate black genealogy, culture, and tradition in honor of Black History Month.  The open house will take place on Sunday, February 20, from 2:00-5:00 p.m. at the Oakland Regional Family History Center, 4766 Lincoln Avenue, Oakland, CA 94602.  It is free and open to the public.

Writer and historian Antoinette Broussard, author of African American Celebrations and Holiday Traditions, will be a featured speaker at 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. in the Visitors’ Center theater, upstairs from the Family History Center.  Volunteer genealogists (including me) will be available to answer genealogy questions and provide individual research assistance.

To receive a free consultation for a four-generation ancestry chart and for further information, call (877) 884-2843.