Wrapping Up Family History Month

October, which is Family History Month, is always a busy time of year for genealogists.  Along with attending a few events, I let myself be scheduled for several talks, including five in six days.  (You'd think I would have learned my lesson by now!)  It's been a great month, and I learned and shared a lot.

I started the month by going to the October 5 Angel Island Family History Day coordinated by the California Genealogical Society.  I very much enjoyed the event and the opportunity to learn about some of the different groups of immigrants who were processed at the "Ellis Island of the West."  And because it was the beginning of the month, I actually had time to write a separate post about it!

Saturday, October 12, was Family History Day at the California State Archives.  I was asked to give a talk on online newspaper resources, which went very well, with about 75 people in the class.  I also was able to attend three classes myself.  I took the opportunity to hear Lisa Lee's "Introduction to Black Genealogy" because although I've been researching black genealogy for many years, I had never taken an introductory class.  She had a lot of useful information and different perspectives from some other people I've spoken with.  I also attended sessions on Cherokee and Italian research, plus I took a tour of the archives.  Did you know the archives holds all the historical records for San Quentin and Folsom prisons?  Makes me wish I had a serious reprobate to research.

On Wednesday, October 16, I taught a class on Jewish genealogy at the Oakland FamilySearch Library for International Jewish Genealogy Month.  Instead of a general introduction to research, this class focused on what differentiates Jewish research from that of other groups.  The class had a good turnout, and someone who couldn't attend contacted me afterward to get information.  Even better, one of the people in the class is already following up by doing more in-depth research!

The Mt. Diablo Genealogical Society's October speaker canceled at the last minute, and they asked if I could step in.  Lucky me, I was able to do it because of the short BART strike.  (It kept me off the streets and out of trouble!)  So on October 18 I gave a presentation on how even if you have very, very little information to begin with, if you work methodically and thoroughly, it is possible to build on that small beginning and find documents and more information.  In the case study I discussed, I started with one person's last name, another person's first name, a third person's occupation (but no name!), and a town, and my research resulted in a seven-generation family tree with more than one hundred people.

The Concord FamilySearch Library and Contra Costa County Genealogical Society held their annual "Digging for Your Roots" seminar on Saturday, October 19.  I taught two classes there, online newspapers and finding women's maiden names, which were both well received.  I was able to attend several sessions, with the standouts being about Germans from Russia and overlooked military sources.  They both had a lot of useful information I had not seen before.

The San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society (SFBAJGS) held its final 2013 East Bay meeting on Sunday, October 20, at the Oakland FamilySearch Library.  At this all I had to do was open the library and set everything up!  Lisa Gorrell of the Contra Costa County Genealogical Society gave a talk on city (and other) directories and how they can be helpful in genealogy research.

The final 2013 SFBAJGS meeting for our peninsula location was Monday, October 21.  After several years of trying to work it out for me to give my talk about online newspapers there, I was finally able to make it down to Los Altos.  Several people who attended e-mailed me within the next couple of days to say they were already finding articles about their relatives — just what I love to hear!

The first organizational meeting for the 2014 San Francisco History Expo was Tuesday, October 22, at the Old Mint, where the Expo is held.  I went as a representative of SFBAJGS and . . . um . . . somehow ended up volunteering to be on the organizing committee.  (Oops.)  I figured it was the best way to make sure that all of the genealogy groups get to stay together in one room, which has worked well the past two years.

And last but certainly not least, this past Saturday, October 26, the California Genealogical Society held a big fundraising event, Their Roots Are Showing, its take on a Who Do You Think You Are? type of production.  Three local Bay Area celebrities — Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics, drummer Tim Alexander of Primus, and Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin — learned about their ancestors live on stage.  I did research on Beane's and Alexander's families for the event, and I was able to meet them in person, which was pretty cool.

And now I have a short break until November 2 (yikes! that's this Saturday!), when I'll be teaching two sessions at the Sacramento FamilySearch Library's genealogy seminar.

It's a good thing I love my work ....

Colonial Handwriting Was a Big Hit

Tuesday I taught a class on American Colonial handwriting for the first time.  I was the third choice to teach, after the woman who has been teaching it for the past few years (who was unable to do so this year) and the person who was going to substitute for her (whose husband decided he wanted to take her away for a week's vacation).  And then the date was switched on me -- originally the class was supposed to be March 26, but it was pushed back to March 19.  So I was more than a little nervous going in, between being third in line, it being a new subject for me, and having a week less to prepare than I had anticipated!  But the class went smoothly, and the attendees seemed happy with the lesson and the handout.  I discussed how several letters were formed differently than what we are accustomed to, spelling inconsistencies, how words and names could be abbreviated, and even the calendar change of 1752.  I showed several real examples from the 1700's and had people read through them; by the end of the class everyone had a pretty good grasp on it and was able to read the examples fairly quickly.  So I was happy and relieved, and now I have another class in my repertoire.

I have two more new talks I am creating this year.  The programming person at the Napa Valley Genealogical Society read about forensic genealogy and learned that I am a member of the Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy (CAFG), so asked if I could speak to the society on the subject.  Forensic genealogical research is when there are "possible legal implications that involve determination of identity, kinship, legal rights, or distribution of held monies or assets" (from the CAFG Web site).  I will make that presentation in Napa on July 18.

In August, I will debut my newest newspaper talk, on finding and using online historical Jewish newspapers, at the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies conference in Boston.  The conference runs August 4-9 and is being held at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers.

Of course, I have additional newspapers talks coming up.  I am the newspaper queen, after all!  On March 29 I'll speak at the Oakland FamilySearch Library on the subscription newspaper databases available there.  On April 25 I'll be in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Ohio Genealogical Society conference teaching about online historical black newspapers.  And in October, for Family History Month, I'll present my general talk about using online newspapers for genealogical research twice, at the Family History Day at the California State Archives (October 12) and at the Concord FamilySearch Center's Digging for Your Roots one-day conference (October 19).  All of my newspaper classes cover where to find newspaper databases and how to use effective search techniques.

My other presentation that is popular right now is on research techniques for finding women's maiden names.  I talk about a wide range of resources that can be helpful in finding those elusive names.  I'll be giving that talk at the main branch of the Sacramento Public Library on May 5, the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society on June 11, and the Concord FamilySearch Center's Digging for Your Roots on October 19 (yup, two classes in one day).

Last but certainly not least, Berkeley Midrasha wants me to return this fall to teach my genealogy class to the high school students.  That was a fun and different experience last year, and I'm looking forward to trying to get more kids hooked on genealogy.

I enjoy sharing my enthusiasm for genealogy through my classes.  I would love to have you join me at one or more of my talks this year.

Family History Day and Digging for Your Roots

I sure put some miles on my car today.  In the morning I taught my online newspapers class at Family History Day at the California State Archives in Sacramento.  Other than starting off the morning by forgetting the handouts at home in Oakland (but I've already e-mailed the file to everyone who attended the class), the session went very well.  More than 60 people were in the class, and we were standing room only at the end.  The classes at Family History Day are only 45 minutes long, so I had to show fewer search examples, but everyone was very enthusiastic about how they were going to use newspapers in their research.

I wasn't able to go to any classes myself amd only had a few minutes to visit exhibitors, because I had to turn around and drive to Concord for the annual Digging for Your Roots one-day conference presented by the Concord Family History Center.  There I gave my newspaper talk again, but this time without the PowerPoint, because we lost power in the building for about an hour and a half!   I was sorry not to be able to show the search examples, but I was able to give the rest of the class as a straight lecture, and it turned out okay.

The second class I taught was a new one about how to approach research when you have very little information to begin with.  The power had come back on by that point, which was good, because the visuals were more important for that class.  People gave me good feedback on what parts of the class worked and where it needed improvement, and said they had gotten some good ideas from it.  I've already been asked to give the new talk to a local genealogy society, so it must have gone well!

After the class was over someone asked for my advice on a project.  He is an officer with the California Highway Patrol and is trying to find photos of all CHP officers who have died in the line of duty, similar to what someone is working on for Los Angeles firefighters.  He is missing only five photos.  When he sends me more information I'll post it, and maybe we can help him find those last five.

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!

Not a Boring Board Meeting

Today was the quarterly board meeting of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society (SFBAJGS).  As the society's publicity director, I am a board member and have the pleasure of meeting four times a year with the rest of the board to plan the activities and direction of our group.

One of the most exciting things we are planning for this year is a series of activities in conjunction with International Jewish Genealogy Month (IJGM).  IJGM is a program of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) and is celebrated during the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, which this year runs from October 29-November 26 on the secular calendar.  The purpose of International Jewish Genealogy Month is to make the public aware of the hobby of genealogy and the fact that there is a local Jewish genealogical society that can help them get started on their research.

The tentative schedule calls for events on the four Sundays of IJGM.  Our plans are to start on October 30 with an open house where people can come to get a general overview of family history research and help in getting started.  Volunteer genealogists will be available to answer genealogy questions and provide individual research assistance.  Presentations on the following three Sundays will cover an introduction to Jewish genealogy, publishing your family history, and the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at UC Berkeley's Bancroft Library.

Some of the other things we discussed today are a possible transcription project of births, marriages, and deaths appearing in a local Jewish newspaper, and participation in Family History Day and Family History Expo in October.  It looks like a busy year ahead!