San Francisco History Days Will Be Here Soon!

San Francisco History Days at the Old Mint:
Saturday, March 4–Sunday, March 5, 2017

On the weekend of March 4–5, 2017, the City and County of San Francisco Office of the Mayor, Non Plus Ultra, and dozens of local history groups will open the Old Mint, at 88 Fifth Street, for a free community open house, San Francisco History Days 2017 (http://www.sfhistorydays.org/).

A National Historic Landmark, the classical building at 88 Fifth Street was a branch of the United States Mint from 1874 to 1937. For the San Francisco History Days weekend, the counting rooms and brick vaults of “The Granite Lady” will come alive with dozens of organizations offering history displays, activities, tours, and presentations.  Join community historians, archivists, representatives of indigenous communities, genealogists, archaeologists, researchers, educators, re-enactors, authors, and filmmakers for this event on Saturday, March 4, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, March 5, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Highlights of the weekend include presentations on local architectural, transit, neighborhood, and maritime history; exhibits addressing the Summer of Love 50th anniversary; displays of neighborhood and community archives; and a resource center with information about history organizations, homes, and educational centers around the Bay Area.  Mini theaters and galleries will be set up in the ground floor vaults of the Old Mint over the weekend, featuring found footage, film features, and rare and newly digitized photos.  Dozens of authors will be on hand to discuss and sell their books on local historical themes.   And there will be a joint presentation on family history by the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, the California Genealogical Society, and SFGenealogy.

San Francisco History Days began in 2016, based on previous events at the Old Mint and organized by a collective composed of historians from Bay Area organizations, the Office of the Mayor, and the current tenants of the Old Mint and event underwriter, Non Plus Ultra.  The event's aim is to celebrate and share the history of San Francisco and the Bay Area.  The 2016 San Francisco History Days weekend attracted more than 6,500 visitors.

The event still needs volunteers!  Please consider donating a few hours of your time.  For information on how to volunteer, e-mail participate@sfhistorydays.org as soon as possible.

For general information on the event and to see a list of participating organizations, visit http://www.sfhistorydays.org/ or write to info@sfhistorydays.org.

San Francisco History Days at the Old Mint

For the past five years several thousand people have enjoyed the San Francisco History Expo, celebrating the history of many different aspects of San Francisco and its residents.  This year the history celebration is back with a slightly different name — San Francisco History Days — but with the same great mix of historical and ethnic organizations, museums, libraries, genealogical societies, and historical reenactors.

San Francisco History Days will take place on Saturday and Sunday, March 5 and 6, at the Old Mint, 88 5th Street, in San Francisco.   (Powell Street is the nearest BART station if you, like me, don't like to drive in downtown San Francisco.)  Hours are 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. on Saturday and 11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. on Sunday.  The event is free and open to the public.  This year the event is being hosted by the City of San Francisco's Mayor's Office and NonPlusUltra, Inc., the current tenant of the Old Mint and also the event's underwriter.

Some planned highlights of the weekend include presentations by local historians on uncovering the mystery of the origin of your house with tips on researching its past, how to understand Victorian architecture, collections of rare and newly digitized photos and film footage, the roles of community archives, and tips for organizing your personal archives.  Transit aficionados can learn about historic ships used during the height of the maritime era.  Experts will discuss treasures such as the murals of Rincon Annex and Coit Tower, the Golden Gate International Exposition, and the visual histories of San Francisco’s neighborhoods.

A new feature for this year's event will be Education Day, a day exclusively for students on Friday, March 4.  Interested educators can reserve a two-hour look at the Old Mint and meet a dozen History Days exhibitors with their school groups.  Reservations must be made as soon as possible.  For information on reserving a space for your class of students on Friday, contact Patty Pforte at educationday@sfhistorydays.org.

Mini theaters will be set up in the ground-floor vaults of the Old Mint and will feature four views on various aspects of San Francisco’s past through moving pictures.  Special meet-up tables for social-media history geeks as well as for alumni of San Francisco high schools will be available.  Guided tours of the building will be offered.  Dozens of authors will be on hand to discuss and sell their books.

Participating genealogical groups are the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC), California Genealogical Society, San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society (SFBAJGS), SFGenealogy, and Sutro Library (the genealogy branch of the California State Library).  You'll find me helping at the AAGSNC and SFBAJGS tables.

For more information about History Days, and to see the list of exhibitors and the presentation schedule, visit http://sfhistorydays.org/ or contact info@sfhistorydays.org.  And if you feel like volunteering (we can use more volunteers!), send a message to participate@sfhistorydays.org.

2015 San Francisco History Expo

Are you ready for some San Francisco history?  That's right, the San Francisco History Expo is back for the fifth year!  Once again held at the historic Old Mint, this year's event will have more than 60 exhibitors, all of them looking forward to sharing history with attendees.  We'll have historical and ethnic organizations, museums, libraries, and of course genealogical societies!

An important theme for this year's expo is the 100th anniversary of the Panama Pacific International Exposition (PPIE), which was held in San Francisco.  Three speakers will cover different aspects of the exposition:  Laura Ackley, a well known expert on the PPIE, will talk about the people who made the event happen; Mike Phipps and Don Holmgren, directors of the Cable Car Museum, will unveil the story of the cable car designated specifically to convey people to and from the PPIE; and John William Templeton will explore the life of Wesley Johnson, a notable black American who came to San Francisco in 1915 for the PPIE.  These presentations, along with films and other talks, will be held on the vault floor at the Mint.

Living history re-enactors in period costumes will circulate throughout the expo and mingle with visitors, giving impromptu performances of well known individuals from San Francisco's Gold Rush and Barbary Coast eras.  (I've heard rumors that Emperor Norton will again grace us with his presence.)  New this year will be singers from the San Francisco National Maritime Historical Park, who will regale the crowds with sea shanties (songs) about San Francisco from the time when it was an infamous port city.

The genealogy groups participating will again be the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California, California Genealogical Society, San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, SFGenealogy, and Sutro Library (the genealogy branch of the California State Library).  AAGSNC, CGS, and SFBAJGS will be in the same room as last year, but SFGenealogy and Sutro may be in other locations.  Come talk to us about your family, and we'll do our best to give you tips to help with your research.

The Expo will be held on Saturday and Sunday, February 28 and March 1, at the Old Mint, 88 Fifth Street, San Francisco.  (Powell Street is the nearest BART station.)  Hours are 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Saturday and 11:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Sunday.  The admission fee is $5.00, children under 12 are free, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

For more information about the Expo, and to see the list of exhibitors and the presentation schedule, visit http://sfhistoryexpo.org/ or call (415) 537-1105 x100.

Genealogy at "Antiques Roadshow"

I played hooky today.  I volunteered at the taping of Antiques Roadshow that took place at the Santa Clara County Convention Center in Santa Clara, California.  Instead of working on genealogy, I helped with production on the set, mostly by corraling lines of guests waiting for their appraisals.  I figured it was going to be a genealogy-free day.

But then I saw Ron and Pam Filion of SFGenealogy in the jewelry line and went over to say hello.  And a friend who used to be staff at the Oakland FamilySearch Library showed up in the collectibles line with her stepmother.  Then another woman in the collectibles line recognized me from a newspaper presentation I gave to the Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society.  And a very sweet 91-year-old told me about her daughter, who used to be the director of the Santa Cruz FamilySearch Center.

On top of all that, David Gallagher of the Western Neighborhoods Project, with whom I worked on the committee that organized this year's San Francisco History Expo, was in the books and manuscripts line with a 1935 testimonial of some sort to "Uncle" Joe McLaren of the San Francisco Bohemian Club.  The oversize sheet was filled with signatures of people who wanted to say what a great guy Uncle Joe was.  The page had probably about 100 signatures.  What a fascinating resource to place those men in San Francisco in 1935!

Well, so much for my genealogy-free day!

I am a major Roadshow geek.  When I had time during my breaks I ran around and got autographs from almost all the appraisers.  I was sad that I wasn't able to get Kerry Shrives, because every time I went by she was busy doing appraisals.  And I didn't get Kevin Zavian, who kind of seemed to be in a grumpy mood anyway.  But I found out that Ted Trotta's mother's name is also Janice!

Volunteering to help at the Roadshow allows you to have two items appraised, the same as people who win tickets to attend.  I didn't do well with my jewelry items.  A brooch that my former boss sold me as early Victorian was appraised by Rhinestone Rosie as late Victorian and worth about only $50 (unfortunately, less than I paid for it).  A string of pearls the same boss had told me were cultured pearls from the 1920's Rosie and a second appraiser determined to be well made glass pearls with ground fish scales coating the outside to give a somewhat gritty texture, reminiscent of the texture of natural pearls.  She told me the sterling silver clasp was worth more than the pearls.  And this is the second time Rosie has told me my jewelry item was actually glass.  (I'm glad the pearls didn't cost me anything!)

I did much better with a gorgeous green silk cloak that was sold to me as having been worn by Maureen O'Hara in the movie Ten Gentlemen from West Point.  Two appraisers at the textiles table agreed that even without authentication of the provenance from the movie the cloak is worth what I paid for it (hooray!).  If I can find a still from the movie showing O'Hara in the cloak and get a certificate of authentication that the cloak was worn in the movie, however, the value goes to several thousand dollars.  I guess I gotta watch that movie sometime soon.  And O'Hara is still alive!  Maybe she remembers the cloak ....

2014 San Francisco History Expo

It's back!  Once again history will come alive at the Old Mint in San Francisco when the doors open on March 1 and 2 for the largest San Francisco History Expo to date.  More than 60 exhibitors will participate, including historical associations from all over San Francisco, small museums, libraries, and genealogy groups.  This year the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California will join the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, SFGenealogy, California Genealogical Society, and Sutro Library in our little corner of the expo focused on genealogy.  Come by and visit; we'd love to talk to you about your family history!  Presentations and films are planned for both days of the expo on the vault level.

This is the fourth annual San Francisco History Expo.  The theme is "Piecing Together Our Past" (which fits nicely with my concept of genealogy as a jigsaw puzzle, don't you think?).  The Expo is presented by the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society.  There is an admission fee this year of $5.00, but children under 12 are free, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

There will also be a raffle, in which most of the exhibitors are participating.  SFBAJGS will be giving away a year's membership in the society.

The Expo will be held on Saturday and Sunday, March 1 and 2, at the Old Mint, 88 Fifth Street, San Francisco.  Hours are 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Saturday and 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Sunday.

For more information about the Expo visit http://sfhistoryexpo.org/ or call (415) 537-1105 x100.

Local Group Focuses on Researching San Francisco Families

I wrote recently about several excellent research locations in San Francisco.  Most of them have material about San Francisco and other areas also.  But what if you are specifically researching your family in San Francisco and need some assistance?  Lucky for you, there's a group that can help you, even if it meets in Oakland.  Today's guest writer, Sandra Britt-Huber, is here to tell us what the group is all about.  Take it away, Sandra!

===

The San Francisco Special Interest Group (SF-SIG) meets at the California Genealogical Society (CGS) on the third Saturday of every month from 10:00–11:30 a.m.  The group was established to bring together and help fellow San Francisco researchers advance their research by sharing ideas, knowledge of records, research hints, and successes.  Activities are a mix between discussion group, speakers, and field trips.  Participants bring their own expertise and interests to the table so that everyone can share knowledge and learn.  Nancy Peterson’s book Raking the Ashes is being used as the core research tool or "textbook."

The first meeting of the group was held September 15, 2012.  Since then more than 80 people have signed up and attended meetings.  On average seventeen people attend the monthly meetings, not including speakers and presenters.  The attendees are a mix of CGS members and other researchers.

Our meetings foster a spirit of sharing our collective knowledge, such as what records are available and where, how to manage research, and suggestions on how to find information and documentation for difficult research situations. We also share photographs, memorabilia, books, recently found documents, storytelling, and historical knowledge.  Sometimes for fun we have quizzes, with prizes going to the winners.

The group facilitators have collected old maps of San Francisco ranging from 1850–1924 for members to use.  The facilitators also have sought out some San Francisco historical data to share with the group.

We have created a chart for our members to use as a research tool, listing each family in the group we are searching for in San Francisco.  The idea behind the chart is that while we search for our own ancestors, we may run across a name or record that someone else in the group is searching for. This idea enables us to expand our individual search to have multiple persons searching.

Over the past year, group members have become acquainted with each other through sharing our families' histories, and amazingly connections between members have been identified.  Some members have discovered they are distantly related or that their ancestors were business partners.  We have also learned that we’ve lived and grown up in the same neighborhoods, and we share great stories about our experiences in San Francisco.

We sometimes invite speakers to give presentations, such as Ted Miles, the reference librarian at the J. Porter Shaw Library at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.  This was a well received and well attended event.  Mr. Miles discussed maritime history from 1840–1940 and focused his presentation on ships arriving on the West Coast.  Ron Filion and Pam Storm, the team who operate the Web site SFGenealogy.com, have spoken about the site and how to use it, along with informing us about the latest records posted and available, such as the Catholic cemetery records provided by Holy Cross (including Calvary Cemetery transfers).  And the group is particularly excited when Nancy Peterson drops by on occasion to talk about her book and field many questions.  This is especially helpful for newcomers to San Francisco genealogy research.

Our commitment to bring CGS members and other researchers together to learn more about their San Francisco ancestors, to join together and share our knowledge and to learn from each other, seems to be successful.  Come join us and see how we can help you research your San Francisco family.  Also check out the CGS Web site for more information about the SF-SIG and other events and classes.

The SF-SIG meets at:
California Genealogical Society and Library
2201 Broadway Street (corner of 22nd Street)
Oakland, California
(510) 663-1358

The SF-SIG facilitators are:
Sandra Britt-Huber
Nancy Hart Servin
You can contact us at sfsig@californiaancestors.org.

2013 San Francisco History Expo

The third annual San Francisco History Expo will bring together more than 40 local and neighborhood history groups in the Old Mint at 5th and Mission Streets. This is an opportunity to learn (and participate in) San Francisco history though displays, presentations, photos, videos, children's activities, and historical reenactments.  Over the last two years more than 7,000 people have attended the weekend-long event and viewed exhibits from the California Historical Society, GLBT Historical Society, San Francisco History Center, and many others.

This year's Expo will be on Saturday and Sunday, March 2 and 3, at the Old Mint, 88 Fifth Street, San Francisco.  Hours are 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Saturday and 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Sunday.

Last year the Expo added a genealogy-focused room, with the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, California Genealogical Society, and SFGenealogy.  Our three groups will be together again this year.  Come by, visit our tables, and learn a little about San Francisco Bay area family history!

The event is totally free, though the organizers hope you'll help offset the costs by making a small donation or buying a raffle ticket.  More information is available at http://www.sfhistoryexpo.org/.

San Francisco Discovers Family History

Last year I lamented the fact that the inaugural San Francisco History Expo had plenty of history but no family history.  This year they have corrected the error, and both the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society and SFGenealogy will be participants, with members of the California Genealogical Society on hand as well.  Apparently last year's comments were heard.

This year's event will be on Saturday and Sunday, March 3 and 4, at the Old Mint in San Francisco.  Hours are 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day.  Friday, March 2, school groups will come through on specially arranged tours.

The two-day event will feature interesting displays from participating organizations.  You can also view a special exhibition of 42 photographs called “Elegant Pit Stops”, a display of historic garages in the city.  (I wonder if the historic garage on Arguello I was searching for will be represented.)  Historic artist Alan Zimmerman of Stockton is returning, with large oil-on-wood paintings of Gold Rush San Francisco.  Historic films and special program are scheduled in the vault area for both days.

The event is free, and everyone is welcome.  Please come by, visit our booth, and learn a little about San Francisco Bay area family history!