Blog

At a recent get-together to honor outgoing OFSC directors Bruce and Barbara McLeod, a group of CGS volunteers grabbed the opportunity for a photo together. Pictured from left: Maureen Hanlon, Lavinia Schwarz, Roger Prince, Jennifer Dix, and Jane Lindsey.

CGS has long had a friendly working relationship with the Oakland FamilySearch Center. Other CGS members who regularly volunteer their time are Lisa Gorrell, Steve Harris, Karla Henderlong, Jacqueline Henderson, Susan O’Brien, Diane Richards, Diane Roth, and Bob Trapp. They meet with library patrons and share their knowledge to assist them in their research.

Many CGS members also present a classes for the “Tips and Talk” joint series. Beginning in the new year, you can look forward to hearing Roger Prince on Scotland, Linda Okazaki on Immigration, Jane Lindsey on French Canadian records, Evan Wilson discussing the 10 Million Names Project, and much more. Stay tuned!

Things keep moving and improving at the CGS library. With substantial help from Ron Madson, Linda Darby, and Laura’s husband Phil, Manuscripts Committee co-chairs Laura Jones and Janet Netz recently managed to move the Manuscripts Collection from what they genially call “the toilet room” to its new home, the closet off the classroom, at the beginning of November. This move was necessary given the receipt of several new sizable collections over the last year or two and the expectation of another substantial collection to come.

This move has allowed Laura and Janet to consolidate and organize the Manuscript Collection, to shelve new collections, and to have space for future donations of collections.

The shelves going into the classroom closet:

Linda and Laura moved the materials from the toilet room to the classroom to empty the shelves for the move from the “toilet room” to the classroom closet:

The “toilet room” (look familiar?):

Laura and Janet with the manuscripts installed in their new home:

Congrats to the Manuscript Committee on the move, and thanks to all the volunteers who made this happen!

The latest issue of The California Nugget is now out. You should have received your copy in the mail if that’s your preference; members can also view the magazine on our website.

This issue recognizes the society’s 125th anniversary, which we have been celebrating all through 2023. It starts with the cover, a festive collage of photos from the October gala at Lake Temescal, and continues with a collection of stories from more than a dozen contributors, each of them reflecting on where an ancestor was in 1898, the year the California Genealogical Society was established. We hope you enjoy it.

Contents:

Our Ancestors

Where Were Your Ancestors in 1898? by Kathleen Paini Clemence, Grant Din, Winston Dutton, Lois Elling, Marisa Louie Lee, Chris Pattillo, Judith A. Roy, Joanna Shear, Cindy Kim Thomson, Jeff Vaillant, Kim Gehrman White, Susan Smith Young.

Debunking the Age on a Tombstone: Malinda (Nevill) Thompson, an Early Settler in Lake County, California by Shirley Langdon Wilcox

Emil Kuester, German Immigrant and Pharmacist by Roger Prince

Looking to the Past, Looking to the Future: How I Hope to Leave My Genealogy to My Heirs by Lisa S. Gorrell

At the Society

Tips and Talk at Oakland FamilySearch Center

Special Interest Groups

Index