Blog

The Fall 2021 issue of The California Nugget now is available online to CGS members. If you’re signed up for a paper copy that should arrive soon, if it hasn’t already.

As always, we invite submissions from our readers and other interested parties. This issue has quite an international flavor, with articles by Anne Morddel of France and Thomas Bulthuis of the Netherlands. Both deal with immigration to California.

Anne Morddel illuminates a little-known aspect of California Gold Rush history, when the French government sent a shipload of young men to the gold fields. She includes a complete list of the immigrants. The editors were able to find out what became of some of these fortune-seekers after they arrived in California.

Thomas Bulthuis writes about his decades-long search for an uncle who sailed to America in 1929 and was never heard from again. Bulthuis finally found his uncle’s final resting place in California, but he continues to search for answers about this long-lost family member.

Fall 2021
Table of Contents

California History
The California Immigrants of the Garde Mobile by Anne Morddel, MLIS, CG
The Garde Mobile and the History of California’s French Gold-Seekers by Evan Wilson
What Happened to the Mobile Guards Who Landed in California? by Barbara Kridl
Sketches of Selected Immigrants by Terri Smith (descendant) and Nugget editorial staff

Our Ancestors
The Search for Alle Boonstra by Thomas Bulthuis

At the Society
NGS Conference in May 2022
Special Interest Groups
Upcoming Events

Applied Genealogy co-founders Mary Kircher Roddy, Lisa Gorrell, and Jill Morelli

The new year may seem a long way off, but in truth, it’s barely three weeks away! And on January 2, registration opens for the next Applied Genealogy session.

Regular readers of the blog may remember when AppGen was announced last summer. Certified genealogists Mary Kircher Roddy, Lisa Gorrell, and Jill Morelli joined forces to create this practicum-based learning course in the tradition of the ProGen study groups, but smaller and more focused. The response was overwhelming. The enrollment window is January 2-9, with a maximum of 15 students in each group. See the AppGen website for more details. And mark your calendar!

DECEMBER at CGS

Online through Dec. 22: “Italian Genealogy: Tracing Your Immigrants in the U.S. and in Italy.” Alec Ferretti’s two-part seminar is available to view on Vimeo until December 22 (register by December 20).

Saturday, Dec. 4: Don’t miss our monthly FREE “Intro to Genealogy” class! This month: “Organizing Your Family History Work” with Ron Madson.

Tuesday, Dec. 7: “Research in Salt Lake City: What’s New? What’s Not?” Pam Brett discusses her recent trip to the Family History Library in Utah. During the COVID shutdown, the FHL underwent renovations and updates to its databases. Come learn about it from a veteran researcher who’s visited this repository 35 times over the years.

Saturday, Dec. 11: Monthly Board Meeting. All welcome (please pre-register).

You can find these and all our upcoming events listed on our website. Classes often fill quickly, so make your reservations now! Stay tuned for more exciting classes in the new year, including the first in a series of “California Research” presentations aimed at preparing for the 2022 National Genealogical Society Conference held in Sacramento in May.

For more virtual genealogical happenings in the Bay Area and beyond, check out the Bay Area Genealogy Calendar and Conference Keeper.