Blog

Photo by Linda Harms Okazaki

It’s been a long 15 months since the COVID-19 pandemic caused us to close our doors, but we are delighted to announce that the CGS library in Oakland is reopening to the public beginning Wednesday, June 30! Visitors are required to make reservations in advance; read on for details.

For now the library will open three days a week, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, with morning and afternoon research slots open to a maximum of five people per session. Reservations are required and can be booked through EventBrite. While the county has lifted many COVID restrictions, we continue to require mask wearing and social distancing in the library. This is both for the protection of our patrons and to comply with the Breuner Building’s rules.

During the closure, the library has undergone a deep cleaning of the carpet and all touch surfaces. We’ve also installed plastic shields at the front desk, and brightened the space with newly painted walls. We are grateful to the many volunteers who have worked to make this a reality.

Reserve your research time slot today at EventBrite!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cgs-library-visit-registration-registration-160897242985

Our weekly roundup of upcoming genealogy events. Numerous associations offer online genealogy classes every week. Most are free. To register for one of the events below, click on the name of the host organization.

CGS Events:

June 22: “Navigating the FamilySearch Website” by Ralph Severson

June 26: LBGTQ Genealogy by Stewart Traiman

CONFERENCES and WORKSHOPS:

June 26: “Our Immigrant Ancestors” (Genealogical Forum of Oregon)

June 26: “Live Zoom Scholarship Fundraising Genealogy Conference” (Rock County WI Genealogical Society)

June 26: “A Day of English Research”: Spring Seminar with Paul Milner (Seattle Genealogical Society)

June 27: “Ancestry Allies: Virtual Genealogy Research Help Day” (Connecticut Society of Genealogists)

Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center

June 22: “Anabaptist and Mennonite Materials in the Genealogy Center” by John Beatty

June 24: “Jamaican Genealogy: Tracing Your Enslaved & Free People of Color Ancestors” by Phillip Nicholas

American Ancestors

June 24: “The College of Arms in the Eighteenth Century” by Peter O’Donoghue

Legacy Family Tree

June 22: “Top tips for reviewing Smart Matches™ and Record Matches” by Daniel Horowitz

June 23: “Angel Island’s Immigrants from 80 Countries: Stories from the West Coast Counterpart to Ellis Island” by Grant Din

June 30: “Genealogy for Houses” by Jeanie F. Glaser

OTHER LISTINGS

Sutro Library’s Bay Area Genealogy Calendar lists a wealth of Bay Area events and exhibits, including regular genealogical group meetings. This week’s highlights:

June 21: “Finding your Eastern European Jewish Family on JRI-Poland.org” by Robinn Magid (San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society)

June 25: “History of Mare Island Naval Shipyard” by Jim Kern (Solano County Genealogical Society)

Conference Keeper has a large calendar of classes (too many to list) hosted by genealogical organizations around the country and abroad. Lots to explore, and new events are added often, so be sure to browse the entire calendar. Here’s a sampling of the coming week’s offerings:

June 21: “Improving Your Talent as a Genealogy Speaker” with Peggy Lauritzen (Association of Professional Genealogists)

June 22: “If it’s 1773… We Must be in Russia” with Edie Adam (Sacramento German Genealogy Society)

June 23: “Fraktur und Fremwoter: Hacks for Reading Foreign Books and Newspapers” with Mary Kircher Roddy (Puget Sound Genealogical Society)

June 24: “Irish Catholic Church Records” by Dr James Ryan (Ancestor Network Dublin)

June 25: “Locating U.S. Documents” (Texas State Library & Archives Commission)

June 26: “The Law and the Reasonably Exhaustive (Re)Search” by Judy Russell (Sacramento Public Library)

June 27: “Discovering Your Ancestors Using Probate Records” with James Tanner (Brigham Young University Family History Library)

See our post “Genealogy Learning in the Time of Coronavirus” for links to classes archived online at Ancestry, FamilySearch, RootsTech, and more. Be well, stay safe, and happy learning!

Copyright © 2021 by California Genealogical Society

Our Spring 2021 issue of The California Nugget is hot off the press! If you haven’t already received your copy in the mail, it should arrive soon. The issue also is available online for members to read.

In this issue, our writers share their stories of family history and California history and how they intersected. Norman Ishimoto recounts the remarkable life story of his father in “Seven Brushes With Death: The Life of Itsuo Ishimoto.” Born on a Hawaiian sugar plantation, Ishimoto survived several life-threatening events, including the 1918 flu pandemic, a stint in the Japanese Imperial Army, and, upon his return to the United States, illness, poverty, and incarceration in two WWII detention camps.

In “A Happy Ending for a Runaway Schleswig-Holstein Bride,” Maureen Hanlon traces the journey of an ancestor who abandoned her first husband in Germany, married an Irishman, and immigrated with him to New York and then to San Francisco, where they settled, raised a family, and became prosperous.

Trish Hackett Nicola’s article about the Halcyon, a racing yacht re-outfitted for smuggling, illuminates the opium trade that flourished up and down the West Coast in the late nineteenth century.

Lisa Gorrell’s column, “21st-Century Genealogy,” discusses using social history in context to bring ancestors’ stories to life.

TABLE of CONTENTS:

Our Ancestors
Seven Brushes With Death: The Life of Itsuo Ishimoto, by Norman Ishimoto et al
A Happy Ending for a Runaway Schleswig-Holstein Bride, by Maureen Hanlon
California History
The Halcyon: An Infamous Opium-Smuggling Schooner and Her Notorious Crew, 1886-1896, by Trish Hackett Nicola
21st-Century Genealogy
Using Context to Bring Understanding, Lisa S. Gorrell, CG
At the Society
Special Interest Groups
Upcoming Events
Index