Blog | California Genealogical Society

by Jennifer Dix (1/16/2021)

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.

CONFERENCES:
January 23: Virtual Preservation Roadshow (American Ancestors)

January 23: 40th Annual Ancestor Roundup (Commodore Sloat Chapter, NSDAR)

January 23 & 24: Black Sea/Odessa Genealogy Conference (American Historical Society of Germans from Russia)

CGS Events:

January 23 & 26: “Excel for Genealogists” by Stewart Blandon Traiman.

American Ancestors

January 19: “Aftershocks: A Memoir” by Nadia Owusu

January 21: “New York and London in the Gilded Age” by Curt DiCamillo and Carl Raymond

BYU Family History Library
January 20: “Beginning Research in Ireland” with James Tanner

Family History Library

January 21: “Introduction to United States Military Records”

Legacy Family Tree

January 19 & 20: “Death and Burial Practices in World War I and World War II” by Rick Sayre

January 20: “Another 50 Websites Every Genealogist Should Know” by Gena Philibert-Ortega

The San Francisco Bay Area Genealogy Calendar lists a wealth of Bay Area events and exhibits. Here are events for the coming week:

January 19:

“Creative Hypothesis Development to Solve Your Brick Wall Challenges” by Jan Joyce (San Ramon Valley Genealogical Society)

“Researching Historic LGBT Relatives” by Janice Sellers (Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society)

January 22:

“Finding Your Orphan Ancestors” by Dvorah Lewis (Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library)

January 23:

“Children Left Behind” byJudy Fambrough Billingsley (San Mateo Genealogical Society)

Conference Keeper has a large calendar of classes (too many to list) from beginning to advanced, hosted by various genealogical organizations. New events are added often, so check the calendar frequently.
Here are some of the coming week’s highlights:

January 18:

“Locating Images of Ancestors: Putting a Face with That Name” (MyHeritage)

January 19:

“Your Ancestor’s FAN Club: Using Cluster Research to Get Past Brick Walls” (Wisconsin State Genealogical Society)

January 20:

“Idlers, Lewd Women and Sabbath Breakers: New Jersey’s Early Laws” (Genealogical Society of New Jersey)

January 21:

“Researching Your Family History in Israel from Home” (Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute)

“Wills for family historians” (Family Tree Academy UK)

“Using Masonic Grand Lodge Proceedings for Genealogical Research” (Clayton Library Friends)

“The Kidnapping Club: Wall Street, Slavery, and Resistance on the Eve of the Civil War” (HistoryCamp)

January 23:

“Belarussian Research & Finding Your Family History with Land and Mortgage Records in the Kingdom of Poland” (Polish American Foundation)

“You Can Do This: Photo Organizing and Preservation” (Sacramento Public Library)

“Surfing Anglican Records for Your Caribbean Ancestor” (Connecticut Historical Society)

January 24:

“What’s in a name? Unravelling the Mystery of Jewish Migrations Through Onomastics” (Orange County Jewish Genealogical Society)

“Researching Revolutionary America” and “Black Loyalists in the Revolutionary War” (Genealogical Society of Washtenaw County MI)

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!

Latest issue of The California Nugget

by Jennifer Dix (1/15/2021)

The Fall 2020 issue is in the mail and now available online

Our latest issue of The California Nugget is in the mail now! and hopefully will arrive soon in your mailbox. Members can access the digital version online at our website.

Our Editors’ Note gives this overview:

Lucille Ball

We’ve assembled articles on a variety of topics. In “Lucy’s Fred: Three Generations of Hunt Ancestry of Lucille D. (Ball) (Arnaz) Morton,” Darcie Hind Posz looks at the time actress Lucille Ball came under scrutiny by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Examining why Ball and other family members joined the Communist Party in the 1930s, Posz uncovers a history of sympathy for the working class that stretched back to the Civil War.

In this year marking the centennial of American women’s suffrage, Virginia Turner shares the story of her ancestor Elizabeth Healy Turner, who lived in Wyoming Territory when women there were granted the right to vote in 1870, and who was one of the first women called to serve on a jury.

Lizzie Spooner

Ted Steele’s “Benjamin Franklin Lowe, A California Pioneer” profiles a businessman ancestor who came to California during the Gold Rush. It follows the interesting histories of his children, half of whom returned to their native East Coast, while the other half settled permanently in the West.

Benjamin Lowe

In our genealogical methods column, Lisa Gorrell examines the first principle of the Genealogical Proof Standard—“reasonably exhaustive research”—and discusses what that means for the researcher.

Table of Contents

Our Ancestors:

“Lucy’s Fred: Three Generations of Hunt Ancestry of Lucille D. (Ball) (Arnaz) Morton” by Darcie Hind Posz

“The Vote Before the Vote: Lizzie Healy Spooner in Wyoming Territory, 1870” by Virginia Turner

“Benjamin Franklin Lowe, A California Pioneer” by Edward E. “Ted” Steele

21st-Century Genealogy:

“What Does It Mean to Do Reasonably Exhaustive Research?” by Lisa Gorrell

At the Society:

2022 National Genealogical Society Conference

Upcoming Events

Index

NOTE: We always welcome submissions. For more information, contact the editors at [email protected].

Photo credits: Lucille Ball, Wikimedia; Lizzie Spooner, Debbie Smith; Benjamin Lowe, Society of California Pioneers.

Recap of the Annual CGS Membership Meeting

by Jennifer Dix (1/13/2021)

While it was definitely “different” to hold our annual Membership Meeting via Zoom last weekend (and who doesn’t know “different” after the past year?), it was still good to see lots of familiar faces.

CGS Board Members with their different backgrounds,
some more creative then others. Ready for our closeups!
(Click to enlarge)

We had about 50 people in attendance on Saturday. This occasion saw the departure of two much-appreciated CGS Board members: Arlene Miles and Stacy Hoover Haines each stepped down at the end of her term. Arlene is well-known to many of our members for her years of service as the CGS Library Manager and as a volunteer in other capacities. Stacy is an invaluable researcher and editor who continues to serve as co-editor of The California Nugget. We are grateful for their service.

Two new Board members were voted in at the meeting. Ron Madson is familiar to our members as a teacher, lecturer, and leader of the Family Tree Maker Special Interest Group. Adelle Treakle, who has served on the membership committee and is currently our EventBrite coordinator, has also accepted an invitation to serve on the Board. Welcome, Ron and Adelle! You can find more information on each of our current Board members and Officers at the CGS website.

After general business, we heard from Jane Lindsey, who gave us a preview of the 2022 NGS Family History Conference, to be held in Sacramento in May 2022. CGS is hosting the event, which is now soliciting proposed speakers. Of course, we will need lots of volunteers to help out as the time draws near. More details will be coming your way via the blog and eNews in coming months.

Thanks to all our members, to the Board and Officers, and everyone who helped pull the event together. Here’s to good things in 2021!