Online Genealogy: Week of August 24-30

by Jennifer Dix (8/22/2020)

Our “Writing Your Family History” Series continues Tuesdays at 7 p.m.

This eight-part series walks through the steps needed to produce a well-researched and handsome family history book, from the basics of storytelling to the finished product. Sign up for one, several, or all sessions! This week: Matt Berry leads a class on “Genealogical Numbering Systems.”

Courses:
August 24-September 20: “U. S. Land Records: How to Use Them for Family History” (Family Tree Magazine) [fee]August 25: “Finding Your Ancestors in International Censuses” (Family Tree Magazine) [fee]

Numerous associations offer online genealogy events every week. Most are free. To register for one of the events below, click on the name of the host organization. See our post “Genealogy Learning in the Time of Coronavirus” for links to classes archived online at Ancestry, FamilySearch, RootsTech, and more.

American Ancestors
August 25: “Jews in the Catskills During and After the Holocaust” by Phil Brown

August 25: “Say I’m Dead: A Family Memoir of Race, Secrets, and Love” Dolores Johnson discusses her book about her mixed-race family
August 26: “2020 Update: Basics of FindMyPast” with James Tanner
Legacy Family Tree
August 25: “How to Use MyHeritage DNA Results to Enhance Your Family Tree” by Michelle Leonard
August 26: “Slack for Genealogy Projects” by Thomas MacEntee 

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

August 25: “Using the Periodical Source Index (PERSI)” by Allen County Public Library
August 26: “Newspapers and Print Resources” by Boston Public Library
August 26: “Googling for Genealogy” by Irondequoit Public Library
August 26: “Family History Resources at the Library of Congress” by Homer (IL) Public Library
August 27: “Finding Pre-Immigration Records: a Three-Step Approach” by Jay Fonkert
August 27: “Hurra, wir fahren nach Amerika: Travel Patterns from the Age of Sail to the Age of Steam” by Wolfgang Grams
August 29: “Introduction to African American Genealogy: Let’s Find Some Ancestors” by Annette Burke Lyttle
August 29: “75th Anniversary of the End of World War I” (Colorado Genealogical Society)
August 29: “Operation: WWII Chinese American G. I.” (Bay Area Chinese Genealogy Group)
August 30: “Out of the Whirlwind: Finding Your Family Lost in the Holocaust” by Deborah Long

Be well, stay safe, and happy learning!

Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society
Help Find Photos of These California Veterans

by Jennifer Dix (8/16/2020)

California Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Sacramento

The California Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Photo by Sarbjit Bahga (Wikimedia Commons)

CalVet Connect has been compiling photos of Vietnam War veterans from California with the aim of creating a “virtual wall” to put faces to the names on the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Sacramento. The task now is almost complete: just four more names need to be matched with photos. They are:

  • Tommy R. Henderson, Los Angeles, U.S. Army
  • John E. Magee, Los Angeles, U.S. Army
  • Vernon P. Smith, Los Angeles, U.S. Navy
  • Frank Spotwood Jr., San Francisco, U.S. Army

CGS Member John Ralls, who belongs to the Northern California post of the Scottish American Military Society, brought this to our attention in hopes that someone with genealogical skills might be able to locate a photo for these fallen servicemen. 

For more details about the project, see this blog post at the CalVet blog. If you are a relative of, knew, attended school with, or served with any of these men, please contact Mike Kennedy at [email protected].

Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society

Online genealogy, Week of August 17-23

by Jennifer Dix (8/15/2020)

Our “Writing Your Family History” Series continues Tuesdays at 7 p.m.

This eight-part series walks through the steps needed to produce a well-researched and handsome family history book, from the basics of storytelling to the finished product. Sign up for one, several, or all sessions! This week: Jennifer Dix leads a class on “Writing With Style.”
 

Courses:

August 17-September 13 “Find Your Italian Ancestors” (Family Tree University) [fee]
August 24-September 20: “U.S. Land Records: How to Use Them for Family History” (Family Tree University) [fee]
Numerous associations offer online genealogy events every week. Most are free. To register for one of the events below, click on the name of the host organization. See our post “Genealogy Learning in the Time of Coronavirus” for links to classes archived online at Ancestry, FamilySearch, RootsTech, and more.

American Ancestors
August 20: “How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower’s Biggest Decision” Susan Eisenhower discusses her book about her grandfather, President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

August 12: “How to Ask Your DNA Question” with Bonnie Belza

August 18 & 19:  “The Advance of Research Habits Over Recent Decades–And the Downside” by Tom Jones
August 19: “Getting to Know Mexican Church and Civil Registration Records” by Colleen Robledo Greene

Densho.org  concludes its “Finding Your Nikkei Roots” series.
August 20: “Recording Oral Histories” with Tom Ikeda

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

 
August 17: “Building a Better Syllabus” (Association of Professional Genealogists)
August 18: “Bounty Land: It’s Complicated” (Wisconsin State Genealogical Society) 
August 18: “Unlocking Notation Codes on Alien Passenger Lists” (New York Public Library)
August 18: “Enrich Your Research With Digital Primary Sources” (Allen County Public Library)
August 18: “Genealogy Research Using Southern Manuscripts” (Dallas Public Library) 
August 18: “Successful Strategies for Research Eastern European Ancestors” (Arlington Heights Memorial Library)
August 19: “The Most Prominent Citizens: Using County Histories” (Southern California Genealogical Society)
August 20: “Death By Undue Means: Coroners’ Records” by Judy Russell (Florida State Genealogical Society)
August 20 & 21: “Researching Your Ancestors When You’re Adopted” by Penny Walters (Utah Genealogical Association)
August 21: “Ethical Dilemmas in Genealogy” by Penny Walters
August 22: “LGBTQ Genealogy” by Stewart Traiman (Kentucky Genealogical Society)
August 23: “Researching Displaced People” by Julie Goucher (Virtual Genealogical Association)
August 23: “Discovering Sephardic Roots Through DNA & Family History” by Shelley Talalay Dardashti

Be well, stay safe, and happy learning!

Copyright © 2020 by California Genealogical Society