Blog | California Genealogical Society

by Jennifer Dix (4/27/2020)

CGS President James Sorenson

Greetings,

I hope you are all weathering the COVID-19 storm. These continue to be extraordinary and unprecedented times for all of us. I know most of us want to return to “normal.” For CGS, normal would be resuming our classes at the library. Although we closed our library and canceled classes before it was required, our continued closure is a function of county health mandates. We will not be able to open our library or resume classes at the library until some time after there is some relaxing of general restrictions. Phase One of relaxed restrictions will still prohibit gatherings of people greater than some number (say 10) people. I have not heard anyone say when Phase One will start in Alameda County, and certainly no one can say when the later phases will occur.

We have decided to cancel classes which were scheduled as part of a series, if the front end of that series has already been canceled. That doesn’t mean those classes will not take place this year but they will not take place as currently scheduled.

CGS has been working with remote-access technology and we had our first remote-access class on April 9. We are working on having other remote-access classes and they will be posted on our website and in our blog as they are developed and scheduled. This is new territory for CGS and we are working diligently to bring these classes to our CGS membership and other members of the genealogy community who look to CGS for guidance and instruction.

James Sorenson, President

Online Genealogy: Week of April 27-May 3

by Jennifer Dix (4/26/2020)

Each week we will share news of upcoming online genealogy events. Most of them are free. Check our previous post, “Genealogy Learning in theTime of Coronavirus,” for a list of archived classes at Ancestry, FamilySearch, RootsTech, and more.

Heads up: The National Genealogical Society will hold a Virtual Family History Conference this year, beginning May 20. Visit their website for details.

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society continues its series of webinars. Next up is a presentation by CGS member Grant Din!

April 28: “The Joys and Challenges of Chinese American Research” by Grant Din
April 29: “German Records Online” by James M. Beidlar
May 4: “Using Third-Party Tools to Analyze Your Autosomal DNA” by Blaine Bettinger

Legacy Family Tree and MyHeritage continue their ongoing series. This week:

April 28: “Working with DNA segments on MyHeritage” by Ran Snir

April 29: “Road Crews and Jury Selection: How to Find Where Our Ancestors Lived and Their Neighbors” by J. Mark Lowe

May 1: “The Future is Still in the Past: An Introduction to Online Parish Clerks in the United Kingdom” by Wayne Shepheard

Conference Keeper lists most of the above, as well as these webinars:

April 27: “Jersey Roots Genealogy” presented by Michelle Tucker Chubenko
April 29: “Break Down Brick Walls” a Zoom chat with Illinois librarians
May 1: “Getting Done Your Family History Projects” a four-part class by Heirloom Films
May 2: “First World War Internment Camps” with Hannah Bell via the BYU Family History Library (link takes you to the list of classes; you can click to enter the class at time specified)

Stay safe, and happy learning!

DNA Day test kit sales!

by Jennifer Dix (4/24/2020)


the famous double helix

Saturday, April 25, is National DNA Day, commemorating the day in 1953 when molecular biologists James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, and chemist Rosalind Franklin and colleagues published papers describing the double-helix structure of DNA. Many DNA testing companies lower their prices for “DNA Day” sales every year. Ancestry DNA, the most popular test with the largest database, does not appear to be participating at this time (watch them for discounts around the holidays), but many other leading companies are offering deep discounts on their test kits this weekend; some are extending their sales into next week. Here’s a partial listing:

Living DNA is selling its ancestry and health kits at a discount of up to 30 percent.

23 and Me offers discounts of 20 to 25 percent off their ancestral DNA and genetic health test kits through April 26.

Family Tree DNA has discounts up to 30 percent on their Y-DNA, autosomal, and mtDNA tests through April 26.

MyHeritage’s ethnic DNA and health test kits are half off through April 29.

Confused about which test is right for you? You may want to check the DNA Testing Guide website, which offers detailed information about and comparisons of the best DNA tests on the market today. The site’s blog is full of information about the basics of DNA and covers topics including Asian ancestry, African American ancestry, Native American ancestry and much more.