July Membership Meeting – Steve Danko

by Kathryn Doyle (6/1/2009)

July Membership Meeting
Saturday, July 11, 2009
1:00 p.m.
CGS Library
2201 Broadway, Suite LL2
Oakland, California 94612

Genealogy Gadgets and Gizmos: New Technology to Help in Your Research

CGS is thrilled to have member and noted blogger Steve Danko as our speaker for the July membership meeting.

New hardware, software and online technology make finding, recording and sharing information faster and easier than ever. Many of these advancements have found their way into genealogical research, enabling even a moderately technology-capable genealogist to take advantage of these new gadgets and gizmos. New technology allows genealogists to have access to family history data from anywhere in the world. Researchers can avail themselves of genealogy education at times and places of their choosing, collect documents and information more easily and prepare professional-quality family books without the commercial price.

Please note that the short membership meeting starts promptly at 1:00 p.m. Steve’s talk follows at approximately 1:20 p.m. Seating is limited so please arrive early. Meetings are open to everyone but non-members pay a $5.00 users fee to enter the library. (Or come and become a member of CGS!)

Dr. Stephen J. Danko holds a Ph.D. in Botany and Plant Pathology and recently completed requirements for the Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies (PLCGS) from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies, University of Toronto.

Steve began seriously researching his family history ten years ago, focusing primarily on American, Canadian, and Polish records. He has conducted research on location in Poland and Lithuania and has visited the villages in which his immigrant ancestors lived.

Steve writes a daily genealogy research blog where he posts images of family documents and discusses his genealogical research process. In the course of his writing his blog, Steve has reconnected with lost cousins in Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

CGS in the News: Family Tree Magazine – July 2009 issue

by Kathryn Doyle (5/29/2009)

The July 2009 issue of Family Tree Magazine is out and some CGS researchers are featured in “Changing Gears” an article by Maureen A. Taylor, the Photo Detective, about “reverse genealogy” – finding living relatives to further your research.

Among the five reasons to research forward in time, Maureen counts “grow your family tree” and two of her examples come from the California Genealogical Society. CGS President Jane Lindsey is sited for her use of newspaper research to sidestep San Francisco record gaps after the 1906 earthquake and fire. One of Jane’s clients was able to make a Mayflower connection “through the work of researchers on three continents.”

CGS example two sites the work that Lavinia Schwarz, Judy Bodycote and Richard Rees did on the Peralta Project and the database they created of some 700 descendants of Luis Maria Peralta.

It’s great to see the fantastic research team at CGS acknowledged for their excellent work! Thanks, Maureen.

Wordless Wednesday

by Kathryn Doyle (5/27/2009)

Wordless Wednesday
Intermediate Genealogy Series with Marge Bell
Reading and Transcribing the Handwriting of Colonial America

Photograph courtesy of Tim Cox, Oakland, California 5/9/2009.