Blog | California Genealogical Society

Fall 2010 Beginning Genealogy Series – Sign Up Now!

by Kathryn Doyle (8/17/2010)

In celebration of October Family History Month, the Oakland Regional Family History Center (ORFHC) and the California Genealogical Society (CGS) are offering an encore Beginning Genealogy Research Series. Classes will be held from 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday evenings at the ORFHC.

The course has been completely overhauled since last year’s series and includes new material, more sessions and a field trip to the CGS Library. Classes begin on September 28, 2010 and run through November 9, 2010.

There is a $20 fee for the full series of classes which includes a printed syllabus. Single classes can be attended for a fee of $4 per class if space is available.

Free parking is available at the Oakland Regional Family History Center, located at 4766 Lincoln Avenue, Oakland, California 94602.

Preregistration is necessary to ensure adequate handouts. Drop-ins will be welcome on a space available basis.

There are two easy ways to sign up.

Download the registration flier and mail with a check for $20 to CGS – OR –

Class outline and schedule:

Class 1 – Getting Started
Tuesday, September 28, 2010, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. at the ORFHC.

Class 2 – Using the Census to Expand Your Knowledge and Extend Your Pedigree
Tuesday, October 5, 2010, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. at the ORFHC

Class 3 – Orientation to the Oakland Regional Family History Center and Workshop
Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. at the ORFHC.

Class 4 – Organizing Files and Documenting Sources
Tuesday, October 19, 2010, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. at the ORFHC.

Class 5 – Documentation in the Digital Age
Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. at the ORFHC.

Class 6 – Vital Records
Tuesday, November 2, 2010, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. at the ORFHC.

Class 7 – Field Trip to the California Genealogical Society Library
Saturday, November 6, 2010, 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. at the CGSL.

Class 8 – Where Do I Go From Here?
Tuesday, November 9, 2010, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. at the ORFHC.

Silent Auction Items Needed for October Seminar

by Kathryn Doyle (8/16/2010)

The silent auctions held at past California Genealogical Society sponsored events have been very successful fund-raisers and they’ve been fun, too!

Members donate things that appeal to others who bid on them. The auctions are a place to browse between lectures and they are 100% profit for the society.

Items are needed for a planned October seminar. Can you help?

Look around your home. Do you have something that might be a sought-after auction item? Use your imagination! Here’s a few examples:

Decorative – nice glass or crystal pieces, sculptures, a set of dishes, a set of popular books, handmade items such as quilts or afghans. One member donated a leather briefcase for our NEHGS event.

Special Opportunities – a cruise on the bay, a tour of something not readily available to the public. A behind-the-scenes tour of BART was a well-received item at one of our events.

Services – genealogical research, software tutoring, entering genealogy into a database, etc.

Small items for Theme Baskets

Baskets
Coffee, mugs, scone or muffin mix – “Coffee-break basket”
Wine, glasses, appetizers, napkins – “Happy-hour basket”
Scented soaps, oils, lufa – “Spa basket”
Picnic basket

All suggestions welcome!

Please email Pam Lewis or Jane Lindsey if you have any questions or possible silent auction items.

Workshop: Working with Footnotes and Indexing

by Kathryn Doyle (8/13/2010)

Saturday, September 25, 2010
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

California Genealogical Society and Library
2201 Broadway, Suite LL2
Oakland, California 94612

Join Jane Hufft and Matt Berry for this two-part workshop to help you cite your research sources and create an index for your family history.

In Part 1, Jane will take the fear out of footnotes and give you the basic information you need to write needed, useful and clear citations for all your research. Learn how to cite your sources with a sense of confidence, using the best models in the field. You will be given helpful examples and a variety of ways to make notations for your family history writing.

Most people don’t read family histories—they look up things in them. In Part 2, Matt will discuss how to create a useful index to your book using the tools available in Microsoft Word 2007. Topics include: what to include in the index, how to create the index, how to format the index, and how to update the index after you make revisions to your book

The workshop is FREE for CGS members but is limited to twenty people. Non-members fee is $20.00 (non-refundable) and can be applied towards membership on the day of the workshop.

Preregistration is required. Walk-ins will not be admitted.

Jane Hufft, current editor of the CGS publication The California Nugget and former CGS board member, has written several articles for genealogy journals and continues to work on her own family history research. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband Ron.

Matthew B. Berry is a San Diego native who came to the Bay Area at a young age and grew up in Foster City. He now lives in Livermore with Karen, his wife of seventeen years, and daughter Christa.