Blog | California Genealogical Society

Update From the French-Canadian Special Interest Group

by Kathryn Doyle (7/5/2010)

One of the upcoming summer Thursday night discussions will be devoted to all thing French-Canadian.

On Thursday, July 22, 2010, Mary Beth Frederick will facilitate a discussion about French-Canadian research resources. She will be available to provide help for non-French-speakers about commonly used words and to converse about the format of French-Canadian birth, marriage and death records. Attendees are encouraged to bring their problem documents.

The session will be held from 6:30 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. at the CGS library. Participants of all levels of research experience are welcome to network and join the conversation.

SIG organizer Lorna Jones sent word that future meetings of the French-Canadian group are planned for Saturday mornings: October 9, 2010 and January 8, 2011.

Workshop: How to Conduct Oral Histories with Nancy Thompson

by Kathryn Doyle (7/2/2010)

Saturday, August 14, 2010
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

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

Nancy Thompson will conduct a three-hour interactive workshop on how to conduct oral histories. Discussion topics will include interviewing techniques, transcribing and editing tips, using photographs and other family memorabilia, incorporating relevant social history, using different multimedia options (book, CD, video, DVD, websites), and archiving oral histories.

This workshop is limited to thirty participants and is a free benefit of membership. A non-refundable fee of $20.00 will be charged to non-members (can be applied towards a CGS membership only on the day of the workshop.) Walk-ins will not be admitted. Preregistration is required.

Nancy Thompson is an Oakland native, an award-winning oral historian, filmmaker, and writer. She is the director and producer of a 12-minute documentary titled Mrs. Brown’s Beauty – A Story of Art and Inspiration. Produced in 2006, the film has been screened at film festivals in Oakland, San Francisco, and Atlanta. She is the author of Pioneering Spirits – A Legacy of Courage (2009), The Life and Art of Inez Brown (2009), The Artwork of Inez Brown (2005), and The Turner Family History (2003). Nancy was an interviewer for the Friends of Negro Spirituals Oral History Project, In Our Own Words: The Negro Spirituals Heritage Keepers and she has recorded her family history with the Story Corps’ Griot Project and the Museum of the African Diaspora’s Share Your Stories Project. Nancy earned a B.A. degree in sociology/economics from Mills College in Oakland and a J.D. degree from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

eNews July 2010, volume 4, number 7

by Kathryn Doyle (7/1/2010)

The July 2010 issue of the eNews, volume 4, number 7, has been published and emailed to members and friends. As always, the eNews features timely information about the California Genealogical Society and our upcoming events. Each edition also includes Suggested Links From the Blogosphere and a photo feature: California Ancestors.

This month I submitted one of my own ancestor photographs. A tintype of my gg-grandmother, Mary Ann “Mollie” Glant Briggs.

Mary Ann “Mollie” (Glant) Briggs (1848-1880)

All past issues of the eNews are available for viewing at the eNewsARCHIVE.

The August 2010 issue will be emailed on July 31, 2010. To receive a copy, please join our mailing list.