Workshop: Microsoft Word Skills for Genealogists – April 11, 2009

by Kathryn Doyle (3/7/2009)

Microsoft Word Skills for Genealogists – Formatting Styles, Footnotes and Indexing
A Publishing Workshop with Matthew Berry

Saturday, April 11, 2009
10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
California Genealogical Society Library
2201 Broadway, Suite LL2, Oakland, California

Join CGS member Matthew Berry for this skills building workshop designed to help give genealogists the practical tools they need to go beyond the basics of Microsoft Office Word. Follow Matt’s step-by-step tutorial and learn to create an organized family history with information that is easy to find using:

· Consistent formatting of information
· Footnotes or endnotes to document ancillary information, especially sources
· A comprehensive index and table of contents.

Please note that MS Word 2003 will be used for illustrations but instructions will also be provided for MS Word 2007.

The workshop day will consist of lecture material with handout, a lunch break and a “hands-on” session so attendees can practice their new skills. Members are encouraged to bring laptop computers; the six CGS computers may not all be available for the program.

Bring a brown bag for lunch or, if you prefer, there is a nearby deli where you can buy a sandwich and bring it back to the library.

The workshop is FREE for CGS members but is limited to fifteen people. There will be a sign-up fee of $10 for non-members. (This fee can be applied toward membership on the day of the workshop.) There is a sign-up sheet at the CGS Library desk. Please call CGS at 510-663-1358 or E-mail [email protected] to reserve a space.

Matthew Berry is a San Diego native who came to the Bay Area at a young age and grew up in Foster City. He received his B.A. and M.S. degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, and M.B.A. from Santa Clara University. His first career was as a satellite systems engineer at Lockheed Martin for fifteen years; he is now Project Manager at Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco. Seeing what he calls “a cool computer program” for entering family information at a family reunion in 2003 sparked an interest in genealogy, which was subsequently fueled by a desire to consolidate the genealogical work of several other family members. Matt lives in Livermore with Karen, his wife of 15 years, and daughter Christa.

Wordless Wednesday

by Kathryn Doyle (3/5/2009)

Wordless Wednesday
CGS member volunteer Marilyn Willats

Photograph by Kathryn M. Doyle, 1/13/2009, Oakland, California

Countdown to the Scots-Irish Seminar

by Kathryn Doyle (3/3/2009)

Final preparations are being made for this Saturday’s Scots-Irish Family History Research Seminar, March 7, 2009, at the new Oakland Airport Holiday Inn and Suites, 77 Hegenberger Road, Oakland, California. Please note that there are two Holiday Inns near the airport – this is the new one next door to the Hilton.

Fintan Mullan and Dr. Brian Trainor are coming from the Ulster Historical Foundation in Belfast and they’re bringing a wide range of books to sell. Oakland is their first stop on this U.S. Lecture Tour so they will have a full selection and it is an opportunity to save shipping charges since their books are not sold in the United States.

One must-have title is Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors, The Essential Genealogical Guide to Early Modern Ulster, 1600-1800 by William Roulston. If you want to pre-plan your purchases be sure to check out their complete catalog at the Ulster Historical Foundation Bookstore website.

I hope to see many of you on Saturday. If you can’t make it I’ll post some of “what you missed” next week.