Area Event: Tracking One Family Across the Old Spanish Trail

We pass this on from our friends at the LA Public Library and GSHA-SC:

We are pleased to welcome Donie Nelson of the Genealogical Society of Hispanic America - SoCal to the Central Library to give a genealogy presentation in September. Donie is also the coordinator for Hispanic Saturdays, a genealogy research group that meets the third Saturday of every month in the History & Genealogy Department at the Central Library.

Using a Timeline: Tracking One Family Across the Old Spanish Trail
Central Library, Meeting Room A
September 17, 2011, 1 pm

In this presentation you will learn how to create a timeline to organize facts, observe patterns, and achieve breakthroughs in your genealogy research. Donie Nelson of the Genealogical Society of Hispanic America - SoCal will walk you through the process as you study the family of Jose Joaquin Young and Ma. Josefa Moya, who were born in New Mexico and died in California, but traveled back and forth over the Old Spanish Trail, leaving bewildering traces for their descendants to ponder. You will discover how to create a basic timeline and how records other than baptismal, marriage and death can assist your search, adding nuance and depth to your family’s history.

Area Event: Oral History Workshop at Torrance Library

We pass this on for the Friends of the Torrance Public Library:

Oral History
documenting your life stories

September 10th, 2 pm

Recording oral history life narratives is a great way to capture the extraordinary experiences of ordinary people. Many genealogists and family historians use oral history to give life and drama to family trees. Archived oral histories preserve people's memories of major events such as the Great Depression, wars, the Civil Rights Movement, or the Women's Movement, or the Women's Movement as well development and change in communities and families.

Join us for an afternoon with Karen Harper, Oral Historian, community historian, and Past-President of the Southwest Oral History Association (SOHA). Ms. Harper will provide an interactive practice based introduction to oral history including interviewing techniques, outline guides, information sources, ethical and preservation issues, and product possibilities.

This event is free
Seating is limited and is first-come, first-seated
Suitable for ages 10 and above and will last approximately 3 hours

Katy Geissert Civic Center Library Community Meeting Room
3301 Torrance Blvd

My Heritage Is Here T-Shirt from SCGS

They were the hottest-selling item at Jamboree, and you can get yours today. What, you ask?

"My Heritage is Here" t-shirts are available for purchase from the Southern California Genealogical Society.

Personalize yours by affixing stars (silver or gold), or gold hearts (25 per package, purchase separately) or bedazzle them yourself.

All 50 US states are shown on this snazzy t-shirt. If you have ancestors in Canada or Mexico, it's okay to "bling" outside the lines.

Colors include royal blue, purple, navy, maroon, Kelly green, and red.

Sizes and costs include:
$13.00: S - M - L - XL
$15.00: XX
$17.00: XXX
$ 2.75: Silver or gold stars
$ 3.75: Gold hearts

All prices are plus tax and handling. No SCGS member discounts on this, sorry.

Download the order form HERE

Get yours today!

Patronymic Practices and Finding Foreign Records - Sept Lunch and Learn

LUNCH AND LEARN
@
Southern California Genealogical Society and Family Research Library
417 Irving Drive, Burbank, California 91504
818-843-7247
Saturday September 10, 2011

Doors open at 12noon
Lunch - 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. Sit, chat, and share while eating your brown bag lunch
Learn - 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. George Coulter, Patronymic Practices
Learn - 2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Richard McBride, Finding Foreign Records

Patronymic Practices - a Portal to the Past
Presented by George Coulter

The presentation covers the basics of naming practices utilized by various nations and ethnic groups, with emphasis on patronymic surnames. We compare and contrast patronymics, epithets, surnames of place, and occupational surnames, to illustrate how each surname can provide clues to permit determination of the national and/or ethnic background of the bearer. George P. Coulter, a genealogical writer, speaker, and consultant, honed his skills in those endeavors during his years as a California attorney, before becoming a professional genealogist. He attended UCLA under a Holloway Plan scholarship, and received his A.B. degree in Political Science from that institution in 1951, concurrently with a commission in the U.S. Navy. George is a Life Member of the National Genealogical Society, a member of the Society of Genealogists (London), the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, the Dyfed (Wales) Family History Society, and a number of local historical and genealogical societies.

Finding Foreign Records Presented by Richard McBride

The Family History Library’s have a treasure trove of microfilm and books at their disposal. Mr. McBride will show you how to find these treasures. Dr. Richard D. McBride is the Director of the Los Angeles Regional Family History Center. He has been involved in family history research for about 40 years. He was born and raised in Mesa, Arizona. After graduating from UCLA with a Ph. D. in Applied Mathematics he taught for 32 years at the University of Southern California. He currently is an Emeritus USC Professor of Management Science and Logistics. He is married to Georgia West and they have seven children.

The library will not be open for research.

Any questions please contact Charlotte rubymoon01@yahoo.com

Kings Daughters and Carignan Soldiers - August 28

The French Canadian Historical Society of California is pleased to announce a joint meeting with La Société des Filles du roi et soldats du Carignan (SFRSC) to be held Sunday, August 28, 2011 at the SCGS Research Library in Burbank.

The SFRSC is dedicated to the women and men who played a major role in the growth and settlement of New France. The morning session will feature a presentation by Bill Kane, Vice President of SFRSC, entitled "Sent by the King: the Story of the Fille du Roi."

Sent to colonial New France by the French King, nearly 800 girls and women came to Canada between 1663 and 1673 with the promise of a dowry if they would marry there. Today nearly every person who can claim French-Canadian ancestry can trace his or her lineage back to more than one of these women (les Filles du Roi or King's Daughters).

Bill's discussion will address recruitment, getting to the port, the sea journey, arrival in New France, meeting prospective spouses, the contract signing, the marriages.

Following a potluck lunch, hands-on assistance will be provided for attendees who need to prove their Fille/Carignan descendancy or who need help in completing their documentation to submit to SFRSC.

Information: fchsc@scgsgenealogy.com or 818-843-7247 - Public welcome!

SCGS Beginning Genealogy Course - 4 weeks in Sept

Summer left you feeling a little rusty in terms of your genealogical research skills? We've got just the solution.

Beginner's Four-Week Class
September 6, 13, 20 and 27

Tuesdays 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
at the SCGS Library

Week 1 - The Basics of Getting Started
Week 2 - Census Records and Their Substitutes
Week 3 - Church Records
Week 4 - Military and Land Records

Sign up by emailing - beginner@scgsgenealogy.com or call 818-843-7247

Transfer of Y-DNA Results to SCGS Project in FTDNA

If you have tested your Y-DNA with AncestryDNA, GeneTree, or Sorenson's SMGF, you now have an opportunity to transfer your results to Family Tree DNA where SCGS has its DNA project. FTDNA has the largest database for matching so you have a higher possibility of finding cousins and comparing genealogy.

Transfer options are listed here in this FAQ and range from $19 to $58.

Since testers want to know who matches them in the database and should want the haplogroup prediction, it is best to pay the $58.00 fee for the Y-DNA46 and Y-DNA37 transfer.

--Alice Fairhurst, SCGS DNA Interest Group Chair, alicefairhurst@gmail.com

Area Event: Taking Your History to the Future

We post this on behalf of our friends from the Los Angeles WESTSIDE Genealogical Society:

Taking Your History to the Future: Preservation care for family papers and photographs

Speakers: Brook Black and Jennifer Goldman

Date: Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Place: Family History Library on Westwood Mormon Temple grounds
10741 Santa Monica Blvd @ Overland Ave

Admission Free

During this hands-on workshop, attendees will learn how their family peper and photographs can live on for future generations to enjoy. The workshop will go over techniques on proper handling, archival housing, and documentation for the most common of family papers such as letters, birth certificates, and pictures. The presenters, members of the Huntington Library staff, will also go over best practices for preserving digital material. Attendees are invited to bring along one item for a preservation evaluation.

For more information, go to the website http://www.lawgsweb.org/

30M manuscripts and 16M archives at Virginia Heritage

VIVA, the Virtual Library of Virginia, is pleased to announce the availability of VIRGINIA HERITAGE (http://www.lib.virginia.edu/vhp/), a database of guides, or finding aids, describing archives and manuscripts in eleven repositories in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

"From the settlement at Jamestown in 1607, through the Revolutionary and Civil Wars and into the tumult of the 20th century, the Commonwealth of Virginia has stood at the center of America's history. Many of the priceless documents of American history, literature and political thought reside in the special collections of Virginia's colleges, universities, and other research libraries."

Founded in 1994, VIVA (http://www.vivalib.org/) consists of the libraries of the thirty-nine state assisted colleges and universities within Virginia, and an additional twenty-nine independent, not-for-profit educational institutions. VIVA's mission is to provide, in an equitable, cooperative and cost-effective manner, enhanced access to library and information resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia's research libraries serving the higher education community.

For more information about VIRGINIA HERITAGE, contact Edward Gaynor at gaynor@virginia.edu or at (434) 924-3138.

Relative Roots DNA Webinars for August

We pass this on for our friends at Relative Roots as this series is endorsed by the SCGS DNA Interest Group. (Please note these webinars are not affiliated with the SCGS Jamboree Extension Series)

Thursday, August 4
Introduction to Genetic Genealogy at Family Tree DNA

Tuesday, August 9
Genetic Genealogy Demystified: Reading and Understanding Your Family Tree DNA Results,
Part 1: Y-DNA

Thursday, August 25
Genetic Genealogy Demystified: Reading and Understanding Your Family Tree DNA Results,
Part 2: mtDNA

Tuesday, August 30
Genetic Genealogy Demystified: Reading and Understanding Your Family Tree DNA Results,
Part 3: Family Finder

REGISTRATION
For complete details about these webinars and to register, please visit http://www.relativeroots.net/webinars/

Civil War - The Grand Review of the Troops

We pass this on behalf of our friends at The Lincoln at the Crossroads Alliance (LATCRA):

Re-enactment Parade, Concert, Grand Ball, and Day-Long Conference
for the 150th Anniversary of
President Lincoln’s Grand Review of the Troops
in Baileys Crossroads
November 11-12, 2011

(Baileys Crossroads, VA)—Plans are complete for a major 150th anniversary commemoration of President Abraham Lincoln’s Grand Review of the Troops at Baileys Crossroads, VA. The Lincoln at the Crossroads Alliance (LATCRA), in partnership with the Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) Alexandria Campus and the Baileys Crossroads Revitalization Corporation (BCRC), have set a Re-enactment of the most important historical event in Baileys Crossroads history as the centerpiece for the 150th anniversary of the event.

The parade of 70,000 soldiers in 1861 signaled to President Lincoln that he had an army ready for the difficult years ahead. On November 12, 2011, the Commemoration Parade comprised of Civil War re-enactors and current-day military units will march on part of the route used in 1861. Staging for the parade will be at NOVA’s student parking lot and the parade will be on Leesburg Pike, part of the site of the 1861 Grand Review.

The Sesquicentennial Commemorations will feature a Conference organized by NOVA at its Alexandria Campus examining the past, present and future of Baileys Crossroads. The Symposium, to be held on November 11th, will be followed by a Grand Concert at NOVA’s Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center from 7pm-9pm. Activities will culminate with a Period Grand Ball at the Hilton Hotel Alexandria Mark Center from 10pm-12am.

While the review Lincoln witnessed consisted of 70,000 soldiers in seven marching divisions, the Sesquicentennial will consist of approximately 5,000 soldiers/Civil War civilians, local citizen organizations and school groups divided into five marching divisions. Each marching division will be headed by a ceremonial detachment and marching band representing each of the five uniformed services (Army – Navy – Air Force – Marine Corps – Coast Guard). The Parade will include a large contingent of active personnel from the U.S. Armed Forces and Virginia National Guard. Registration forms for Civil War Re-enactors and others who would like to participate in the parade are now available. Please visit the Re-enactors page at www.latcra.org for more information.

The official hotel is the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center, 5000 Seminary Rd, Alexandria, VA 22311. Reservations must be made no later than October 1, 2011 to obtain the discounted price of $100, including taxes. The reservation number is 1-703-845-1010. The symposium, the concert and the parade are free to all participants, but reservations for the Period Grand Ball are $26.25 with payment required by October 1, 2011.

For additional information contact Maria Elena Schacknies at meschacknies@latcra.org or 703-820-1904. For a list of events with dates and times, see the LATCRA website.

The 1940 US Census is Coming ......

In a little less than a year, the 1940 US Census will be released.

From the National Archives website on the subject, the 1940 Census will be released on April 2, 2012. Digital images will be available via Internet as well as at NARA facilities nationwide.

The census day was April 1, 1940. There are many standard questions in the census but also a few new ones such as whether the person worked for the CCC, WPA; what is the respondent's usual occupation, not just what he/she is doing currently; and identification of who is supplying the information for this census entry. For a detailed list of the questions, as well as the forms, visit the NARA site listed above.

What can you do now in preparation for the opening of the 1940 Census?

1. Make a list of all the people you want to look for in the 1940 census. Think broadly--ancestors, their siblings, cousins, etc.--anybody to whom you are related.
2. Collect addresses for these people for whom you plan to search.
3. Identify the enumeration district (ED) in which each address was located

(Suggestions from the NARA Start Your Research website on preparing for April 2, 2012)