Past Programs

When the 1940 census is released in April 2012, it will not have a name index. An index will not be available for up to six months after opening day, so finding people in the census will involve searching by location instead.

The census is organized by Enumeration Districts (EDs), so the location needs to be converted to an ED before the census can be accessed. The One-Step website contains numerous tools for obtaining EDs. This talk will present the various tools and how to use them. It will also demonstrate a tutorial quiz for determining the best tool to use in each specific situation.

Genetic Genealogy uses DNA to help answer genealogical questions. DNA is the chemical blueprint for life that is found in all of our cells. We inherit our DNA from our ancestors and, because of that fact, DNA can be used to identify individuals who are related to each other. The most common DNA tests are the Y-DNA test that traces paternal ancestors, the mitochondrial-DNA test that traces maternal ancestors, and the autosomal DNA test that traces all ancestors.

In this talk, you will learn the basics of what DNA is and how it can be used in genealogy. You will learn what your DNA can tell you about both your ancient ancestors and your close cousins. You will learn what companies offer DNA tests for genealogists and how to choose the DNA tests that are right for you. Finally, you will hear true-life stories about the discoveries that genealogists have made using DNA testing: how DNA has helped to prove relationships, discover lost cousins, and identify the birth parents of adoptees.

We all have those brick walls – genealogical problems we can’t solve however hard we seem to try. Come and hear how four long-time members of our society succeeded in solving difficult and perplexing “brick wall” problems they had been working on for years. Hopefully they will inspire us to look at our own difficult problems with fresh eyes.

Google can better help you with your genealogy once you master the search techniques it offers. But Google is more than a search engine. Have you used Google Images, Google Videos, Google Books, Google Maps and Google Earth, Google Blogs…? Learn how the Power of Google can enhance your genealogical searches.

This presentation will discuss how genealogy blogs can help genealogists share their discoveries about their families, keep in touch with their genealogy society, and meet new friends. An increasingly popular way to publish genealogical information on the Internet is by the use of weblogs, commonly called blogs. Genealogy blogs include a wide range of subjects, including personal family history, genealogical education, genealogy news, local history, and personal diaries. Steve will show us how setting up and maintaining a blog is surprisingly easy and can provide benefits for your research in ways that other methods of disseminating genealogical information may fall short.

Nancy Peterson’s highly praised guide to circumventing the enormous record loss in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire has now been substantially updated and expanded to include newly released records and necessary information on post-earthquake resources. The inclusion of a wide and detailed body of sources and emphasis on casting a much wider net than is customary makes this guide useful not only for anyone doing research where critical records have been lost or destroyed, but also for those seeking to create a fuller, richer family history. Nancy will present some of the highlights of her new book and will have copies of “Raking the Ashes: Genealogical Strategies for Pre-1906 San Francisco Research” on sale at our July meeting.

Social Networking may be great for some and a mystery to others, but does it help us in our Family History Research? Let's explore this question together, looking at some of these information exchange opportunities and their value or lack of value to us in our search for quality rather than quantity in our research.

John's presentation will help you pursue information on those persons in your family which "no one will talk about". He will offer a definition of "Black Sheep" and present a set of five categories of the genre. John will show examples of information, and offer ideas on how to break down those two brickwalls of this type of research which are "Disappearence" and "Name Change". John Gleed is well-known to SMCGS members, has held various positions with our organization over many years. He is a member of the SMCGS seminar planning team.

Prior to attending a lecture by Marian L. Smith, Historian, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, Kay Speaks thought all the random markings and numbers located in passenger lists were just an annoyance. Ms. Smith’s lecture was like a genie rubbing a magic lamp granting your wish for enlightenment! Researchers may find annotations may provide the clues to break through their brick wall! Kay is a member of Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society where she has been a conference coordinator, speaker, workshop leader and writer for the quarterly “Roots Tracer”.

Gayle Simons will discuss the Special Schedules which offer additional information beyond what is available on the US Federal Population Census. These include Mortality Schedules, Veteran's Schedules, Agricultural and Manufacturers Schedules, and Slave and Native American Schedules. Individual state censuses will be addressed. You don't want to miss Gayle's informative program.

Newspapers are invaluable in genealogical research because they are an excellent source of information about births, deaths, and more. Although millions of pages of the world's newspapers are now accessible online, finding the one you want isn’t easy because there is no one place to find them all. Janice will give an overview of what is available and how to find it.
Janice M. Sellers is a professional genealogist specializing in Jewish research. She is the editor of “The Galitzianer” and “ZichronNote,” the publicity director for SFBAJGS and a long-time staff member at the Oakland Family History Center.

This is a great chance for SMCGS members to share their ideas with the group. We plan to have 10-15 minute talks by 4-6 SMCGS members, revealing the ways they have used to share their family history with other family members. This could be a book or scrapbook, a craft item or items made for a holiday gift, an heirloom quilt, or something special sent by a cousin- the possibilities are endless. Books are welcome but the program will not be limited to family history books, as ideally the program would be a 50:50 mix of books and other items.

JoAnn Semones (pronounced sea-moans) boarded her first ship at age three. The voyage made a lasting impression, and she has loved sea sagas ever since. She made her mark as a maritime historian with her fascinating book, Shipwrecks, Scalawags, and Scavengers: The Storied Waters of Pigeon Point. Her most recent work, Hard Luck Coast: The Perilous Reefs of Point Montara, is the second of a trilogy she is preparing about shipwrecks along the central California coast. She has focused her attention farther north, a few miles south of San Francisco, in San Mateo County.

JoAnn is both a scholarly researcher and an author who knows how to make her stories of shipwrecks, disasters and near disasters come to life. So bring your relatives and friends to what promises to be a fascinating evening.

Whether you are writing or collecting a family history, you need to understand current US and International copyright law, pending legislation and court actions and ethical issues of copying and sharing genealogical information electronically or in print. This is a talk you won't want to miss. Cath Madden Trindle is a certified genealogist, currently serves as Treasurer of Federation of Genealogical Societies and is a popular speaker on the national, state and local level.

The FamilySearch.org website is an ever expanding link to the genealogical records compiled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for use by everyone throughout the world at little or no cost.

Ralph Mize, former Director of the Menlo Park Family History Center, will present the latest resources at FamilySearch that you can use for conducting your own family history research and a glimpse into the future directions of the site.

Stories are what make our family history come to life, put "flesh on the bones" of our ancestors. Stories are the best way to interest our families in genealogy. Although there is at least an element of truth in most family stories, it's not always easy to separate the facts from fiction.

This talk explores several stories from the ordinary to the improbable in an attempt to separate the truth from the "Myths and Legends".

Chris has been "addicted" to genealogy for almost 10 years. She spends as much time as she can researching her own family history and has given several genealogical talks in the Bay area.

How many sources does it take to prove a fact? Unfortunately, more does not always mean better. Evidence analysis is a skill a genealogist must carefully develop. Come and join Barbara in this interactive workshop where you, the audience gets to decide: are the facts proven?Barbara has over 20 years experience as a genealogical researcher and educator. She has lectured at conferences and workshops at both the national and local level.

Mary Hanel, Santa Clara City Local History Librarian and Library Staff Liaison to the Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society will discuss the Santa Clara library collection and resources provided to genealogists and historians by the Library. The discussion will include some database updates and excellent new genealogy books.

Learn more about this valuable local collection and how it can help you with your genealogy.

Sue is an experienced genealogical researcher and teacher who has been active in the field for 30 years. She is a graduate of the National Institute on Genealogical Research, "Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis" at the Samford University's Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, and the National Archives' course, "Going to the Source", which has helped make her an expert in the use of correct source citations.

Come and learn the correct way to cite YOUR sources.

Noted blogger Stephen J. Danko will share information about new innovative hardware, software and online technology that has made its way into genealogical research and has made finding, recording and sharing information faster and easier than ever. Today's genealogist can research anywhere in the world, receive an education at their convenience and produce professional quality family books at a very reasonable price.

Steve 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.

You are having so much fun finding military records about Great-Great Uncle John, and writing the life story of Great Grandma Suzanna. How do you share your information about your ancestors with your descendants? In connecting the generations, it can be as important to look to the future as it is to look to the past.

Sue Allen was introduced to Genealogy by her Grandmother at age 12, and now enjoys sharing with her 5 children and 9 grandchildren.

In this talk Ron discusses websites providing historical maps and several online mapping tools. Ron demonstrates how both Microsoft Maps (maps.live.com) and Google Maps (maps.google.com) operate. The presentation also covers Microsoft’s MapCruncher tool, which “mashes” two similar maps together. Ron will also briefly cover IBM’s Many Eyes, Muckety.com, and Whitepages.com.

But where? This talk focuses first on the importance of finding the county and even townland for your Irish born ancestors and suggests post immigration sources that might provide the information. Following is a discussion of using Civil Registration and Church records as a source of vital information. Ideas on using other available records, including census and the two main census substitutes, to locate nineteenth century Irish ancestors rounds out the session. Online resources will be highlighted throughout the presentation.

In the earliest years of the development of our United States territory, the "west" was the Hudson River, then the Cumberland Gap, Ohio, and on to the Mississippi River. Let's explore together this movement of our ancestors from the Atlantic Coast to the Big Muddy.

Yes the Internet IS an important resource for genealogy - but not everything we need for our genealogical research is on the Internet. Once in a while we need to get away from the computer and discover the wonderful repositories here on the peninsula - less than an hour's drive from home.

Our panel of experts will briefly tell you about the highlights of the collection at the National Archives, San Bruno, Sutro Library, Stanford Green Library, SMCGS Library and the Menlo Park Family History Center and answer any questions you might have.

To understand the genealogical aspects of genetics requires an understanding of some of the basic concepts. This talk introduces genes, chromosomes, and DNA, and goes on to show how DNA is inherited. That knowledge of inheritance can be used for finding relatives you didn't know you had, learning about your very distant ancestors, the route they traveled, and determining if you are a Jewish high priest (Kohan).

DNA and genealogy is not limited to people. This talk will be followed by a short talk by Megan Morse, a wildlife educator (Steve's daughter) who will present and demonstrate some applications to the animal kingdom using a live animal.

Yes the Internet IS an important resource for genealogy - but not everything we need for our genealogical research is on the Internet. Once in a while we need to get away from the computer and discover the wonderful repositories here on the peninsula - less than an hour's drive from home.

Our panel of experts will briefly tell you about the highlights of the collection at the National Archives, San Bruno, Sutro Library, Stanford Green Library, SMCGS Library and the Menlo Park Family History Center and answer any questions you might have.

Have you ever wanted to travel to the places your ancestors lived? Add color to your reports with photos and anecdotes? Discover living relatives, or just get a feel for how your ancestors lived? Join us for a "how to" session on visiting ancestral homes. We'll cover preparing for the trip, how to make the most of your visit, what to look for, what you'll want to bring back, and the etiquette involved in exchanging information. You'll learn how to recognize important local resources, and get some tips on "genealogical serendipity".

Margaret Melaney gets most of her family history information from strangers she meets in coffee shops, graveyards, libraries, archeological digs and car repair shops.

Steve gave a great presentation at our Spring Seminar last year. He will update us with more information about the One Step Website he created, and for which he has received numerous awards.

In his other life he is a computer professional with a doctorate degree in electrical engineering. He is best known as the architect of the Intel 8086, which sparked the PC revolution 25 years ago.

Being organized is an enormous challenge with today’s fast moving and efficient research methodologies. Keeping on top of the material we accumulate and organizing it all in a way that will make it easy to store, track, and access is frustrating.

This presentation will offer new ideas and help you develop the skills and methods that will make it possible implement an efficient storage, tracking, and access system for your genealogy stuff.

John will review two major bodies of databases and the indexing projects associated with them. They are Ancestry.com and Pilot (LDS project). All indexes have flaws, and John will show examples and suggest how they came about. He will describe the indexing opportunities in both Ancestry and Pilot.

There are opportunities for both SMCGS and its members to participate in these important projects, and John will discuss the advantages for those who do.

Paula is a columnist with Ancestry.com, winner of the Distinguished Service Award from the Minnesota, Genealogical Society and the Award of Merit from the Federation of Genealogical Societies. She co-authored the best-selling book, Your Guide to the Family History Library: How To Access the World’s Largest Genealogy Resource.

David Silver is a noted collector, writer, and lecturer on the history of photography, as well as president of the International Photographic Historical Organization and founder of several internet forums on photographica. He will be lecturing on the various photographic processes that were used in the 19 century, how researchers today identify them, and further strategies for dating them.

After the lecture, he will be stay for an "antiques roadshow" style appraisal session to examine and evaluate whatever vintage cameras or photographs members wish to bring.

Jim is a professional genealogist with over 40 years experience and a specialist in California research. Among his many achievements in the field of genealogy, Jim has extracted over 60,000 entries of foreign-born voters including naturalization information from California 's Great Register of Voters in 1872 and posted the index to the database online. Come and hear Jim explain how to get the most information out of complex, ever-changing, invaluable Naturalization Records.

Newspaper research is more than obituary hunting. Thorough newspaper research can be tedious, but the payoff is huge. Learn WHO is in the newspapers, WHAT you need to do to find them, WHEN your ancestors may appear in the paper, WHERE the papers are located, WHY you need to do the research and HOW to find the newspapers.

Pamela Bell Dallas is a popular speaker, both nationally and locally. This is a presentation you won’t want to miss.

Ancestry and Steve Morse’s website provide the genealogist with fantastic tools to help with his/her research. This presentation will discuss other “best bet” websites that allow one to find many other materials online, including historical documents, newspaper articles, living people, maps and photos, foreign language translators and aids, and more.

Ron Arons is a nationally known genealogical speaker who lives in the Bay area. He has published numerous articles and has just finished writing a book on the Jews of Sing-Sing, a project for which he received a grant from the New York State Archives. Ron uses the Internet as much as possible to facilitate his research.

Rose Mary Kennedy, genealogy specialist at the National Archives in San Francisco (San Bruno), will give a presentation on Federal Land Records. California is a Federal land state, and this talk will emphasize the types of records available at the National Archives. These records might include case files, township tract books, survey plats, and certificates for homesteads and mineral lands.

Rose Mary has spoken many times over the years to our Society and she always has lots of great information to pass on to us.

We all know the importance of our work in genealogy and the satisfaction we gain from researching our ancestors, but now it is their turn to help us! By identifying their causes of death we will hopefully be able to prevent those same disorders in ourselves. Come to this meeting and learn what medical conditions are familial or genetic, review how to read a death certificate correctly, discuss obsolete terms for causes of death, and then chart and share your findings with family and physician.

Gayle Simons is a Registered Nurse who chooses to teach Genealogy Classes in the area. Her enthusiasm for Genealogy is contagious.

Every occupant leaves a mark on a house and every house leaves a mark on its residents. Who lived in your house?

Cath will explore ways to uncover the secrets of a house by working backwards using online resources & Assessor's records and working forwards using city planning records, legal issues & maps. Stories, journals, newspapers, legal documents, census, directories & pictures all provide details on the owners and occupants, each new discovery leading to clues to the next.

Come join us as we discover ways to trace the history of our current house, the one we grew up in, or perhaps the house of a relative that seems intriguing. Cath Madden Trindle is a Certified Genealogist, a well-known and respected life member of our society and Treasurer of the FGS and CSGA.

Christine, who was born and raised in England, is an expert on using English (and Welsh) genealogical records. Living in California means she does as much genealogy as possible on the Internet. She is familiar with all the important English Internet sites and is constantly on the lookout for new and interesting online resources.

Chris honed her research skills while studying for a Ph.D. (in Biochemistry) and is currently working on her Certificate in English Genealogy from the National Institute of Genealogical Studies in Toronto.

An opportunity for members of the SMCGS to share memories of Winter holidays or Winters in general. This could either be a childhood memory or a family story that was passed down from your parents, grandparents or great grandparents. As an example, Chris Green, who was born and grew up in England might talk about making "mincemeat" and baking Mince Pies (which by the way are not made of meat at all) with her family, and how this was a part of her family's Christmas celebration.

Mitch has recently written a book “San Mateo County: Sesquicentennial History” and will talk about many of the events that have shaped the history of the county from its inception in 1856 to modern times.

Also, join us as we commemorate the anniversary of our first general meeting on October 13, 1982. We will have pictures from our July luncheon, a history display and will unveil our new logo design. Come celebrate and enjoy some “birthday” cake with us!

A timeline is a chronological account of the events occurring in the life of a person or a span of time in the existence of a family. It can include local and national historical events. This permits us to better place our ancestor into historical context and gives us a graphical view of their life. A timeline can often reveal existing discrepancies and allow us to resolve difficult research problems. Examples will be given.

This is your opportunity to hear one of the talks that nationally-known speaker Chuck Knuthson gave at the Fort Wayne, Indiana, FGS Conference in August 2007.

There is an internet world beyond Ancestry.com, and a lot of it is free to access. Ron Filion, co-manager of SFGenealogy.com and SMCGS's webmaster, has been part of that world for 9 years. This presentation will outline what types of free internet genealogical resources are available, where to find them, and some of the pitfalls in searching through them.

Are you looking for a man? If you are researching a male ancestor who lived in the U.S. in 1917-1918 and was born, in any country, between 1872-1900, this resource may lead you right to him. As a genealogy instructor, Gayle will discuss the information available on the registrations and the location of these incredible cards. So deal yourself in and attend this meeting. These are records and a speaker you do not want to miss!

When searching for lost ancestors, we often forget the most valuable tool available to those who are lost: a map. As a Geographer and a Genealogist, Marcia has a natural connection between these two favorite subjects. This presentation will help those attending to see that connection in different ways, and remind us that putting our ancestors in a time and a place is important for good research. Finding those places with maps, then using various kinds of maps to enrich our story will both be part of this presentation.

Have you lost touch with your cousins or second cousins? Have you ever wondered whether those 3rd, 4th and 5th cousins have pictures of your ancestors, or heirlooms that belonged to them? Charlotte will tell us about some of the methods she used to trace living relatives in both North America and Europe. She even met some distant cousins face to face for the first time on a recent trip to Scotland.

Nancy will speak about her book, "Raking the Ashes, Genealogical Strategies for pre-1906 San Francisco Research." This California Genealogical Society publication states in detail which original records survived the 1906 fire. Unexpected alternative sources, such as ethnic & religious records may shatter your brick wall. Demand for this speaker has been great. This will be a good opportunity to learn about this special book and get your questions answered.

Have you been contemplating your annual New Year’s Resolution to “jump start” your genealogy research? Have your thoughts turned to ideas of devoting one day a week to your research, working on one family line per month, or shopping for just the right new genealogy organizational tool? If you do this kind of thinking at the beginning of each New Year but never seem to make any progress, our January speaker, Steven Friedman, will help you bring your genealogy New Year’s Resolution to fruition.

Members presented a synopsis of a book related to Genealogy or History.

Did you know that behind the research room at the Federal Archives in San Bruno is 48,000 cubic feet of "original archival holdings dating from 1850 to the 1980s? Dan Nealand from the Federal Archives will enlighten us about those fascinating materials, including documents, photographs, maps and architectural drawings and tell us how to be involved in preserving these important documents.

The major part of this presentation will be the website of Steve Morse (www.stevemorse.org) which contains a vast amount of immigration information. Specific problems previously submitted by members regarding Castle Garden and Ellis Island records will be discussed. As a former U.S. Immigration employee, Patrick will cover green cards, citizenship, political asylum and "denial of sought status", if time allows and interest exists.

Important reminder- please submit your “problem” by March 5th so it can be reviewed for the meeting (see below). If you don’t have a problem to submit, please come to the meeting and learn some helpful information.

"Stumped Solving Roots Problems?" --- Answers Possible Members are urged to prepare a one-page typed synopsis of one problem that they have pursued which has reached a dead end or included limited success. Begin with a one sentence summary of the problem. The problem should be defined in detail; list all the steps you have taken so far in your attempts to solve the problem. The problem must be timely submitted via e-mail by Sunday March 5th.

Five members are designated as e-mail recipients of these problems based on a membership surname alphabetical breakdown:

A-E: Anna Brown
F-I: Lynne Parmenter
J-M: Diane Smelker
N-R: Mildred Clough
S-Z: Patrick Gilbride

Bring your ideas to the next meeting. What do YOU need to know? What do YOU want to see at the meetimgs? What kinds of Seminars do YOU want? What do we DO with the Library?

In preparation for this major milestone, your Board of Directors and Committee Chairpersons invite members to come to our Silver Anniversary Planning meeting. Many genealogical societies today find themselves at a crossroads – how to continue to provide the same, or better, services and programs for their membership and community, while faced with limited budgets and decreasing numbers of volunteers. Our first step is to review and renew our programs, and with your input, plan for a successful second 25 years. Come participate and ensure that your favorite programs and services receive the attention and funding you desire.

Saturday, Feb. 11th, 2006 will be an important meetg for all San Mateo Genealogical Society Members. There are many items to discuss to keep the Society functioning and moving ahead like you want it to. It is your chance to speak up and help give us some idea of the direction you want the Society to head toward.

Even if you are shy, just write down your suggestions and give it to one of the officers to mention and add to the list of ideas. We won't know what you want if you don't tell us.

We will be trying to decide what direction our society needs to head for the future. We have been searching for a new home, need to decide what to do with our library, our meetings and our seminars.If you value what you learn from this society help us come up with ideas of what you want.to seehappen and what you want to need to know. Looking toward the future for an organization always looking at the past

Gayle Simons, who talked about PDA's at our Fall Symposium, will give a presentation on January 11th, 7:30 p.m. on the subject of putting all microfilmed LDS records online. Gayle was at the 09/2005 conference presentation in Salt Lake City concerning this announcement. Included was a discussion on what would happen to paid services such as Heritage Quest and godfry.org. This matter is the feature article in the December 2005 "Family Chronicle" magazine.

Over 20 billion names are envisioned as be indexed to original images available online free of charge. This project involves the use of digital cameras rather than film. Volunteer indexers are being sought. The second part of the initiative involves the linkage and indexing of the 20,000 family histories held by the LDS church. These histories are being scanned in rapid order. The family histories will be searched by name, author, title, or geographic area. Currently 4,000 of these histories are online.

Bob will speak about his website on Roots Web, Anna Lynn will talk about writing stories and how the Writer's Group can help you with you family stories, and Natalie will discuss the research of her self-published and prize-winning family genealogy from Quebec, Nova Scotia and France.

Eric Narveson, Archivist for Evergreen Valley College, will identify for us the kinds of materials housed in an archive as compared to those found in a library. He will show us how our valuable genealogical items such as papers, books and other artifacts can be protected and conserved. There will be an opportunity to ask specific questions about your family treasures and you may bring items for advice on how to preserve them.

Mr. Narveson is a Professor of History at Evergreen Valley College and a Lecturer of History at San Jose State University. He is a member of the Society of California Archivists, the American Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians.

Surnames in Mr. Narveson’s family include Narveson, Tolleffson, Aamoth, Kvaamen (Iowa and Norway) and O’Brien, Taylor, Abbott and Pugh (Iowa and British Isles).

After years of researching our family history, obtaining our ancestor’s signature would be an interesting addition to the genealogical materials we have acquired. Gayle will help us identify the records most likely to contain signatures and show us how to access them. Gayle, who is a SMCGS member, teaches the intermediate level, “Genealogy: Personal History”, class offered by the San Mateo Adult School.

Willis Photo was established in 1953 by Harvey and Dorothy Willis, parents of current owner Ron Willis, in Palo Alto. After about 20 years the business was moved to Mountain View and once again relocated to Belmont four years ago. Willis Photo specializes in the copy and restoration of your cherished family photographs and uses only archival materials and methods to ensure a photo that will last two or three generations. All equipment and processing techniques have been handed down from father to son to ensure the highest quality.

Ron will speak to the society members about the history of photography so that even the novice can come up with a general date the photo was taken. Also covered will be the display and handling of negatives and photographs, both color and black and white and how to assess any damage to even the oldest of photographs. A large assortment of samples will be available to view in addition to the approximately 180 slides shown during the lecture. Members are encouraged to bring any old family photographs so that Ron can look at them and check for any damage or help with the date of the photograph.

Ron has spoke before out Society before and we welcome him back for an update.

Please be aware that due to restrictions on the Hall the door must be locked by 7:30 pm. Please plan on arriving before that time so someone will be available to admit you at the door. If really late you might get someone’s attention by coming to the CA Bank side of the building.

Rosemary Kennedy will be our speaker and is well versed on the subject having served with the National Arcrhives and Records Administration since 1981. She has often been a guest speaker representing that Organization. For this presentation she will be covering Military Records from the Revolutionary War, Civil War and may include the Spanish American War if time permits.

Rosemary is a native Californian and her parents are from Ireland. A graduate from the College of Notre Dame in Belmont her degree is in English and History. She has an Elementary Teaching Credential with several years experience as a Teacher.

She currently serves as the Reference Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator for the National Archives Pacific Region and teaches many of the workshops that are offered at the National Archives

Please be aware that due to restrictions on the Hall the door must be locked by 10:30 am. Please plan on arriving before that time so someone will be available to admit you at the door. If really late you might get someone’s attention by coming to the CA Bank side of the building.

All three speakers have been teachers at some point and long time members of our Society. They have all written books on some family member and started with the purpose of making the information available to other family members.

Linda Shogren has been interested in family history for 45 years and a member of SMCGS almost since its inception. She is a professional educator (Home Economics and History), who self-published several titles on quilting topics in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Last summer Linda self-published a 288 – page history of her 3rd great grandfather William Mathews/Mathes and his 1500+ descendants now in its second printing. She will be talking about the rewards (and trials and tribulations!) of doing that, with tips and suggestions for getting your own research into print so that your work can be preserved and shared.

Jan Miller studied Art Education at Syracuse University and has exhibited her serigraphs in various galleries in California. Her Grandma lived with the family as Jan was growing up. Grandma had stories, photo albums, and most of all, memories. Later in order to provide some of the ample information she had on her family she published a book that made this information available to other family members and will bring to us her experiences in doing this.

In her talk, Donna Farmar will focus on the major decisions that she made in the process of publishing Lehmann Families, a project that covers three generations of descendants of her great-great grandfather Wilhelm Lehmann (b 1827 Germany; d.1892 Wisconsin). Donna’s interest in genealogy dates back to 1974. She has been a member of SMCGS since its first year. Lehmann Families is her third self-publishing project. Before genealogy, Donna was employed as a teacher in the Sequoia Union High School District. More recently, she was a librarian in the electronics industry.

Please be aware that due to restrictions on the Hall the door must be locked by 7:30 pm. Please plan on arriving before that time so someone will be available to admit you at the door. If really late you might get someone’s attention by coming to the CA Bank side of the building.

The discovery of gold in California over a hundred and fifty years ago made all the papers and started an exodus from the rest of the world heading to the Golden State. Low-lifes and rich folk alike hopped on planes and crowded the freeways to get their chance to strike it rich.

Just like today!

Come hear Chuck Knuthson tell the real story. He has been studying and conducting genealogical research for over 25 years, is the president of the Sacramento German Genealogical Society, a retired police captain and has presented many classes in genealogy.

Does your "genealogy area" look like a mess? Do you have duplicate copies of the same pages? Does it take forever to find a certain photo?

Time to Unclutter!

Learn how to have a more productive space. Learn how to save time, instead of wasting it. Get tips to access your collection and get your genealogical materials organized in small, manageable pieces.

Cath Trindle has owns a small business services company for over thirty years which specializes in helping small businesses and non-profits set up bookkeeping and office management procedures.

A member of SMCGS for the past 12 years, she has served as Treasurer and Publication Chair for the society and is currently the Treasurer of the California Genealogical Alliance. She is certified by the Board of Certification for Genealogy as a genealogical record specialist and specializes in research in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Doris is a past President of the Society and has spoken before on several different topics. She has written three books on Genealogy that in our Library. Doris has been interested in Genealogy since 1976 and has seen many improvements in the means and methods for obtaining such information. She has made three trips to Germany over the years and visited both East and West Germany without knowing very much German. Please be aware that due to restrictions on the Hall the door must be locked by 10:45am. Please plan on arriving before that time so someone will be available to admit you at the door.

John Soennichsen is a retired teacher. He is an infantry combat veteran of World War II, and served more than two years overseas. He first set foot on Angel Island in 1943, when he was an infantry replacement on his way to the Pacific Theater.

He has been the historian for the Angel Island Association for the past ten years, and has conducted extensive research on the island’s history during that period. He has worked in the California State Library, the California State Archives, the National Archives in Washington DC, College Park MD, and San Bruno, CA, and numerous other libraries. He has written numerous articles on the history of the island, and is the author of Miwoks To Missiles, A History of Angel Island, the only complete history of the island ever written. In 1997 he received the President’s Award for outstanding service to the Angel Island Association

He is retired and as a result he has no spare time. He is the editor of the monthly newsletter of the Santa Clara Division of the California Retired Teachers Association, and enjoys cross-country skiing, sailing, hiking, wildflower photography and reading.

He did not major or minor in history—he has to confess that while in college he didn’t even like history. He has been married for many years and has the great-grandchildren to prove it.