Sebastian Nelson, Speaker at Family History Day

It is a pleasure to welcome Sebastian Nelson as a speaker at Family History Day at the California State Archives.

Sebastian Nelson is an Archivist at the California State Archives and a member of the Academy of Certified Archivists. He has a Master’s degree in history from the University of Oxford and a Master’s degree in library science from San Jose State University. Sebastian enjoys the bizarre creatures, fanciful monsters and cunning puns that are found in heraldry, and he studied coats of arms as a graduate student in Great Britain.

Sebastian will be presenting Coats of Arms: Heraldry for Genealogists.  Heraldry is an art and a science that has used colors, shapes and symbols for over eight hundred years to visually encode genealogical information.  Join Sebastian for an entertaining introduction to the basic techniques and resources available to decode Coats of Arms and unlock the genealogical stories behind them.

Fresno County Genealogical Society, Exhibitor at Family History Day

Please welcome the Fresno County Genealogical Society (FCGS) as an exhibitor at Family History Day 2011.

Established in 1965, the FCGS is located in Fresno, Fresno County, California, in the center of the San Joaquin Valley.  The Society website provides general information plus details about our Annual Seminar titled "Ancestral Journey" featuring Beverly Rice, Certified Genealogist from Coos Bay, Oregon.  Our 2011 seminar will be on October 29th and everyone is welcome.  Please register in advance.

FCGS has the most extensive Genealogical Library between San Francisco and Los Angeles, and resources are not limited to Fresno County material.  We have so much more! 

Housed in the California History and Genealogy Room of the Fresno County Central Library at 2420 Mariposa Street, are more than 19,500 books and periodicals, including the entire California State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Library which was donated in 2009.  The State DAR Library books number about 3,000 and are appropriately cataloged and shelved amongst the other genealogy books according to State, Military, and/or autobiographical/biographical Name.  One will find personal recollections and pictures of certain individuals, as well as geographical and historical information.  Some of the books have personal handwritten notes in them, and even old family recipes; some pertain to California, while others are based on other states.

Our FCGS Library also has DAR Lineage books and magazines.  We have "Mayflower Families" volumes 1-23, and plenty of other Mayflower information; and "The Mayflower Descendant" 1899-1924, 1931, 1934, plus incomplete years of 1935 and 1937 are there.   

Those interested in American Indian lineage will also find many useful resources in our California Room.  The Sherman Institute at Riverside, California published the "The Sherman Bulletin" which we have on microfilm.  This weekly newspaper is not only interesting to read, but of great value to anyone researching teachers, other employees, or students associated with the school.  Additional Sherman Institute records on microfilm which we have are Yearbooks, Registers of Students, the Employee Registers, and Sherman Graduates.  We also have special censuses of California Indians for 1907-1915, 1928, and 1933.

The Society is looking forward to meeting you at Family History Day at the California State Archives, so please stop by our table to get acquainted.  We hope you will consider attending our Genealogy Seminar in Fresno October 29th, and we invite you to visit our Genealogy Library anytime.  Phoning ahead (559) 600-6230 will help ensure a rewarding research experience.

Fresno County Genealogical Society

California History and Genealogy Room, 2nd floor
Fresno County Central Library
2420 Mariposa Street, Fresno, CA  93721

Phone: (559) 600-6230
Hours:

M,T,W 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Thursday 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Fri., Sat. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sunday 12 noon – 5 p.m.

Linda Johnson, Speaker at Family History Day 2011



What's Minerva OC?
Ask Linda at Family History Day

 It is a pleasure to welcome Linda Johnson as a speaker at Family History Day 2011 at the California State Archives.

Linda Johnson began her own family history search in 1988 when enrolled in an undergraduate class at CSU, Sacramento. She went on to receive her Master of Arts degree in Public History in 1993. As a graduate student, she interned at the California State Archives for three years and at the San Joaquin County Historical Society for 6 months. After graduation, she worked as assistant archivist at the Center for Sacramento History followed by collections manager for the manuscript and archival collections at Shields Library, UC Davis.

In October 1997, Linda accepted a position at the California State Archives, where she has worked in a variety of program areas. She is currently the Reference Coordinator and has responsibility for all activities related to the Reference Program. Linda has participated in the annual Family History Day since its inception in 1999. In addition to the Family History Day engagements, she has been a presenter at several local genealogical and historical societies.

Linda Johnson will be presenting Genealogical Resources at the California State Archives.  Linda will describe the millions of paper documents, maps, photographs, three–dimensional artifacts, and records in other formats such as audiotape and videotape held at the Archives and thier value to genealogists.

Contact Information 

California State Archives

1020 O Street

Sacramento, CA  95814

Reference Desk Phone: 916-653-2246

Reference Desk Fax: 916-653-7363

Reference E-Mail: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov

Ancestry Day 2011 in San Francisco

The following press release was received from the California Genealogical Society.  The daylong event will feature genealogy experts, lectures and consultations.  Family History Day fans who are beginner researchers may be interested in the lectures oriented toward the basics.

Oakland, CA – August 8, 2011 – Ancestry.com and the California Genealogical Society (CGS) are partnering to present Ancestry Day in San Francisco 2011 — Saturday, November 5, 2011, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, located at 5 Embarcadero Center on the waterfront near the historic Ferry Building.

This full-day event will help you start or hone your genealogical skills. Explore the world of genealogy, listen to engaging lectures, meet with expert staff and learn about the incredible resources available at Ancestry.com and at the California Genealogical Society Library.

The day will include
•More than a dozen family history lectures
•Ancestry.com experts on-hand to answer your questions
•One-on-one consultations with genealogists
•Beginner’s classes where your family and friends can learn the basics

Registration is open. The “early bird” price (through October 5, 2011) is $42 for the all-day event. To learn more about the classes and consultation offerings, visit Ancestry Day in San Francisco 2011 at http://ancestry.com/ancestryday-sanfrancisco.


About Ancestry.com
With more than five billion historical records and in excess of 20 million family trees, Ancestry.com is the world's largest genealogical database. Have you explored what Ancestry.com has to offer? Visit Ancestry.com.


About CGS:
The California Genealogical Society, founded in San Francisco in 1898, maintains a library in Oakland, gathers and preserves vital records, and offers research services and online databases. CGS disseminates information through publications, meetings, seminars, workshops and its website: CaliforniaAncestors.org.

Sacramento Public Library, Exhibitor at Family History Day 2011

It is a pleasure to welcome the Sacramento Public Library Central Branch as an exhibitor at Family History Day 2011 at the California State Archives.

The Central Library, located at 828 I Street in downtown Sacramento, is the main branch of the Sacramento Public Library system. Central library offers a variety of free programs for the public, including  many that are of interest to genealogists. In addition, the various branches of the library system periodically offer genealogy programs. Central Library offers these services to the public:

• Presentations by Genealogy Specialists: Three series of presentations are offered annually, during the months of January, May and September. Each series includes three lectures. Special classes on beginning genealogy are also offered throughout the year. All lectures are held at the Central Library in the West Meeting Room.  The September 2011 presentations, on Sundays, 1:30-3:00 pm, include Civil War Research (Sept. 11th), Ancestry.com’s Border Crossing Database (Sept. 18th) and Using Google for your Genealogy (Sept. 25th). The class Beginning Genealogy - How to Trace Your Family History will be held on October 22, 2011, 1:00-2:30 pm.
• The Book a Genealogist program: Central Library is fortunate to have the assistance of a volunteer genealogist, who meets individually with people needing help with their research.  The volunteer is available at the library on Tuesday afternoons. Registration is required for these 45-minute appointments by calling 916-264-2920, or by visiting the library’s website at http://www.saclibrary.org/.
• Genealogy Reference Books:  A large collection of non-circulating genealogy books and periodicals is available for use by the public during library open hours. The majority of these books belong to the Genealogical Association of Sacramento. The collection is located on the 4th floor of Central Library. 
• Genealogy Databases:  The library subscribes to two genealogy databases for the public’s use: Ancestry Library Edition and American Ancestors.org. Both of these databases can be used at any branch of the Sacramento Public Library system.
• Genealogy computer classes:  These free classes are taught at Central Library by library staff. Currently, classes being taught include Introduction to Online Genealogy, Social Networking for Genealogists and Introduction to Ancestry Library Edition.

For more information on any of these programs, come by our exhibit table at Family History Day.  You may also call the library at 916-264-2920 or visit the website at http://www.saclibrary.org/. We hope that you’ll take advantage of all the genealogy services offered by the library!  

Cath Madden Trindle, Speaker at Family History Day 2011

It is a pleasure to welcome Cath Madden Trindle as a speaker at Family History Day 2011 at the California State Archives.

Cath Madden Trindle is a certified genealogist (CG), earned a Certificate of British Research from BYU and a Certificate in Genealogical Studies-Librarianship from the National Institute of Genealogical Studies. A retired financial system consultant, she is currently Treasurer of the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS). Cath, as Projects Chair for the California State Genealogical Alliance (CSGA), has helped design and implement the online California Research Aid, has coordinated projects with FamilySearch.com and Ancestry.com, and writes regular copyright and society strategy columns for the CSGA newsletter. As Publications Chair for the San Mateo County Genealogical Society, she has edited the San Mateo County Naturalization Index Series, the Schellens indexing project, and has coordinated the series of indexes that are online at http://www.smcgs.org/. A first generation Californian, Cath has limited her client research to Northern California, however, speaking engagements also focus on the records of Ireland and Scotland, Canada, probate and land records, house histories and genealogical storytelling. Speaking engagements include societies throughout Northern California, the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree, the Salt Lake Institute and FGS. She will be a speaker at the FGS Conference in Springfield, Il on September 7-10, 2011.  Cath can be reached by email at Catht@aol.com.

Cath Madden Trindle will be presenting two classes at Family History Day:

Google Your Ancestors: A quick look at the many Google Tools, from Google Search to Google Earth that aid in gathering and compiling our genealogies.

CSGA Presents California Online: Start your California Research with the CSGA California Research Guide online.  Links to the FamilySearch California Wiki and other major online resources will also be explored.

North Highlands-Antelope Public Library Display

Family History Day is the theme of the display case at the North Highlands-Antelope Public Library for the month of August.  It's just inside the main entrance to the library.  When you are in the neighborhood, stop by and take a look.  The library is located at 4235 Antelope Road, Antelope, CA.  If you can't get there, enjoy the movie of the display - click on the right arrow below the photo.  The display was created by Marilyn Ulbricht, Diane Maltase and Nancy Fiorini with contributions from Charlene Eberwine, Suzanne Latimer and Denise Richmond.