Genealogical Conferences

by Maggie Melaney

Have you ever been to a genealogical conference?  It should be a requirement for all aspiring family historians.  There are several to choose from, including the upcoming SCGS Jamboree at the end of May http://genealogyjamboree.com.

I’ve just returned from Rootstech, the Olympics of genealogy, held each year in Salt Lake City.  Here are a few of the highlights:

1.  The vendors.  From Ancestry and FamilySearch, through the DNA testers to the small book sellers and regional groups, there are enough booths to keep you busy all day without attending a single talk.  Most have presentations, and many offer discounts on products to attendees.

2.  The speakers.  It seems like everyone I’ve ever heard of was there.  I saw Thomas McEntree, Dick Eastman, Judy Russell, Lisa Louise Cook.  Also ran into our own Richard and Janet Rands, who were there as volunteers.  And I got to meet and shake hands with Henry Louis Gates Jr.  What a thrill!

 

3.  The talks:

• The Sheboygan Dead Horse story with Colleen Fitzpatrick.  Learning how to evaluate photos for location, date, and other information
• The National Archives (UK) - digitising the collections with Audrey Collins from the UK.  This was one I really wanted to attend, since I do lots of British research.  It was great to hear it from the horse’s mouth - the family history records specialist at Kew.  She had lots of good tips on searching the records online and what they hold
• Using Geo-Tech Tools to Answer Research Questions with Fred Wertz.  We all love maps, right?  Here’s how to use location to tell a story and answer questions.
• Big Data: Buzz Word or Family History Revolution?   Joshua Taylor spoke on “big data”, which are the trends and patterns behind the raw data we generally focus on.  What are the migration patterns?  the naming patterns?  Where did people go to church or seek employment?  Looking at the big data helps narrow a search or eliminate conflicting results.

Joshua also spoke on Diversity in Family History Tech.  This was a real emphasis of Rootstech 2018.  Someone asked me when I came back what I thought the ethnic makeup was this year.  Just from a look around at the attendees and vendors, it seemed much more diverse in terms of countries and groups represented.  And a much wider age range as well!

Here’s a sample of exhibitors:

• 23&Me
• Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society
• Bureau of Land Management
• DAR
• Desert Book Co.
• Epson printers
• Family Tree magazine
• Irish Family History Centre           
• New York Genealogical and Biographical Society
• Quebec Genealogical eSociety
• and yes, the Ukrainian Bar Association for Foreign Affairs

Much more information on the highlights, as well as rootstech 2019, can be found at rootstech.org.

Genealogy Educational Opportunities

Introduction to Online Genealogy Sources

Saturday, August 19th, 2017 1:00PM 

Burlingame Public Library Central Library, Tech Lab

480 Primrose Rd, Burlingame, CA 94010

One-time workshop at Burlingame Library featuring a power-point lecture followed by a hands on workshop.  

Limited to 12 students.

Sign up by phoning Burlingame Public Library at (650) 558-7400 ext 2

The following is a listing of classes being held in San Mateo

North Santa Clara and San Francisco Counties this fall.  Be sure to scroll to the bottom for information on the SMCGS Fall Seminar
Federal Records and Mapping the West with the Sayres.

Advanced Genealogy with Maggie Melaney

(Trinity Monday Genealogy Club)
Mondays, 9:30 - 11:30
Trinity Church 330 Ravenswood Ave, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Open to experienced genealogists actively working on research, documentation, and publication.  Must be able to work as a group to help all class members explore and celebrate their family histories.
Please contact Maggie for information on joining. margaretmelaney@gmail.com

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Life Story Writing with Craig Siulinski- College of San Mateo Continuing Education: Saturdays, 9/9 – 11/18 (no class on 11/11) 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. Class Fee:  $125 + $15 materials fee payable to instructor
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Palo Alto Adult School: - Fall Quarter Registration opens 11 August 2017

Jump Start Your Genealogy: Fundamentals

Instructor: Christine Bell Green, PLCGS candmres@aol.com

9 weeks • September 14 – November 9 2017

Thursday • 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Palo Alto HS Rm. 204 • $75*

Discovering your roots is exciting; it teaches you about yourself as well as your family. This class is designed to give family historians/genealogists a strong foundation. We learn to effectively use common genealogical record types and important family history websites. Helping each other by sharing our journeys is an important part of the class.  Field trip is included.

Optional text: Greenwood, Val D. The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy: 3^rd Edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc., 2005

Genealogy: Intermediate

Instructor: Christine Bell Green PLCGS candmres@aol.com

9 weeks • September 13 – November 8 2017

Wednesday • 12:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Greendell Rm. P3 • $75*

Prerequisite: Beginning Genealogy or 1 year Genealogy research experience.

Do you have brick walls in your family history or ancestors you know little about? Learn to research using a broad cross-section of genealogical records and extract all the information from them, use the Internet effectively and become skilled at inferential genealogy. We maximize our efficiency by organizing our research better and sharing helpful tips. We write stories that will interest our families.  Field trip is included.

Optional text: Greenwood, Val D. The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy: 3^rd Edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc., 2005

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Atherton Library Drop-In  - First Monday of the month, 1:30- 3:00PM With Maggie Melaney

Open drop in for anyone needing help with online or local resources.  We especially welcome people starting out or just curious about their family roots.
2 Dinkelspiel Station Ln, Atherton, CA 94027
Sign up for a spot by phoning the library at (650) 328-2422.

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The San Mateo County Genealogical Society invites you to our Fall Seminar

Federal Records plus Mapping the West

with

Pamela Boyer Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA & Rick Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA

 Early Bird registration is until Friday, October 27, 2017

After October 27, registration goes up to the walk-in rate of $55

Saturday, November 4, 2017, 9 am - 3 pm

Menlo Park LDS Church, 1105 Valparaiso Ave, Menlo Park

$45 Members, $50 Non-members

Pam & Rick Sayre are among the best instructors in genealogy. Federal records, including maps and land records, are their specialty. Join us for these sessions:

- Mapping the West: Lewis & Clark to railroad surveys

- Rivers & Canals: Finding federal records

- Capital Treasure: Case studies featuring federal records

Also at the seminar:

Book Sale

Silent Auction  

Home-baked Cookies  

For more information & to register: http://www.smcgs.org/programs/seminars

Christine Green, Seminar Chair

seminars@smcgs.org 

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Special Interest groups offer an opportunity to work together to further your knowledge of records in specific areas. SMCGS currently has the following groups scheduled --  check Calendar for current meeting information

British/Irish Interest Groups with Maggie Melaney

Fourth Tuesday of the month 10AM/11AM at Redwood City Downtown Library

Resuming in August.  See calendar for details.

DNA Interest Group with Chris Green meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month from 2:15-3:45 in the Cañada College Library.  The purpose of this group is to ask questions and get help interpreting your DNA results and deciding on next steps.

German Interest Group  meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 9:30 at the Family History Center at the Menlo Park LDS Church. 

SMCGS Spring Seminar

San Mateo County Genealogical Society Spring 2016 Seminar

Successful Searching with Thomas MacEntee

                  

Saturday, May 7, 2016 - 9am-3pm
A Program of Four Lectures:

• They're Alive: Searching for Living Persons:  In this session you’ll learn not only why it is important to locate living relatives, but how to leverage the power of Internet to make certain you have the correct contact information.  You’ll also learn how making contact with the living can hone your genealogy research skills and actually help you break down those brick walls.
• After You're Gone: Future Proofing Your Genealogy Research: Through a combination of planning, common sense, and new technologies, we’ll review how to create an action plan for preserving your genealogy research.
• Successful Collateral and Cluster Searching: Learn why researching those in-laws, “shirt-tail cousins” and others who may not be a direct-line ancestor as well as “friends, neighbors and associates” can help you break down your genealogy research brick walls
• The 15 Habits of Highly Frugal Genealogists: - Learn how savvy genealogists are finding success with 15 basic habits of frugality. You’ll not only find a list of key resources but more importantly you’ll learn how to embrace the “mind set” of finding the best ways to save money while researching your ancestors.

Menlo Park LDS Church - 1105 Valparaiso, Menlo Park

Doors open at 8am - Registration, Book Sales & Silent Auction

Family History Center will be open during breaks, lunch and after the Seminar

Download a registration form or register online using Paypal 

“Successful Searching with Thomas MacEntee”

What happens when a “tech guy” with a love for history gets laid off during The Great Recession of 2008? You get Thomas MacEntee, a genealogy professional based in the United States who is also a blogger, educator, author, social media connector, online community builder and more.

Thomas was laid off after a 25-year career in the information technology field, so he started his own genealogy-related business called High Definition Genealogy. He also created an online community of over 3,000 family history bloggers known as GeneaBloggers. His most recent endeavor, Hack Genealogy, is an attempt to “re-purpose today’s technology for tomorrow’s genealogy.”

Thomas describes himself as a lifelong learner with a background in a multitude of topics who has finally figured out what he does best: teach, inspire, instigate, and serve as a curator and go-to-guy for concept nurturing and inspiration. Thomas is a big believer in success, and that we all succeed when we help each other find success. 

              

 Directions to Menlo Park LDS Church:  1105 Valparaiso Ave., Menlo Park

From 101 North or South:  Exit 101 at Woodside Rd, proceed west to the El Camino.  Turn left onto the El Camino, proceed south through Redwood City & Atherton to Menlo Park, turn right at Valparaiso.  Proceed for 5 left turn only blocks.  Just past Arbor Rd. on the left is the LDS Church. 

From 280 North or South:  Exit 280 at Sand Hill Rd east, proceed east to the El Camino.  Turn left onto the El Camino, proceed through Menlo Park, and turn left at Valparaiso.  Proceed for 5 left turn only blocks.  Just past Arbor Rd. on the left is the LDS Church

Digging for Roots Online: Palaeography

 By Dennis L. Maness, MLS

I had just sat down in a RootsTech 2014 classroom for what should have been a class in using non-English language records when it was announced that the speaker had to cancel the class. Instead they were substituting a talk by a professor and graduate student from BYU (Brigham Young University) on a new program and website that was just then being built—the website is called “Script Tutorial: Making sense of oldhandwriting”.  

Now I have to admit that, in spite of this actually being important if one wants to do serious family history research, I have never done much handwriting transcription or abstracting, relying on others to do the job for me. After hearing this lecture that may change.

Before we continue let’s make sure we know what we’re discussing; in a blog post in the UK’s version of The Huffington Post (http://goo.gl/G4Pa8O) , Scott Phillips defines it this way:

"Palaeography Noun (mass noun): The study of ancient writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts."

He continues: “If you have worked with any manuscripts, wills, indentures, deeds, etc. from before the invention of the typewriter, then you know this isn't your father's handwriting we often find ourselves dealing with in our family history.”

At this point may I say that “palaeography” is the British spelling; in the U.S. “paleography” is the more common spelling. But since most of the sites I’ll be mentioning today spell the word the British way I used that in the title.

The site we’re talking about, “Script Tutorial” had literally come live on the Web just two days before RootsTech! As they say on the home page 

“Work on the Script Tutorial will continue throughout 2014, please "Pardon Our Dust" as we make these revisions.” The authors describe the page this way:

“This website offers guidance in the deciphering of documents written in handwriting styles or alphabets no longer in general use. It concentrates on alphabets used between 1500 and 1800 in western Europe.

Currently it offers instruction in English, German, Dutch, Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese;Latin and eastern European languages will be added in the future.” (We will be discussing only English in this post.)

The opening screen shows this:

You should click on the center “Researchers” where, on the right hand side, you will see:

  

You will find an introduction to English Script, Techniques & Tools, Documents, and my favorite, Interactive Exercises.

But, perhaps, before you continue, I would recommend going to the FamilySearch Wiki  and searching for “handwriting”. (They don’t use the word paleography!) You’ll see this:

They also took my next suggestion right out of my mouth: Other web sites can be found by going to Cyndi's List - Handwriting & Script or by doing a search on Google for terms such as handwriting, paleography, or Old English with the term England.

                       

Although I think “Script Tutorial” may become the #1 place to go to learn palaeography for now you may wish to go to the [U.K.] National Archives-Palaeography, and use some of their tutorials.

Another excellent place for tutorials is “EnglishHandwriting 1500-1700: an online course”  

A bit more academic tutorials can be found at MedievalPalaeography.

Clicking on the Henry VIII half groat for instance, will get you to a page with a column of choices:

(This is a partial list) I clicked on “Start reading 1):

  

There is a good discussion on the “Society of Genealogists: The National Family History Centre” site. (http://goo.gl/pGYFOk)

And on another page (http://goo.gl/m8Hzb2)

Kip Sperry is considered one of the best experts on Early American Handwriting. In fact that is the name of possibly the best book on the subject. We have it in our Society library:

Since this blog post is about online learning, I recommend a page offered by Genealogy.com that has an excerpt from this excellent book (http://www.genealogy.com/68_sperry.html):

And it goes on from there.

I suspect I have just scratched the surface of Internet information on Palaeography/Paleography and that you will find this useful in the future when you run across those seemingly undecipherable manuscripts and records.

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Remember, as Legacy Family Tree’s Geoff Rasmussen says,

“Life is short; do genealogy first!”

What's Happening in April

General Meeting at Grace Lutheran Church, 2825 Alameda de las Pulgus, San Mateo, CA 94403.

Date: Wednesday 17th April at 7:30 pm

Sea of Troubles: The Lost Ships of Point Sur

Speaker: JoAnn Semones

Maritime author and historian, JoAnn Semones, will give a lecture on her latest work, “Sea of Troubles: The Lost Ships of Point Sur,” this is the third book in her captivating series focusing on shipwrecks at lighthouses along the Central California Coast. Others include “Hard Luck Coast: The Perilous Reefs of Point Montara” and “Shipwrecks, Scalawags, and Scavengers: The Storied Waters of Pigeon Point.” Join JoAnn and sail into the mystery of history. 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.

SAVE THE DATE

SMCGS Trip to Sutro Library                                       

Tuesday 23^th April at 10.30 am for a

Brief Library Orientation

Followed by time for researching the collection

 

Plan to car pool to the San Francisco State University Campus meeting at 9.15am.  More information about meeting points to follow.  There is garage parking on campus at a cost of $6 per day (pay with bills, no coins or credit cards accepted)

Please e-mail president@smcgs.org if you are interested in being a part of the group visiting Sutro Library.  Group limited to 20.

April Workshop at Canada College Library

Date:  Tuesday 9^th April 2013 2.30pm – 4pm

(note:  date is 2^nd Tuesday due to college closure 1^st week in April)

Topic:  What’s New at Family Search

Speaker:  John Gleed

Please register by emailing librarian@smcgs.org

 

Cost:  $5 SMCGS members, $10 Non-members

 

 

 

SAVE THE DATE

SMCGS Trip to Sutro Library                                       

Tuesday 23^th April at 10.30 am for a

Brief Library Orientation

Followed by time for researching the collection

 

Plan to car pool to the San Francisco State University Campus meeting at 9.15am.  More information about meeting points to follow.  There is garage parking on campus at a cost of $6 per day (pay with bills, no coins or credit cards accepted)

Please e-mail president@smcgs.org if you are interested in being a part of the group visiting Sutro Library.  Group limited to 20.

Upcoming Educational Programs at SMCGS

What’s happening in March

General Meeting at Grace Lutheran Church, 2825 Alameda de las Pulgus, San Mateo, CA 94403.

Date: Saturday 16^th March 2013 at 10.30 am

Topic: Getting Organized
Speaker: Debbie Shields

 

What a mess! Stacks of papers or folders full of electronic files -- and you don't know where anything is. The purpose for organizing things is to be able to find them when you need them. Debbie Shields, a past President of the Santa Clara County Historical & Genealogical Society and an Adult Education instructor, will discuss various methods of organizing your genealogy information, and help you figure out what works for you.