Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society

Wordless Wednesday - Fearless Female

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:22:00 +0000

Ethel May Kendall Hibsch
May 1899 - Oct 1988
Honeymoon in Yosemite
June 1922

Who is your Fearless Female? Tell us at rootcellarsgs@gmail.com.
posted by grand-daughter Denise Hibsch Richmond

Tuesday's Tip - City Directory Heaven?

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:31:00 +0000

The library of the California Genealogical Society (CGS) will be open on Saturday, March 10th.

Bonus time! The Stephen Harris City Directory Library will also be open for CGS members. Dr. Stephen Harris maintains his collection of 6,000 city and telephone directories dating from the 1840s to the 1960s. CGS members can access his collection at no charge on two days each month: the second Saturday and the third Friday. Members are to check in at the CGS desk first. From there they will be directed to Steve's library. Stephen Harris can be reached at wizard848@earthlink.net or at (510) 835-4606.

Take a look at the CGS and Stephen Harris City Directory Catalog.

Jeepers! Access to Steve's city directory library makes my CGS membership even more valuable.

Details
2201 Broadway, Suite LL2, Oakland CA
Tel. (510) 663-1358 FAX (510) 663-1596
Open Thursdays & Fridays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and by appointment

Non-members are welcome for a $5 use fee.
The first Saturday of each month is free.
Library has computers, a copier and a scanner for patron use.
A wireless connection is available.

Tuesday's Tip is one of many blog themes on GeneaBloggers.com.
posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

Matrilineal Monday - Fearless Females

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:21:00 +0000

Root Cellar member alert!

March is National Women's History Month. Celebrate your female ancestors on your Society's blog. Introduce their stories to thousands of blog readers. What's in it for you? Well, quite possibly a reader may provide an answer to your brick wall or turn out to be a new cousin! C'mon, it could happen!

Genealogical speaker Lisa Alzo authors The Accidental Genealogist blog where she posted 31 ideas for celebrating Women's History Month. (Note, we're not exactly going to follow the dates on these ideas.) Watch for my "fearless female" this coming Wednesday.

Send your image and short description to rootcellarsgs@gmail.com and we'll post it and send you any comments posted on the blog or sent to the email address.

Matrilineal Monday is one of several blog themes suggested by GeneaBloggers.com.
posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

Spring Seminar SOLD OUT!

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 17:28:00 +0000

George G. Morgan

Yep, the Spring Seminar sponsored by Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society is SOLD OUT!

Thank you everyone for submitting your registration early. Now the Seminar Committee can concentrate on other details that will make this a fun and informative day. Our featured speaker, George G.Morgan, will be here in a mere 28 days. Can't wait!

posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

March Webinars

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 08:57:00 +0000

It's the beginning of March - time to register for a webinar or 2, maybe 3 to keep up with your CGE - Continuous Genealogical Education that is!!

GeneaWebinars is a calendar and blog devoted exclusively to coordinating online genealogy seminars and is the brainchild of DearMYRTLE. It's a handy, comprehensive alternative to receiving emails from multiple sites about webinars. The blog describes each webinar as it becomes available. The Calendar lists all upcoming webinars by date and time. Click on the topic for more information.

A sampling of topics in March includes the 1940 census, Ireland, indexing, DNA, and digital writing tools. Spring house and garage cleaning can wait!

Subscribe to GeneaWebinars to learn about the latest upcoming webinars. Be sure to register in advance. Can't attend on the scheduled date? No problem. The webinars are usually available for free in the archives for several days.

What could be better than getting your CGEs from the comfort of your easy chair?

Image: GeneaWebinars Logo
posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

Next weekend - Family Tree University Virtual Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 08:45:00 +0000

Our friend Thomas MacEntee is inviting you to a virtual conference next weekend, March 9-11. [Bunny slippers optional!] He wrote the following on GeneaBloggers yesterday:

How would you like to attend a genealogy conference next weekend featuring:

three dedicated tracks including genealogy
technology, research strategies and ethnic research
the ability to view webinars on your schedule
live chats and message boards allow you to interact with other conference attendees
an expo hall filled with vendors and even a “swag bag” of freebies from ShopFamilyTree

Sounds great doesn’t it? And you’ll be able to learn from and interact with well-known genealogy educators Lisa Alzo, Lisa Louise Cooke, Nancy Hendrickson, Diana Crisman Smith and me [Thomas]!

Special “Friends of Thomas” Discount. Sign up now since space for this event is limited! Click here and at checkout use the coupon code TMACENTEE. This will save you 20% off the registration price!
©2012, copyright Thomas MacEntee

posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

2012 Root Cellar Family History Writing Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 09:30:00 +0000

Root Cellar is announcing a new writing contest. The 2012 Root Cellar Family History Writing Contest is open to the public, and you need not be a member of Root Cellar to enter. Root Cellar will accept factual articles about family or local history, character sketches, or memoirs. Submissions should relate the experiences of a family or individuals, revealing their character and personality. The best entries will display the human drama and historical or social situation of the subjects.

The subject matter of the entries is to be family history or local-history stories, memoirs, or character sketches. Entries should be between 500 and 2,000 words in length. How-to articles or articles about the research process would not be acceptable for this contest.

Your articles do not have to relate to Northern California and/or the Sacramento area. We welcome stories that concern any aspect of family or local history from anywhere and from any era. We believe that, as family historians, we’re all in this together!

All research or other genealogical sources, including letters and diaries, must be supported by appropriate endnote citations. For a guide to citation style, see Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, Second Edition, by Elizabeth Shown Mills.

All entries must be received by August 1, 2012. Finalists and other prize-winners will be notified by email about October 1, 2012. The entire list of winners will be posted shortly after October 1, 2012, on the Root Cellar website (http://www.rootcellar.org/) and published in the Root Cellar’s publication, Preserves.

By entering this contest, submitters grant Root Cellar – Sacramento Genealogical Society permission to print their entry 1) in its publication, and/or 2) in an anthology of the winners of this contest, and/or 3) on its website. If your entry appears in print, we will mail you a free copy of the publication when it’s available. There is no guarantee that all of the finalists’ entries will be published. Publication will depend on the space available, the format being used, and editorial decisions about the balance of subject matter and treatment.

Prizes for winning entries

First place:
Six month’s membership in Ancestry.com’s World Edition
Copy of Family Tree Maker 2012
One year’s membership in Root Cellar – Sacramento Genealogical Society
One year’s membership in Root Cellar for a non–member friend
One admission to Root Cellar’s seminar

Second place:
One year’s membership in Fold 3
One year’s membership in Root Cellar – Sacramento Genealogical Society
One year’s membership in Root Cellar for a non–member friend
One admission to Root Cellar’s seminar

Third place:
One year’s membership in Root Cellar – Sacramento Genealogical Society
One year’s membership in Root Cellar for a non–member friend
One admission to Root Cellar’s seminar

Root Cellar thanks Ancestry.com and Fold3

for their generous donation of prizes.

Posted by Ron Setzer

Irish-American Catholic Genealogy Webinar

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:26:00 +0000

Join Southern California Genealogy Jamboree and the Southern California
Genealogical Society for the FREE Webinar: "Irish-American Catholic Genealogy"
Speaker: Michael Brophy, professional genealogist and heir search
specialist.
Date: Saturday, March 3, 2012
Time: 60 minute class, 30 minute Q&A
10:00 AM - Pacific
Space is limited, so reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/475214392
The overall goal of the lecture is to give attendees a broad overview to finding the origins of their Irish ancestors. The lecture will start with the central event in the history of Irish genealogy, the destruction of the Public records Office in Dublin on June 30, 1922 near the end of the Irish Civil War. As a result unique challenges and realistic expectations for Irish ancestral research will be discussed.
Existing vital records and census records, along with unique census substitutes for 19th century Ireland, will be presented. Research materials available on-line and through film rental will be shown with examples available without the time and expense necessary to travel to Ireland.
This presentation will look at a variety of ways to organize information with the intent on noticing information and trends that were not obvious, preparing the researcher to present their information to others, and assisting the researching in seeing gaps in their research.
Note that Irish Protestants and resources and record repositories in Ireland will not be covered.
Michael Brophy is a professional genealogical researcher, heir search specialist, and lecturer in the Boston area. He has served as Program Director and Publicity Director for the Massachusetts Genealogical Council. He was the first Treasurer of the New England of Association of Professional Genealogists. Mike earned an MBA degree from Suffolk University and a BBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He was the lead researcher in Massachusetts for the recently released book from St Martin's Press, The Remains of Company D, A Story of the Great War, by James Carl Nelson. He conducted research for the NBC television program Who Do You Think You Are?, researching the ancestry of actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
The Jamboree Extension Series of webinars is sponsored by the Southern California Genealogical Society. Webinars are held on the first Saturday and third Wednesday of each month. A complete list of all webinars is posted on the SCGS website at http://scgsgenealogy.com/JamboreeExtensionSeries2012.htm

Posted by Ron Setzer

Wordless Wednesday – Everybody is dressed for Easter!

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:58:00 +0000

Before Easter services and doesn't everyone look so happy. Picture was taken about 1956. I love the purse over the arm of the youngest. (Standing in back on left: Toni Jones and Adele Whitney with Robyn Whitney on front left, Donald Whitney, and Sandra Whitney.)
Posted by Ron Setzer

National Archives Announces Website for Free 1940 Census Release Online on April 2, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:30:00 +0000

Tomorrow Starts the Countdown of ’40 Days to the ’40 Census’
Washington, DC…Today the National Archives, with its partner Archives.com, launched its new website www.1940census.archives.gov in preparation for its first-ever online U.S. census release, which will take place on April 2, 2012, at 9 a.m. (EST). The public is encouraged to bookmark the website now in order to more quickly access the 1940 census data when it goes live. No other website will host the 1940 census data on its April 2 release date.
The National Archives has teamed up with the U.S. Census Bureau to celebrate “40 Days to the ’40 Census.” Using social media channels to post videos, images, facts, and links to workshops nationwide, the National Archives is getting its researchers ready for the online launch on April 2. Be sure to follow us on Twitter (using hashtag #1940Census), Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr, YouTube, and subscribe to our blogs: NARAtions and Prologue: Pieces of History.
On April 2, 2012, users will be able to search, browse, and download the 1940 census schedules, free of charge, from their own computers or from the public computers at National Archives locations nationwide through the new 1940 census website: www.1940census.archives.gov.
A National Archives 3:13 minute video short on its YouTube channel (http://tiny.cc/1940Census).
Background on the 1940 Census While the original intent of the census was to determine how many representatives each state was entitled to send to the U.S. Congress, it has become a vital tool for Federal agencies in determining allocation of Federal funds and resources. The census is also a key research tool for sociologists, demographers, historians, political scientists and genealogists. Many of the questions on the 1940 census are the standard ones: name, age, gender, and race, education, and place of birth. But the 1940 census also asks many new questions, some reflecting concerns of the Great Depression. The instructions ask the enumerator to enter a circled x after the name of the person furnishing the information about the family; whether the person worked for the CCC, WPA, or NYA the week of March 24–30, 1940; and income for the 12 months ending December 31, 1939. The 1940 census also has a supplemental schedule for two names on each page. The supplemental schedule asks the place of birth of the person's father and mother; the person's usual occupation, not just what they were doing the week of March 24–30, 1940; and for all women who are or have been married, has this woman been married more than once and age at first marriage.
For the release of the 1940 census online, the National Archives has digitized the entire census, creating more than 3.8 million digital images of census schedules, maps, and enumeration district descriptions.

Press Release from NARA
Posted by Ron Setzer

Root Cellar's New Website is up and running!!

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:30:00 +0000

One of the new features of our website is the ability for visitors to post question on our Forums page, and hopefully, someone will respond with the correct answer. We have several categories for posting: Frequently Asked Questions (mainly dealing with Root Cellar and its website), and General Genealogy & How–To (for those questions about what to do next or to refine what you have already done). There are several forum categories that deal with questions about major genealogical software including Reunion of the Mac, Legacy Family Tree, Roots Magic, and Family Tree Maker. We will expand these last categories as the need arises.
Posted by Ron Setzer

DAVIS GENEALOGY CLUB

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 17:06:00 +0000

Next Monday, February 27th, the Davis Genealogy Club presents "Writing Personal Stories--How to Begin" with instructor Marian Kile. The meeting will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Davis Senior Center, 646 A Street, Davis.
Do you find it daunting to try to write a long family history? Do you already have a written family history but want to add stories about special memories? This talk will help both the non-writer and the experienced writer in developing short stories that capture the essence of special family members or events. The focus will be on stories that are about 500 words long but the process can be applied
to longer stories.
Marian got "hooked" on genealogy at the end of 2005 and has been sharing what she has learned by giving classes at the Sacramento Family History Center on Eastern Avenue and throughout the community. Marian is an experienced presenter who creates a supportive learning environment for her classes.
For more about the Davis Genealogy Club programs or Library, visit the club's website at www.davisgenealogy.org or call Lisa Henderson at (530) 753-8943.

Posted by Ron Setzer

ROSEVILLE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY MEETING

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 16:31:00 +0000

Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Maidu Senior Center, 1550 Maidu Dr., Roseville, CA
Meeting 1-3 pm
Program: "Researching Eastern Europe History & Archives"
Preparing for your genealogical trip over the pond can be a real challenge. This 90 minute presentation will cover, in two parts, 1) how to prepare your research, and various methods of how to determine your ancestor's County of Origin, and 2) a generalized history of European Europe, how those historic influences affected your ancestry migration, and suggestions of where and how to access available records. Session ends on how to located current Research Guides for your country of interest.
Speaker: Lynn G. Brown
Lynn has been a Family Historian for over 35 years and offers an extensive background in both Computer Skills and Genealogy Research. She has a Masters Degree in Recreation Administration specializing in Non-Profit Organizations and Alternative Education with an extended Degrees in Electronics and Telecommunications.
She retired from the Administrative branch of the Girl Scouting in 1980, and then embarked into new careers with AT&T, and US Army Reserves, retiring from both in 2001, Lynn made a new career helping others with their genealogy research projects. Currently she is a volunteer with the Sacramento Family History Center as a librarian supervisor, and recently has retired from the Folsom-Cordova and San Juan School districts teaching Computerized Genealogy.
Lynn has been lecturing to Genealogy groups throughout the Central Valley and Bay Area communities since 2004, covering a large variety of genealogical topics promoting researching searching and publishing Family History in the computer age.
Posted by Ron Setzer

Tuesday Tombstone & a little Wednesday Wisdom

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Gardner Benward) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:01:00 +0000

One of our own members, Susan Hofmeister O'Brien , has a unique story about her family tombstones. Susan now lives in Oceanside, NY. Born in Childrens Hospital, San Francisco

Susan's story: "I am a fifth generation born Californian and some of my family is from Sacramento. My 3rd great grandparents John & Barbara Ash(tombstone spelling Asch..only time ever used) settled in Sacramento early 1850's with ten children . They were buried along with a few of their children in New Helvetia Cemetery which closed early 1920's and remains moved to City Cemetery mid 1950's. . The family lived and worked in Sacramento....policeman, teachers, railroad shop, cook, painter and a us marshall.

Three years ago I came to San Francisco for a wedding and took my sister on an 800 mile genealogy tour of Northern California. In my research before trip I called the Sac City Cemetery to find out where the New Helvetia Cemetery was only to find out it was closed and the remains moved to the City Cemetery in the mid 1950's. The office sent me a black & white photo of the Asch Tombstone and a Historical brochure with a copy of the Tombstone on the front cover!

I put the photo on Ancestery.com and in February 2010 I received a email from a woman in Auburn passed this flowerbed that she lived across the street from 20 years and the stone jumped out ...she had never noticed it before. The owner of the house it was at said it had been there at least 50 years and she did not know how it got there.

Two years later.....lots of letters, new friendships and money the stone is now being restored to original style and will be be re-dedicated on June 2 with the family remains in the City Cemetery.

There are only two original hand-carved monuments known to exist and this is one of them.

My fathers pioneer family also came from Placerville and Orland 1850's

So one more tombstone has been recovered. YEAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! NOTE: There are plans in the works for a re-dedication of this tombstone.

This is the other tombstone - wonderful isn't it? that survived the transition to the City Cemetery oh so many years ago.

Susan and her family are working towards a re-dedication of her ancestors tombstones, possibly in June.

Great Story, Thank you for sharing with all of us.

Mystery Monday - WWII Draft Registration Missing?

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:23:00 +0000

Root Cellar member John Jay is seeking help in solving the whereabouts of WWII draft registration records for men like his father. He writes:

My father was almost 27 years old when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He was married and had one child. I cannot locate him in the draft registration cards for WWII. Could he have been exempt from registration because he was driving a bread truck that supplied the Fort Ord [California] Army base? Were men left out of the draft registration if they were classified 4F? Wouldn't all young men be required to register regardless of physical or employment status? Why can't I find my father in the WWII draft registration?

If you have an answer to John's mystery, please send him an email in care of rootcellarsgs@gmail.com. Thank you!

Mystery Monday is one of several blogging themes suggested by Geneabloggers. Root Cellar members - get your ancestor mysteries or stories noticed here. Send information to rootcellarsgs@gmail.com.

Submitted by John Jay
Posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

Follow Friday: National Library of Medicine and Your Ancestors

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 06:12:00 +0000

The U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) National Institutes of Health (NIH) is my one of my top go-to resources for current day health questions. Their url is the one I'll choose from the hundreds of results from a health-related search term/phrase in Google. I was recently reminded on the National Genealogical Society's blog that the NLM can also be a helpful resource for family history research.

Under "Explore the NLM" there is a link to the History of Medicine. Looking further, the links break down as follows:

Historical Collections

Books and Journals: NLM pre-1914 books and serials, pre-1871 journals, and pamphlets and dissertations
Archives and Manuscripts: archive and modern manuscript collections and Western and Islamic manuscripts, from the 11th century to the present
Prints and Photographs: images illustrating the social and historical aspects of medicine
Films and Videos: films and video recordings documenting the history of medicine
Digital Resources: selected digitized material from NLM historical collections, covering a spectrum of centuries and cultures

Using the Collections

Online Catalogs: online resources for searching NLM historical material
Printed Catalogs and Guides: printed catalogs and guides to historical material
Reference Services and Information: information about locating and using material in NLM historical collections

Archives, Manuscripts and Reference Services. Hmm. My great-great grandfather served in the Civil War. According to his voluminous pension file and that of his widow, both of which I have, his diagnosis was "acute rheumatisn and disease of the heart" Very interesting. I have a chronic medical condition called rheumatoid arthritis. The disease may have a genetic link but fortunately no other current day family member has it. Could there be a medical link to an ancestor? To find out the history of the term 'rheumatism' I did a search using "rheumatism AND cilivl war". Here is the result:

Arthritis Rheum. 1991 Sep;34(9):1197-203. Rheumatic diseases among Civil War troops. [emphasis added] Bollet AJ. Source: Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.

Abstract: There are extensive existing medical records of Federal Civil War troops. More than 160,000 cases of "acute rheumatism" occurred among these soldiers, and acute rheumatic fever was known to be the main cause. Infectious arthritides were frequent but not understood; gout was rare. "Chronic rheumatism" was diagnosed more than 246,000 times; prolonged rheumatic fever and reactive arthritis following dysentery were probably the major causes. Over 12,000 soldiers were discharged because of chronic rheumatism, many with "lumbago," which was probably spondylarthropathy. PMID: 1930338 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

This "hit" looks promising for a start. I'm sure there are more results to mine on the History of Medicine website. Give it a try. You may be able to clarify the history of a medical term or condition discovered during your family research. Good luck!
Follow Friday is one of several blogging prompts suggested on Geneabloggers. If you have a tip, a resource or a special ancestor story, please share it with other readers. Send it to rootcellarsgs@gmail.com and we will post it here.

posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

Datebook: Annual Seminar at the San Mateo County Genealogical Society

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:34:00 +0000

Registration is now open for the San Mateo County Genealogical Society Annual Spring Seminar. Find the registration form and more information on the website.

Date: Saturday, April 28, 2012
Place: Menlo Park LDS Church, 1105 Valparaiso, Menlo Park, California
Time: Doors open 8:00 a.m.; Program 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Program: A Cooke's Tour of Google
Speaker: Lisa Louise Cooke
Description: Lisa will show how Google provides the right tools to add dimension to our family history research. Check the SMCGS website for updates on specific topics.

NOTE: Sandi Benward and I attended last year's seminar which was very informative and the society was warm and welcoming.

posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

Datebook: Annual Seminar at the Sacramento German Genealogical Society

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:13:00 +0000

Registration is now open for the Sacramento German Genealogical Society Annual Spring Seminar. Find the registration form and more information on the website.

Date: Saturday, April 21, 2012
Place: Sacramento Turn Verein, 3349 J Street, Sacramento, California
Time: Registration 7:30 a.m. until 9:00 a.m. Program 9:00 a.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Program: Tracking Down Our German Ancestors
Speaker: Warren Bittner, C.G.
Topics:

German Maps and Territories
German Gazetteers and Levels of Jurisdiction
Marriage Laws and Customs
Elusive Immigrants – Proving the German Link
U.S. Federal Land Case Files – Key Records for German Immigrants
Welcome to the Library – Reading to Put Your Family into Historical Context

posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

Call to Action - Video: SSDI Access in Peril

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:13:00 +0000

Watch the video posted by John Michael Neil on his RootDig blog of Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue's testimony about the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) before a congressional committee.

Commissioner Astrue's comments about genealogists has been described as "condescending" by Dick Eastman on his Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter.

You be the judge then use the Call to Action tools we recently posted to let your voice be heard about this important issue.

posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

Steve Morse and the 1940 U.S. Census

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:48:00 +0000

All are invited to the next program at the Jewish Genealogical Society of Sacramento.

When: Sunday, February 19, 2012
Where: Albert Einstein Residence Center, 1935 Wright St., Sacramento
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Program: "Getting Ready for the 1940 Census -- Searching Without a Name Index"

When the 1940 U.S. census is released on 2 April 2012, it will not have a name index, and one may not be available for up to six months. So finding people in the census will involve searching by location instead. Bay Area genealogist Steve Morse will focus on searching the census without a name index. The census is organized by Enumeration Districts, or EDs, so the location needs to be converted to an ED before the census can be accessed. Morse's One-Step website contains numerous tools for obtaining EDs. His talk will present various tools and show how each can be used.

For more information about the Jewish Genealogical Society of Sacramento, visit our website, or e-mail the JGSS at jgs_sacramento@yahoo.com.

Posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

Call to Action - SSDI Records Access in Peril

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:57:00 +0000

The Federation of Genealogical Societies posted the following information on its blog regarding the need for all genealogists to take action now to fight Congressional attempts to close access to the Social Security Death Index (SSDI):

The Records Preservation and Access Committee has created a Call to Action Kit to support the Stop ID Theft NOW initiative.

Access the kit at http://www.fgs.org/rpac/sddi-call-to-action-kit/.

If you have questions concerning the Social Security Death Index and its possible loss as a resource for the genealogical community, please check all the resources available in the kit including:

Educational videos and FAQ sheets.

Information on the Stop Identity Theft NOW! petition via the We The People website.

Form letters that you can use to contact Congress and let them know you do not support removal of the Social Security Death Index.

And ways to spread the word to other members of the genealogical community.

posted b Denise Hibsch Richmond

Ancestry.com Sticky Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:48:00 +0000

Where have I been? I just heard about this from a fellow student in my 10-week genealogy class. Last November, Ancestry.com introduced the Sticky Notes blog with reader and Ancestry.com submitted tips and stories. According to Ancestry.com, it's

"meant to compliment our already established blog and be more of a place where you can share and discover stories and more. On Sticky Notes, users will be able to discover various types of stories, possibly including their very own. We also have areas of the blog that feature our very own Ancestry Anne, aka Anne Mitchell. She will be answering user questions daily, showing you the solutions to some of your most difficult family history questions. We’ll also have the Interesting Finds section – here you will discover some of the most unique and interesting records we come across in our research, and a variety of content that we dig up in all of our collections here at Ancestry.com."

Ancestry Anne recently answered a reader's question about an ancestor incarcerated at Andersonville Prison during the Civil War. A recent post on Interesting Finds reminded readers about the valuable information to be gleaned from preserved signature registers of Freedman's Bank. You can subscribe to receive these brief notes via email or by your preferred reader service. I signed up to receive the Sticky Notes by email - maybe a tip will provide me with a lead about the Athens [Ohio] Insane Asylum!

posted by Denise Hibsch Richmond

Root Cellar Monthly Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:16:00 +0000

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Visitors always welcome
Program: Help with brickwalls; helpful research and tech tool tips. We will watch and discuss a webinar about a genealogical organizational system.
Host: John Jay
Time: 1 pm – 3 pm
Location: Clubhouse at Country Squire Estates, 5720 Oak Hill Drive, Sacramento, Ca

Posted by Ron Setzer

Roseville Genealogical Society Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:48:00 +0000

Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Maidu Senior Center, 1550 Maidu Dr., Roseville, CA
Meeting 1-3 pm

Program: Names: What Are You Missing
Speaker: Tamara Noe
Tamara has been a volunteer at the Sacramento Regional Family
History Center for over 9 years and is currently serving as a supervisor.
She is also a writer for the current editor of the Roseville Genealogical
Society's newsletter. She has been teaching beginning, intermediate, and
research genealogy classes as well as PowerPoint classes for the past 5
years.

Submitted by Helen Astill

Posted by Ron Setzer

Root Cellar's General Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:07:00 +0000

Some of the items displayed during the "Show and Tell" portion of Root Cellar's general meeting on Wednesday, February 8, 2012.

An assortment of items given to a member by a distant cousin. A connection made with Great Grandparents.

Baptism dresses that crossed several generations.

A rescued photograph of an ancestor in the mid-19th century. Computer enhancement of the tin negative seen in the lower left portion of the frame.

And, a "What is it?" found on a family farm in Minnesota. Dates from the 1920s or so, but unsure what exactly it is.

Posted by Ron Setzer