Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society

Military Monday for a BIG BONUS

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Gardner Benward) — Mon, 20 May 2013 06:30:00 +0000

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Sandra Gardner Benward - Big Thanks to Marsha McAlexander Wise for sharing this information.

As read in Dick Eastman's column ......... FREE military records access on FindMyPast from May 23 to Memorial Day, May 27, 2013.

What a great opportunity to view these military records and experience a new (for you) website. See what you can find? Let me know what you found? Share your good fortune with all of us.

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Society Saturday – April 24 Reunion SIG Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Sat, 18 May 2013 07:01:00 +0000

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Richard Hanson.

Last month's April 24 meeting of the Reunion SIG, consisting of two different presentations, addressed a variety of subjects pertaining to the Reunion software on the Macintosh. Unlike the more formal lecture format of the general meeting, this SIG meeting features a question and answer format that fosters a lot of discussion. Occasionally the discussion moves a bit further afield addressing general genealogical topics. For example, the second presentation at this meeting profiled the HistoryGeo.com website providing historical land ownership information.

April 24 meeting with Ron Setzer leading the discussion. Photo provided by Richard Hanson

Background: In 2011, a special interest group (SIG) was established by the Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society for users of the genealogy database software package called Reunion. It meets 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every fourth Wednesday at the Sacramento FamilySearch Library. The next meeting is scheduled for May 22. Group leader is Ron Setzer. Email Ron if you'd like to be added to the group's email distribution list.

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Root Cellar's May 15 Workshop Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:01:00 +0000

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Richard Hanson.

Fifteen people attended yesterday's workshop meeting. Photo provided by Richard Hanson.

Chaired by Root Cellar President John Jay, the meeting started with John scheduling mini-presentations on source documentation support by genealogy database programs. One per meeting will be presented by volunteers over the next several months. A presentation on Flip-Pay will also be done. The remainder of the meeting was an open forum for questions, announcements and discussions. Topics included Lulu.com, poster-sized pedigree charts, DNA matching, Heritage Quest, "Family Tree" on HBO, some brick walls and the hazards of walking in a rural Pennsylvania cemetery. The person planning that trek received warnings about ticks and chiggers along with solutions involving wearing dog flea collars and putting cone collars around the ankles.

This Workshop is a small-group meeting of the Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society. It meets 1 to 3 p.m. the third Wednesday of the month at Sylvan Community Center, 7521 Community Drive, Citrus Heights, California. It is a self-help group that addresses a wide variety of topics and frequently includes mini-presentations. Attendees are invited to describe their recent discoveries, successes and to seek help with their brick walls. The group leader is Root Cellar President John Jay. For meeting dates, see the events calendar on the Root Cellar website.

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Tech Tuesday – Calendar Juggling

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:01:00 +0000

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Richard Hanson.

When it comes to accurately documenting the comings and goings of our ancestors, nothing is simple – not even dates. That was aptly illustrated by John Jay's May 9 presentation described in yesterday's Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society blog. Not only have there been different calendars, but the Gregorian calendar in use today was adopted at different times in different locations. Historic calendars include Julian, French Republican, Hebrew, Islamic, Persian and Chinese.

General information about multiple calendars:

http://www.tondering.dk/claus/calendar.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar

http://www.answers.com/topic/gregorian-calendar

Calendar conversion calculators:

http://www.rosettacalendar.com

http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/calendar/

http://calendarhome.com/converter/

One issue that came up during the discussion was the extent to which our genealogy database software supports calendar conversions. I use the Reunion software (Macintosh). After researching this issue using their online help and support forums, I found that Reunion does not do calendar conversions. But it does support custom dates.

Reunion custom date entry box. Screen captured by Richard Hanson.

Reunion stores both the entered custom date and the corresponding Gregorian value. But many users say that there is a better approach. Enter the Gregorian value into the database date field. Then enter into the associated notes field the original unconverted date plus the name of the calendar.

Readers of this blog, do you know how your genealogy database software handles the multiple calendar problem? Please check your software's online help and post your results here as a comment.

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Root Cellar's May 9 Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Mon, 13 May 2013 07:01:00 +0000

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Richard Hanson.

Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society's May pre-meeting started at 6:30 p.m. with a half-hour presentation by John Jay on the topic Calendar Confusion - How the 1752 Calendar Change Can Impact Your Family History Research. His talk described calendar changes starting in the Middle Ages and extending through the 20th Century, all such changes being location-specific. This brought up the issue of to what extent are these calendar changes supported by our genealogy software. Watch for future blogs that follow up on this software issue.

Annual business meeting. Photo provided by Richard Hanson.

At 7 p.m. John Jay hosted the annual business meeting. He introduced the slate of candidates, described the new digital ballot submission process (PDF form ballots created by Ron Setzer and being tabulated by Glenda Lloyd) and gave a status report on the Pension Records War of 1812 project fundraising by Root Cellar.

Presentation by Jim Rader. Photo provided by Richard Hanson.

The general meeting program, Old Online Genealogy Books Online, was presented by Jim Rader. He described the the tools and techniques necessary get the most out of the current and upcoming digital book resources posted the Internet. He also illustrated the importance of old books as a source of family history information.

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Saturday Society - Who's Who in Vegas at NGS

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Gardner Benward) — Sun, 12 May 2013 06:00:00 +0000

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Sandra Gardner Benward

So who showed up....... these are only a few of the Root Cellar SGS members and society friends

Dick Eastman blogging as he listens.[ I need to learn how to do that]

Lois

Beth

Barbara and Billie

Tammy came in for Saturday to attend the special all day Ancestry,com Day [she and her husband are on their way to Disneyland for a few days. Have a ball1]

Lynne Roberts having a great time.

Ingeborg Carpenter representing the Sacramento German Genealogy Society at their booth

Kim vonAspern Parker (RC member and blogger) and Kim Cotton (officical blogger out of the bay area)

Kathy a new friend from Sacramento. She is not a member but a supporter of Root Cellar.... using our library at the CA State Archives and she attends Root Cellar Spring Seminar. [she is considering membership] Hello Kathy.

Pat, a new friend also from Sacramento and a future member (September). She just moved to Sacramento, and decided to attend this conference. She sent Root Cellar an email wondering if anyone from the Root Cellar was attending. The email was forwarded to me here and we finally connected, Welcome to Sacramento via Las Vegas and we look forward to getting to know you this coming year.

James Baker (Sacramento German Genealogy Society, attended but no picture- sorry.

Katherine Doyle (California Genealogical Society in Oakland - official blogger) no pic - sorry

I know I missed a lot of others, sorry, it was crowded, a well attended conference-

WELL OVER 1600!! plus more because Saturday had the special Ancestry Day all day program and Saturday was also Kids Camp.....

Sandra Gardner Benward signing off- it has been fun!

Looking ahead, are you going to the Southern California Jamboree, Burbank in June?

They are having a special day of DNA. I think it is a must attend event.

Also coming up, Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) conference, Fort Wayne Indiana in August. This is the home of the second largest library in the country - Allen County Library. This is also a must attend conference. They have an entire track on just helping societies.

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Last Day in Las Vegas at the NGS Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Gardner Benward) — Sun, 12 May 2013 03:39:00 +0000

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Sandra Gardner-Benward

As an official blogger at the Conference there are some perks from time to time and one of those perks was this morning......... a free breakfast sponsored by MyHeritage.com. The problem of course is that the breakfast is at 7am,,,,,,,, the sun wasn't even up then? FYI: All official conference bloggers were invited so you can assume that there is going to be some type of special announcement that can be blogged,or tweeted out.

YES you guessed it that is what It was. AND you are hearing this for the first time

...and YES I am wearing my Root Cellar name badge - always. Great ice breaker and again I made two new contacts from people at this conference- just from wearing it. I really get a lot of compliments on it and want to know where they can get one for themselves and for their organization. I sure wish I had an answer for them

...............drum roll please

MyHeritage.com has added a NEW feature meet the RECORD DECTECTIVE... a breakthrough technology that will save you time with your family history research. It is smart, reliable, and unlike anything else. For every record you find, it'll identify other records and people linked to it. It finds this new information from searching billions of records, in seconds. It gives you links to the related records and family trees. It's extremely accurate, so you can trust the information and sources. As they say "Let the Record Detective turn your dead ends into new leads at MyHeritage I am really excited about and can hardly wait to try it out for real when I get home. Try it!! Did you know that there is a Mobile App - build your family tree and research on the go. Perfect for family get-togethers.

Another great day but sure was dragging at the end......

Session 1- "How Genealogical Societies Can Provide a Meaningful for their Distant Members" presented by David. I am always drawn to the sessions that are geared to help society's. David Rencher is very passionate about helping all societies. He wants them to succeed and thrive, make the changes they need to make in order to survive. This session really dealt with "What benefits do members receive that live a distant a way" But what about members that live close by but because of health OR other commitments are not able to make the meetings and some activities. How are we as an organization supporting them. Do you have a board that only meets face to face or do you allow distant members to run for an office or be on the board? How about having virtual board meetings so that distant members could participate in. How do you determine what services to provide to your members and how do you gather that information. There is something to be said to reevaluate your goals, mission statement and services every few years.

Session 2- "Using Emmigrant Guides for Genealogical Records" presented by Julie Miller. Julie is an extremely active member of NGS and was awarded the "Shirley Langdon Wilcox Award for Exemplary Volunteerism. The list of accomplishments were pages long. She is a go getter, patient, and very nice. You would need to Google, Bing etc "emigrant guides" sometimes called travel guides. Apparently they have been around since the 1600's.Little booklets giving complete information about an area, and why you should move there, giving the weather, land, and whatever else is important for people to know. Very interesting. I'll be keeping an eye out for these.

Session 3- "Pinterest - a Visual Tool for Genealogists" presented by Jennifer Crowder Daugherty. Yes, another social media website. I am told it is the third most popular website behind Facebook and Twitter. I am signed on, but not feeling the excitement yet. I will keep trying. If we can figure it out, it could be a great place to tell our story (Root Cellar) in pictures.

National Genealogical Society GenTech Luncheon with the Ancestry Insider "The Future of Family History- According to You"...... how fun!! Our speaker was 'Ancestry Insider' (Blogger) It was an interactive discussion of what we would like to see changed, improved, deleted, with Ancestry and FamilySearch, Very interesting ideas.

Session 4- US Immigration and Naturalization presented by Hal Bookbinder. We totally went over the progression of laws on Immigration and Naturalization over the years to current times. He used a family case study to show the different documents in the time frames they lived in. You really need to know the history of these things in order to know how to research for your ancestors.

Session 5- "Face Recognition and Photo Tagging for Genealogy Research" with David Horowitz with MyHertiage.com. Looks like it is my time with MyHeritage.com. Seems I have spent quite abit of time with them this conference. It is not a bad thing. David has one these presentations in our area in the past so this is not the first or second time I have heard the information. But it is always fun to hear about.

It gets me excited about going back and trying it again. Things have improved over the years. (I believe Sammie is really into it and can lend some experience if someone has questions about the program.) And of course like I said earlier, there is an APP for this too. To get the most out of the program, you sign on, (FREE), upload a gedcom of your family tree or a branch of it. Now start uploading family pictures into one folder probably labeling it Family. And let the program do it's job with face recognition. Best to start with pictures that are directly on the face and only one person in the picture and it would be best if they were pictures of the family members you know for sure. Let the program learn your family and then upload group pictures and the 'mystery' pictures. Good Luck

THE END

I have ordered my shuttle for the morning. Called up my boarding pass for the morning. Packed my bags and will be ready to go too early to even think about. I am exhausted and need to come home to catch up on my sleep and then try out all these wonderful resources I have learned about.

NITE all!

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Friday Genealogy Slots In Las Vegas - NGS Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Gardner Benward) — Sat, 11 May 2013 01:27:00 +0000

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Sandra Gardner Benward

Step Right Up, Pull the Arm and Take Your Chances!!

Yes, we are still in Las Vegas - a city open 24/7

Add another great day in Las Vegas (actually deep inside LVH & Casino - no daylight, no windows and no clocks - yes no clocks What is that all about?

I did forget to mention that just inside the Exhibit Hall there is a Press/Blogger area set up with connections and plugins. WHOOOPE'Y!! I am here a little early this morning so I had the place to myself for a while. A little piece of quiet sofor a few more minutes and then the Exhibit Hall will officially open.

Katherine Doyle blogger for California Genealogical Society/ Oakland -blogging away.

1- "iGenealogy: There is an App for that" with Shamele Jordon (a second session with Shamele- same as the first - excellent) The list goes on and on. There really is an app for EVERYTHING (yes Jack for everything) Did you know that APP was the number one word for 2010? Yes it was only 2010 and now look what has happened. Little known facts for 2012: $18 billion spent on mobile apps for smartphones and tablets; 65% of mobile devices are using IOS (Apple); 127 minutes spent per day using apps compared to other consumption rates of 168 minutes watching TV, and 70 minutes surfing the internet. Impressive and Scary tidbits of information. Check these apps out: Evernote, Time Machine, Wolfram Genealogy, Evernote, Lincolngrams (for those Lincoln buffs)

I know you can't see it but all the icons on this slide are all quilted. Just too cool.

2 "Going Nuclear: DNA Discoveries to Trace All Lines of Descent" with Debbie Parker Wayne- good speaker especially on such a dry subject. Well, it is dry to me. It was a very basic session on DNA- what is it, how it comes about. Very well done. I wish I had pictures of some of her slides. Just too good. She spoke about the three main DNA companies: FamilyTree DNA, 23andME, and AncestryDNA of course there are many others but these are the top three. A lot of comparisons. FamilyTree DNA was the largest one but the other two are doing a lot of business and are catching up, but FamilyTreeDNA still has a LARGE DNA database. Check it Out

Quick Lunch and time for the Exhibit Hall

Foot Prints lead you right to the NGS Booth

MyHeritage.com with computer stations set up for participants to sign in and try it out and ask questions, so you feel comfortable when you leave them .

Someone familiar - our own book vendor from our spring seminar- small world

One of the many Ancestry.com demo's - lots of computer stations set up to try it out.

You recognize FamilySearch.org. Also giving lots of demo's.

Remember way back - indexing the 1940 US Census - FamilySearch is still set up and continues to introduce more people to indexing and the many projects that are ready to be indexed. Great way to start off and get your questions answered.

Are you still continuing to index? Marilyn, Glenda and Sandi are. Are you? Want to get started? Contact one of us and we will help you get started.

,,,,,,,,and from Sacramento - so far from home: Sacramento German Genealogy Society

Good Luck!... and a shout out to Shirley Reimer, now recovering from surgery.

And FamilyTreeDNA and Robert. So what do they wear under those kilts?

3- "Discovering Your Genetic Profile Finding the Heart of Your Ancestry Using DNA " with Ugo Alessandro Perego- Ugo has given several sessions at our own local Family History Center.... sorry I did not stay for this session, it was too basic, it is just after lunch, the room is warm and I needed something else...... so I jumped ship and went over to...........

4- "Treasures in the Records of the US Congress" with David Rencher........ good speaker. He made a presentation through a family case study using the records he found in the US Congress records. Very interesting. (our own Pat Johnson, Archivist at the Center for Sacramento History did a similar thing at Family History Day- Sacramento by picking a family from the Sacramento area and then following them through their life with all the different types of documents that are available at the Center. excellent way to show off and let people know what you have)

5- "New York's Census and City Directories: Linking Ancestral Records across Decennial Gaps" with Terry Koch-Bostic - good presentation of what resources are available in New State and New York City. Good substitutes for the missing 1890 US Census is the City Directories. New York is also a state that did its own state census in between the Federal Census starting in 1925. The best chart for availability of the New York state census in the NY State Library table of remaining county schedules by county, by year.

PARTY TIME.... 6-7pm Cocktail Hour and then 7pm National Genealogical Society Banquet
"Do You Think Anyone's Going to Watch This Show? Mark Hall-Patton AND Lucky 13:A Modest Proposal Regarding Genealogy Grants and Pawn Stores" Megan Smolenyak-Smolenyak.

Hey, can't say much more, you know what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas and that's my story and I am sticking to it ........ sorry!! Nite.

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Friday's Faces from the Past - NGS Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Gardner Benward) — Fri, 10 May 2013 05:56:00 +0000

bEditor's note: Today's post was written by Sandra Gardner Benward

Still dark clouds covering Las Vegas but not sure what it feels like outside.

Checking my email today I received my voting ballot. How exciting, our first election with online voting. Fill out your ballot and send it back. Now everyone in the society will be able to vote since you have from today (which is actually yesterday) thru 31 May 2013, VOTE NOW but only once,

.......and back to the conference. WOW another great day of classes and luncheon..........

"Cloud Genealogy" with Shamele Jordon This is a new speaker for me. What a good speaker, great sense of humor, I was very impressed. As you may or may not know with Cloud Computing you can access your data anywhere, anytime. It is simple, it is storage of your data but not on your computer. Applications and data are available on the internet (the cloud) instead of on your computer. When we as researchers travel to different locations, the cloud offers an easy assess to your data - includes family trees, research documents, photograghs and more. Did you realize if you use Google you have a whole suite of applications at your disposal books,  like email, picassa, maps, reader, books drive(docs) and more. And then there is Evernote. You can download  it on your computer and also the APP to your tablet or smartphones co. Using cloud computing whatever you add to one devise is added to the other devise. What a great idea. I learned about a new website called DIIGO (online social bookmarking with tags. You can share them, highlight them, and add notes. Very cool. Storage was discussed Dropbox (2gb Free),  SkyDrive (7gb Free), GoogleDrive (5gb Free) all support PC and MAC. AND the all important Back-up. Back Blaze (new, introduced at RootsTech), Carbonite, Crash Plan, iDrive, JustCloud, Mozy, SugarSync, Zip Cloud and many others. Cost ranges from as little as $5 up to $10 a month. Some give unlimited space and others regulate the space available. You need to do the research and make the decision for yourself.

"How to Find Your Relative on the Internet Without Really Trying" with Daniel Horowitz.. David spoke about how MyHeritage works and how it will help you in your research. They encourage you to upload a gedcom of your family tree or a branch. They do comparisons with other trees and with the trees of Geni.com. If there is something that matches you both will be notified and then you have a choice of accepting, or ignoring.  It is a good thing to put your tree up in several different places. Think about it.

New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Luncheon with speaker Terry Koch-Bostic "Read All About It! Finding Spicy Stories of New York Ancestors in Newspapers Online" Lunch itself was excellent. Speaker was very good. Terry says that New York State is rich with historical newspapers, many newly digitized and now online. (who knew?) She gave her presentation in a story fashion through newspaper articles she her family. Great for her. She gave us a lot of good references. So I will try looking at newspapers again.

"Online Tools for Genealogists" with Barbara Ann Renick. She divided the online tools into 7 categories: Language and Handwriting; Timelines and Calendars; Geographic and Map; History and Background; Help and Educational; Social; Locators and then each category was discussed. I will refer you to her website.   click on notes and then links. I have not had time to study all the links she has on her website but it looks very promising. Good Luck!

"How to Create an Exciting, Interactive Family History Tour of Google Earth" with Lisa Louise Cooke owner of Genealogy Gems It is always a fun time with Lisa but a learning time too and this session was not the exception. Oh my this is going to be gooooooooood!! Lisa created an interactive video using Google Earth. I am not going to be able to explain how to do it, I will need to do it first. This is something that will excite the young and the non-family/friend genealogist.

Had dinner with a new friend Debbie from Pittsburgh, PA and Kim Parker at the buffet in the hotel. Oh my goodness it was expensive, good but way over priced. If I want coffee that they provide in my room it costs $4 a cup - just crazy. I find that my boarding pass to get home will cost $2.50 - yes to print out one piece of paper. Unbelievable. No free wifi in rooms or lobby area. The conference has partnered with other organizations to have a WIFI Hot spot just outside the Exhibit Area so that participants can offset the cost of the hotel wifi. Nice but there are no plugs to charge while you are using your devices. smoke free does not mean smoking on this side of the room and no smoking on the other side. Hard to take that clean deep breath. cough, cough, cough, weeeze!!!

OK OK I am off my soapbox and back ..... I am having a good time, I am.

...........back from the sauna. Another Full Day Tomorrow - Time for bed. NITE!

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Those Places Thursday - NGS Conference Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Gardner Benward) — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:47:00 +0000

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Sandra Gardner Benward

WOW!! 5:00am came around much too quickly. We started setting up the registration booth at
6:30am and opened up at 7am with a massive amount of anxious conference goers. Right now they are saying there are approximately 1500 participants. I worked till  9:30am and then off to sessions
I did miss the Opening Ceremonies because I was working the registration booth but I heard nothing but good things. "People, Policy, and Records: The Importance of Historical Background" topic given by Marian Smith, Chief Historical Research Branch for US Citizenship and Immigration Services.  Using immigration and migration to show importance of national policy changes to ancestors, to their records and to our research.

Exhibit Hall opened this morning....... and it looks great, a good variety of vendors.  I did a quick walk thru but didn't want to get locked out of the first session so went over to claim a seat. Exhibit Hall will wait till tomorrow.

First session today was" Forensic Genealogy - CSI Meets Roots: The Digital Detective" with Colleen Mary Fitzpatrick. Very interesting and very basic ideas to help (I thought about you Marilyn) through a series of pictures and we analyzed them. What did I learn? 1. Look for things that are ‘not quite right.’ It sounds really easy and it is and isn't. You just need to take your time. 2. Sometimes the obvious clues are not the best. You know how we first look at an older photo and check the clothing, sometimes you need to ignore that and look for other clues in the photo. 3. Always always look at the back of the photo. It is a very basic idea but surprisingly overlooked. I like Colleen as a speaker, very well composed, and she sure know her topic: Forensic Genealogy. She does not do a lot of conferences because she is really busy with her many projects. Check out her website: Forensic Genealogy Look down the left column and you will see where you can view photos and try your hand at analyzing. Easy??

I bought a ticket for FGS luncheon with Curt B Witcher:" Re-think, Re-boot, Re-connect It's a New World" .Preserve the Pension War of 1812 was discussed. I tooted our horn and they were very impressed our with progress and commitment to the project. I was very proud for all of us. Curt spoke about organizations keeping up with the times, If you want a younger crowd you need to find out what they want, what motivates them and make the changes. His Mission Statement would read - "Fun, Success and Do Good Things"- just keeping it simple, Re-Think your Journey, Your Mission, and make changes. Re-Boot- make sure you are going in the right direction, how do your members see the organization. Re-Connect: Dream New Dreams, Have New Visions, Make New Connections. Have the Courage to Change.

After lunch I attended Elizabeth Shown Mills "The Genealogical Proof Standard in Action: Case Building When No Record States an Answer" .... Yes a mouthful. The Action Plan: Assess what you have - Complete the Research - Trust Nobody - Integrate and Correlate details - Outline a theory - then try to disprove it and if it survives - Now, write a convincing argument. Make the assessment: Identify the problem, analyze the data and weigh the evidence, reappraise prior conclusions. The whole process is a lot of work and I know sounds really complex but it actually isn't that complex but will take a little effort to get to the truth especially when you have people you are not sure belong on your tree or are related, then it is worth going through the process

Last session of the day was "Understanding What They Wrote: Tricks and Tips for Deciphering the Unintelligible in Documents" by Barbara Vines Little (I got excited at first because my mothers main line are LITTLE but hers are Virginia Little's and mine are New York Little's - I tried) . Legalese, archaic terms, and letter forms, and illegible handwriting contribute to misinterpretations and consequent errors in compiling family information. So besides the illegible handwriting you need to make sure you understand the meanings of terms in different time frames. Check these websites out: Palaeography, "The National Archives - Online course at no cost. AND An Introduction to Paleography online tutorial with sample documents. No cost. Covers English court hand, AND The Legal Genealogist Blog - Judy Russell, Legal Definitions.

It has been a long day. Time for dinner, maybe a ride on the monorail and finish up with a dip in the pool. Nite!

Tuesday - Helping Hands and Support at NGS Conference2013

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Gardner Benward) — Wed, 08 May 2013 06:06:00 +0000

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Sandra Gardner Benward

I left on Southwest Airlines at 10:40am this morning, landing in Las Vegas at 12:05 pm

Luggage arrived with me (thank goodness), caught shuttle to LVH.

Weather was nice but overcast and it rained after I arrived at the hotel, Dark clouds.

The Hotel is connected to the Convention Center. It is a huge place and there will be lots of walking I just wish it wasn't through the smoke filled rooms. (just a figure of speech but not far off the truth)

Checked in to LVH. I am on the 10th floor of 25 or more floors. The view during the day is ok but the view at night is spectacular.

CaChing ! Bells & whistles going off all the time. Oh my, slot machines everywhere and I do mean everywhere.

To start off this conference I volunteered to help with registration. I worked from 3p to 7pm. I sure met a lot of first time goers who were very excited about attending. That kept a smile on my face. Ran into Lynne Roberts, Billie Helms and Barbara plus Kim Parker. Going back in the morning to continue with registration till 9:30am - then the conference begins for me.

A lot of activity all afternoon - last minute meetings with volunteers, staff, and staff from hotel. The Hospitality Booth staffed by DAR members, was very busy. The exhibitors were coming in all afternoon and getting set up, Representatives from the Sacramento German Genealogical Society arrived but without Shirley Reimer. Apparently Shirley is not well and will need surgery pretty quick. I know all of you will be sending Shirley positive good healthy thoughts.

Back in my room, I am reading through all the materials I received when I checked in earlier oday. The paper syllabus is 566 pages and yes it is huge and heavy . Yes I ordered a paper print copy and thinking how will I get this home. Oh well, it will work out. Everyone received the syllabus on a flash drive. So much good information. I can hardly wait till the actual sessions to add to the information in the syllabus.

Big Day Tomorrow. Nite!!!!

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Tuesday Travel - How. What, Where, When for NGS2013

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Gardner Benward) — Tue, 07 May 2013 04:24:00 +0000

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Sandra Gardner Benward

Come along with me for the next couple of days.

There will be lots to see and do, and lots to write about.

What to pack, what to think about, what to do to get ready for this conference?

One thing I've done is download the FREE 2013 NGS Confernece app. I have gone through the schedule and created my own calendar for the conference, adding my flight information, any breakfasts, lunches and dinners and extra activities that I will be attending. Everything in one place. It updates itself all the time so you always have the latest information, latest changes and updates. Also, available on the app are maps, speakers bio's, exhibitors, Alerts, direct connect to NGS website, News, Friends (sharing schedules with friends) , Attendees, direct connect to twitter for conference, facebook connection, conference docs, downloads, official bloggers, and you can also rate each session you take directly thru the app, plus a long list of restaurants in the hotel, conference and much more - all on one little app. AMAZING!!! (the app is available for most devices) - I've eliminated alot of paper by using the app.

Also on the app I have also downloaded the conference programs (called conference docs). They are in PDF format. It shows a daily schedule, room numbers, plus room for notes . So now I have eliminated carrying around that paper schedule.

I have been following the official NGS Conference Blog, as well as alot of the NGS conference official bloggers (one of them being Root Cellar- ME). There sure is alot of diversity and you will get alot of points of view of the conference. They are all listed on the NGS website.Try it!

Now for registered attendees, the Conference Syllabuts is available online to download a copy to your tablet or iPad or print out what you want. It has been suggested to go through the schedule, pick your sessions, and then print out those class handouts so you can follow along. So I am doing that now. They will NOT have print out area's like there have been at other conference's. So planning ahead is a best practice

It is my understanding that there is no FREE wifi in the hotel rooms. I am not sure about the lobby areas but only PAID wifi in your rooms at the LVHotel. But I am reading about a partnership between Findmypast.com, FamilySearch & the NGS Conference for FREE wifi at the conference. It will be passoword protected but for use by attendees only. Its called the Internet Cafe. It will accomodate up to 300 users at a time, 20 minutes per session, 24 hours a day Monday thru Saturday. It will be located in Pavilion 5 and in the Pavilion Foyer between the Pavilion and the Paradise Event Center Foyer.

Unfortunately, there will not be any sessions being streamed live at this conference. You can order recordings of most of the sessions on CD from JAMB Tapes, Inc. for $12 each at the conference and afterwards through a link on the NGS website. If you look through the schedule you will be able to see the sessions that are going to be recorded.

If you are able to come or NOT, you can follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and others. Use the #NGS2013 hashtag. Don't forget about the live Twitter feed within the free NGS Conference app...........

So here you have it...........

Follow on Twitter (@ngsgenealogy) send your tweets @ngsgenealogy for general information or use the hashtag #ngs2013 for Annual conference-related tweets

AND/ OR

Follow on Facebook AND/OR subscribe to the NGS conference blog

So are you prepared or do you need a day or so more?

For those not able to attend, I will do my best to keep you updated and informed as I go through the conference.

Tuesday will be a travel day. I will arrive around noon, put my luggage in lockup for a couple of hours while I go to registration. . I have volunteered to help with registration Tuesday late afternoon and Wednesday early morning. YIPPPEEY!!

Nite!!!

Shop and Support Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society.

Click here for details.

Wishful Wednesday - More Member Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Wed, 01 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Denise Hibsch Richmond.

Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society celebrated its 2nd blogiversary on Monday, April 29, 2013. Well, the Society's blog celebrated two years of being part of www.GeneaBloggers.com. Three members brought the blog to its toddler year. A fourth member recently joined the team. Writing is managed on a weekly, rotational schedule.

The writers had help - from other Society members. (Secret - the writers jump for joy when a member submits a family history story, photo or other image for the blog.) Some articles are short, just a photo with names and dates, such as a tombstone. Others are of some length providing a bit more detail about an ancestor. Frequently, a GeneaBloggers blogging prompt helped focus the story like Surname Saturday and Mystery Monday. Let's take a stroll down memory lane and revisit several member blog contributions.

Sunday Supper - Purple Turkey

Sentimental Sunday - Happy Father's Day

Black Sheep Sunday - Joan Beaufort

March Madness Monday - Final 4 Ancestors

Mystery Monday - Samuel E. Ford

Tombstone Tuesday - Smith and Shutzbaugh

Tombstone Tuesday - John McLearie, Sr.

Tombstone Tuesday [Edwin W. Towle]

Wordless Wednesday - Christmas Memories

Holcomb Family Genealogy Challenges - Those Places Thursday

Surname Saturday - Thomas and Dollings

This is the Face of Genealogy [Member's Father in Cool Car]

Happy Father's Day [Member's Fathers]

The Root Cellar Blog, A Member Benefit

Are you inspired by these member stories? It's so easy because you already have the information. The Root Cellar blog writers wish is for continued contributions from its members. Use the blog to get closer to solving a brickwall or just to bring your ancestors to life. Contributions and any questions can be sent to rootcellarsgs@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

---------
Shop and Support Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society.
Click here for details.

Motivation Monday - We Lasted Two Years!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Gardner Benward) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 06:00:00 +0000

Happy Second Blogiversary Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society!

HIP! HIP! HOORAY!!

posted by Sandra Gardner Benward

Make your wish! Blow out the candles! Today April 29, 2013, Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society's (RCSGS) will celebrate its second anniversary as a member of GeneaBloggers - the ultimate site for genealogy blogs.

For our newer members that don't know about Geneabloggers, I will attempt to explain. Root Cellar SGS tech committee opened a blog for its members on April 29, 2011. We were introduced to a website (more of a blog community umbrella) called GeneaBloggers. It has all kinds of helps for bloggers trying to get started and to continue. A LOT OF SUPPORT AND HELP. It offers a set of Daily Blog Prompts (Society Saturday, Wordless Wednesday, Friends of Friends Friday) and searches on them nightly. Their search engine (like Google or Bing) crawl through the internet looking for and collecting posts from many different genealogy blog sites. They are then collected in GeneaBloggers roll-up for Daily Blog Prompts.

Root Cellar Ramblings Blog Team is very excited that we are so involved with GeneaBloggers and have been accepted by the genealogy blogging community. Over the past two years, Root Cellar Ramblings blog posts have appeared many many times on the GeneaBloggers roll-up for Daily Blog Prompts, and our events (Root Cellar SGS Spring Seminar/ Family History Day) have appeared on the GeneaBloggers Calendar. The benefits to our Society and members has been tremendous - increased visibility of what our Society has to offer researchers, e.g., publications (thanks to our Extraction Team), and an increased audience and a showcase for our member's family history including those pebble /stone /or brickwalls. The acceptance of our fellow bloggers has been so encouraging.

I personally have had a family connection this past week with a post I put up April 2012. It does work.

Let's offer a toast to our THIRD successful year on GeneaBloggers! A Special Thank You to Thomas MacEntee, creator of GeneaBloggers, for his service to the blogging community and genealogical societies. (You remember Thomas from our own Spring Seminar)

HAPPY SECOND BLOGIVERSARY

Root Cellar Ramblings & Team

Society Surprise Sunday We Have Exceeded Our Goal TWICE!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Gardner Benward) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 17:12:00 +0000

... posted by Sandra Gardner Benward - Thank You!!

Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society has challenged their members to raise funds for the "Preserve the Pensions War 0f 1812". This effort is being spearheaded by the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS). They are doing the actual digitizing of the Pension Records - all with a mass appeal for support and funds to the genealogical community. The community has listened and funds are being raised all over the county.

In early April, we told our members that Root Cellar SGS would match any funds received for this project up to $300.

YOU HAVE MET THAT GOAL AND EXCEEDED IT.............

So Root Cellar SGS board extended their offer to their members to match funds received up to $500

YOU HAVE MET THAT GOAL AND EXCEEDED IT TOO!!

WOW, what next??? Root Cellar SGS will continue collecting funds through their June General Meeting. After all, what ever funds we match and additional funds raised will ALL be matched again by Ancestry.com. So this can only be a WIN-WIN effort.

This is a genealogical community effort....... if you would like to contribute please feel free to send us your donation (please label it 1812). Make your check out to Root Cellar SGS, and mail it to same, P.O.Box 265, Citrus Heights, CA 95611..... and Thank You.

Special Thank You to Rick Hanson for creating our graphic and continuing to update it when necessary.

Society Saturday - Root Cellar's May Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 07:30:00 +0000

Editor's note: This post was written by Denise Hibsch Richmond, Publicity Chairperson for Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society. Image courtesy of Flickr.

Here is a list of events, aka learning opportunities, we hope you'll take advantage of in May 2013:

Thursday, May 2
Board Meeting, members welcome
Time: 10 am – noon
Location: Sylvan Community Center, 7521 Community Dr, Citrus Heights

Thursday, May 9
Membership Meeting, visitors always welcome
Time: 7 pm – 8:30 pm
Program: Old Genealogy Books Online by Jim Rader
About the Program and Speaker
Location: Christ Community Church, 5025 Manzanita Avenue, Carmichael
NEW! 6:30pm - 7:00pm: Special Interest Groups - States TBD

Wednesday, May 15
Workshop, visitors always welcome 
Program: Help with brickwalls; helpful research and tech tool tips
Time: 1 pm – 3 pm
Location: Sylvan Community Center, 7521 Community Drive, Citrus Heights

Wednesday, May 22
Reunion for Mac Special Interest Group, everyone welcome
Program: Brainstorming solutions to users’ problems and questions
Time: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Location: Family History Center, 2745 Eastern Ave, Sacramento
Contact: Ron Setzer, PreservesEditor@rootcellar.org

More Information
We'd be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about these activities. Leave a Comment on the Blog or drop us a line at rootcellarsgs@gmail.com. See you in May!

Visit a little bit of Sacramento at the 2013 NGS Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 07:01:00 +0000

[Editor's Note: Today's post was written by Richard Hanson. Image courtesy of NGS.]

Are you attending the NGS 2013 Family History Conference (May 8-11 in Las Vegas)? The local Sacramento German Genealogy Society is hosting a vendor booth at that event. They will be selling books and memberships. Booth volunteers will include Shirley Riemer and Ingeborg Carpenter. Be sure to stop by and say hello! Or in their case, Hallo!

The Sacramento German Genealogy Society is one of two local sister societies of Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society. The other is the Genealogical Association of Sacramento.

Follow Friday – Conference Keeper Website

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:01:00 +0000

[Editor's Note: Today's post was written by Richard Hanson.]

Local genealogist Virginia Kysh recently found a useful calendar of upcoming genealogical conventions called Conference Keeper (www.conferencekeeper.net). It lists local, state, national and international genealogical conferences. It also includes calls for papers, writers events, a #genchat schedule and conference alerts.

If you look on the list for California, you will see an announcement for Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society's 2014 annual seminar.

Spring Seminar: Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society

Apr 5, 2014; Fair Oaks, CA. Website.

Get Emailed Pages from the FHL in Salt Lake City

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:01:00 +0000

[Editor's Note: Today's post was written by Richard Hanson.]

Not all of the holdings of the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City can be loaned to its branch libraries. For years the FHL provided a photocopy service for those not wanting to make a personal visit. Volunteers there would copy and mail requested pages.

That mailing service is still available. But beginning early February of this year a new service has been added. They will email digital scans of the requested pages to you in the form of attached PDF of JPEG files. For details go their new Feb. 4 blog entry. Be sure to review the posted comments and replies since important experiences and clarifications are posted there.

Tuesday's Tip – Find Your Family Photographer

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:01:00 +0000

[Editor's Note: Today's post was written by Richard Hanson. Photo courtesy of Richard Hanson's Hanson-Olson family history photo collection.]

Photos are both an important source of information and critical to creation of interesting family history publications. All of us inherit photos and make an effort to get copies from known relatives. But for many of you, there may a pot of gold out there awaiting your discovery. As you identify your historical extended family, pay special attention to their occupations and hobbies. Look for that professional photographer or photography hobbyist. That person would likely have accumulated a vast collection of extended family photos (portraits, family events, residences). Try to find out what happened to that photographic collection. I found one such person in my father's family, a grand uncle named Edward Olson.

Edward Olson and his home-built motor-bicycle. Photo taken during 1920s or 30s. Edward Olson (1879-1946, son of Louis Olson and Hilda Anderson) was a professional photographer, musician and inventor – the family techie of his era. Joined in the migration of his Olson family relatives from Minnesota to Sacramento during the 1930s, himself having arrived in 1936.

Virtually everyone had some of Edward Olson's photos. He must have widely distributed some photos which made him easy to identify. But what happened to his collection? Edward Olson had no descendants and no wife when he died. As my father and I contacted the extended family we found various people had caches of his photos, starting with my Olson grandmother. I subsequently inherited most of her cache of photos. Relatives must have divided up his library of photos. We made copies of those belonging to others usually by personally visiting them with 35mm cameras and tripods (pre-digital camera era). One trusting relative in another state mailed us a big packet of 1920s-era photos to copy. I currently have all the photos cataloged, scanned and saved as high-resolution TIFF files. I provide a complete set of scanned images on optical media to all interested extended family members. Phase II of my search begins with me coming up with a better way of categorizing the photos so that recipient relatives will easily be able to determine which ones I am missing. Likely, many more of his photos are out there waiting to be found.

Mobile Monday – Recording Textual Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 07:01:00 +0000

[Editor's Note: Today's post was written by Richard Hanson.]

I so dislike transcribing from a recording. It invariably plays too fast which means I have to listen to it ten times before finishing my typing. From almost day one, smart phones included a recorder app which I never used for anything beyond a brief message. But with voice recognition technology recently becoming a built-in feature for both the newer-model iPhone and Android phones, the situation has changed.

I use an iPhone 5 and its included Notes app allows me to verbally create textual notes. Upon creating a new note (page in the virtual tablet) I press the microphone icon on the presented keypad and start talking. Nothing happens at first, except for a microphone icon displaying the fluctuating volume of my voice.

At this point the app is simply making a record of my voice. Not until I stop talking and press the "Done" button does the phone send the encoded voice to the Apple's servers in North Carolina for translation. The resulting text sent back to the phone and displayed on the Note app's page. You've now deduced that an Internet connection is needed for all this to work. Accurate voice translation is far too complex for the phone to do on its own.

I've found the text translation to be extremely accurate, even with proper names. In the event it makes a mistake, you must fix it using those tiny little keys on the screen's displayed keypad. You cannot issue verbal editing commands. Getting the text back to your main computer can be done by email, messaging or Cloud-based syncing. I use that sync option.

Android-based smartphones have the same built-in capability. And they too need an Internet connection, to Google's servers.

See also Ron Setzer's Mobile Monday blog (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) dated October 24, 2011 that discusses a 3rd party app, Dragon Dictation. That app also turns your spoken words into text. While Dragon Dictation also requires an Internet connection, it has the advantage of being compatible with older smartphones.

Census Sunday – Census Finder

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 07:01:00 +0000

[Editor's Note: Today's post was written by Richard Hanson.]

FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com are not the only online sources for census records. Both domestic and international census databases are posted elsewhere in whole or in part. But finding them can be a bit of a challenge. Ditto for finding free versions of them.

One solution, more structured and focused than Cyndi's List, is the website Census Finder (http://www.censusfinder.com).

Census Finder provides a listing of over 40,000 census links. If you can't find what you want through the posted census websites, each page also provides related links and identifies the traditional sources for vital records.

Society Saturday - Sacramento County Coroner's Records 1887-1969 New Additions

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 19:28:00 +0000

[Editor's note: Today's post was written by Denise Hibsch Richmond.]

Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society (RCSGS) announces the release of three new books for the Sacramento County Coroner’s Records Collection 1887-1969. This release marks the completion of the series totally 20 books in 12 volumes. RCSGS volunteers, under the direction of Marilyn Ulbricht, extracted and indexed these records from original books of the Coroner's Office of Sacramento County housed at the Center for Sacramento History (Center) and acquired through the efforts of the Sacramento Old City Cemetery Committee.

The books include the decedent’s name; date of death; place of death; nativity; age; cause and circumstances of death; burial and funeral information; and book and page of the original book. A Master Index of all 20 books will be available soon. The extracted information is comprehensive but even more is available in the original books. Also, the Center has many of the original Coroner Inquests that correspond with surnames in the Sacramento County Coroner’s Records Collection.

These publications and others are available for purchase at the Society’s Store. The original books are available for research at the Center by appointment, (916) 808-7072 or email csh@cityofsacramento.org.

The three books just published include:

Vol. XI - Book 18: Coroner's Register January 1961 - June 1964

4,000 Surnames, 332 pages

8½ x 11 soft cover

$30.00+ tax

Vol. XII - Books 19 and 20 with Index

Book 19: Coroner's Register June 1964 - December 1967

Book 20: January 1968 - December 1969

8,989 Surnames, 68 pages

8½ x 11 soft cover

$20.00+ tax

About Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society
The Society was formed in 1978 to help members with genealogical research through education, publication of information and preservation of records. Society activities include a monthly membership meeting, workshop and Reunion for Mac Special Interest Group, an annual spring seminar, a monthly newsletter Geni-Gram, and an online periodical Preserves. It has a long-standing partnership with the Center for Sacramento History for the extraction of original records housed there. Publications of these records and many genealogy books are available for use at the Root Cellar Genealogical Library housed at the California State Archives in Sacramento, California. Contact: rootcellarsgs@gmail.com or Facebook.

Thankful Thursday: Fundraiser for War of 1812 Pension Records

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:30:00 +0000

[Editor's note: Today's post was written by Denise Hibsch Richmond. Image credit: Richard L. Hanson.]

Thank you Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society members and friends for your generous response!

Nearly two weeks ago, the Society announced that it was joining the "Preserve the Pension Records - War of 1812 Project" spearheaded by the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS). The initial challenge to membership was to match the $300 issued by the Board. The goal was met within days. Root Cellar issued the same challenge to all Northern California genealogical societies.

Noting the excitement of its members, the Board increased the challenge to $500. Again, members responded overwhelmingly.

As of today, $460 has been raised toward the Society's goal of $500 for the fund to digitize the fragile pensions records of the War of 1812. Double this amount with the match from Ancestry.com. (Image update pending.)

The Numbers, updated

$920 raised by Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society including the dollar for dollar match by Ancestry.com
2,045 pages digitized

Challenge to Northern California Genealogical Societies
Days ago, Root Cellar issued a challenge to all Northern California Genealogical Societies to initiate their own fundraiser to help preserve the pension records for the War of 1812. Meet, beat or establish your own goal - any amount will help pay for this mass digitization project. Root Cellar is waiting to hear from its sister societies!

Root Cellar members and their friends can donate to the fundraiser through June 2013. All donations will be forwarded to FGS shortly thereafter. Updates about the progress in donations will continue through June. Thank you again for supporting this project.

Wordless Wednesday - Workshop Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 07:30:00 +0000

[Editor's Note: Today's 'almost wordless' post is presented by Denise Hibsch Richmond who also took the photos.]

Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society conducts monthly workshops to discuss member's successful family history discoveries and get suggestions on how to find those brickwall ancestors. Pictured: the 20 Mar 2013 workshop which included a briefing about Amish research by President John Jay.