The Chula Vista Genealogical Society events for September 2007 include:
** Wednesday, September 19, 10 AM, Chula Vista Civic Center Library -- CVGS Computer Group meets in the Library Computer Lab. We will visit some new genealogy web sites and/or Ancestry Library Edition (ALE) databases. This is an opportunity for those members who haven't used computers for genealogy research to practice with a mentor to guide them. It is also an opportunity for members who don't have an Ancestry subscription to dig into the ALE databases.
** Monday, September 24, 10 AM, Chula Vista Civic Center Library -- the monthly Society meeting is held in the Auditorium. This meeting has a short business meeting with announcements of meetings and activities, followed by a presentation on a topic of genealogy and family history interest. At this meeting, John Finch will present "Reunions" based on his experience planning and hosting family and class reunions.
** Wednesday, September 26, 10 AM, Chula Vista Civic Center Library -- CVGS Research Group meets in the Library Conference Room. We will review the genealogy news for August, share success stories and information, and discuss members research problems, and potential solutions, based on the collective knowledge and wisdom of the group.
** Saturday, September 29, 10 AM, Chula Vista Civic Center Library -- this special Society meeting is held in the Auditorium. This meeting has society announcements of meetings and activities, followed by a presentation on a topic of genealogy and family history interest. At this meeting, Randy Seaver will present "Genealogy Blogging - Soapbox or Service?" based on his experience being the first San Diego area genealogy blogger, the writer at "Genea-Musings," "The Geneaholic," "Randy's Busy Life," and the "Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe."
Remember that on Mondays - September 10 and 17 - that Dearl Glenn and probably John Finch will be at the table by the Family Research section of the Chula Vista Civic Center Library ready to help people with their research, discuss a problem or success, or just tell stories.
We welcome guests and visitors to our CVGS programs and events - if you are in the Chula Vista area and want to attend our events - please come and introduce yourselves. If you have questions, please email Randy at rjseaver(at)cox.net or phone 619-422-3397.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Chula Vista History Books
There are a number of books in the Chula Vista Public Library system that provide historical background about the city, including information before 1911 when it was incorporated as a city.
The books I've found include:
1. Karna Webster, "Chula Vista Heritage, 1911-1986," published by the City of Chula Vista, 1986. In Reference stacks, call number 979.498 WEB. This is a history book that describes the early days, cityhood, important people, etc. There are many historical pictures in this book.
2. "Family, Friends and Homes," published by the Chula Vista Historical Society, 1994. In Reference stacks, call number 979.498 CHU. This is a collection of articles submitted by community members, plus a survey of historical sites and articles about groups and organizations.
3. "Stories, Tales, Folk-lore of our Communities," Volume 1, Chula Vista Historical Society, no date. In Non-fiction circulating stacks, call number 979.498 CHULA Vol. 1. This is a collection of stories about the early days of Chula Vista compiled by the CVHS.
4. "Chula Vista - The Early Years," 7 Volumes, Chula Vista Historical Society, 1992-2000. In Non-fiction circulating stacks, call number 979.498 CHULA Vol. 1 to Vol. 7. These small books are compilations of stories from the past that were published in the "Bulletin," the Chula Vista Historical Society newsletter published monthly for about 10 years, starting in October 1981. The seven volumes cover:
* Volume 1- John J. Montgomery, The First Citrus Orchards, VFW Post 211, Fredericka Manor, Sweetwater Union High School, Street Names, Otay Watch Factory, What's a Chula?, and many more. (1992)
* Volume 2- Memories of Alf Lansley, The Piper Ranch of Otay Mesa, Western Salt Company, South Bay YMCA, Chula Vista Mutual Lemon Association, Shangri-La, The Mysterious Fire.
* Volume 3- Imperial Beach, San Diego Country Club, Adobes, The Indians of Otay Mesa, The Cook Ranch (1994).
* Volume 4- The Little Landers Colony of San Ysidro, The Battle of Tijuana (1995).
* Volume 5- No copies are available.
* Volume 6- Churches of the South Bay- Their Stories and Photographs (1997).
* Volume 7- Native Americans of the Otay Area, Sweetwater Dam Keeper, Bonita School, R. Tyce and the Chula Vista Airport, Montgomery Fire District (2000).
Each of these works has information about the early history and early settlers of Chula Vista. I will summarize the Tables of contents of these works in the next few weeks.
From a genealogical standpoint, the biographical data of the settlers and residents of Chula Vista may be useful in answering queries that are occasionally received by the Chula Vista Genealogical Society.
The Chula Vista Heritage Museum is located at 360 Third Ave (east side of Memorial Park), Chula Vista CA 91910-3932, phone (619) 427-8092. The Museum is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2pm - 5pm (it may also be open during special events) The Society web page is at http://www.chulavistalibrary.com/Heritage_Museum/default.asp
The books I've found include:
1. Karna Webster, "Chula Vista Heritage, 1911-1986," published by the City of Chula Vista, 1986. In Reference stacks, call number 979.498 WEB. This is a history book that describes the early days, cityhood, important people, etc. There are many historical pictures in this book.
2. "Family, Friends and Homes," published by the Chula Vista Historical Society, 1994. In Reference stacks, call number 979.498 CHU. This is a collection of articles submitted by community members, plus a survey of historical sites and articles about groups and organizations.
3. "Stories, Tales, Folk-lore of our Communities," Volume 1, Chula Vista Historical Society, no date. In Non-fiction circulating stacks, call number 979.498 CHULA Vol. 1. This is a collection of stories about the early days of Chula Vista compiled by the CVHS.
4. "Chula Vista - The Early Years," 7 Volumes, Chula Vista Historical Society, 1992-2000. In Non-fiction circulating stacks, call number 979.498 CHULA Vol. 1 to Vol. 7. These small books are compilations of stories from the past that were published in the "Bulletin," the Chula Vista Historical Society newsletter published monthly for about 10 years, starting in October 1981. The seven volumes cover:
* Volume 1- John J. Montgomery, The First Citrus Orchards, VFW Post 211, Fredericka Manor, Sweetwater Union High School, Street Names, Otay Watch Factory, What's a Chula?, and many more. (1992)
* Volume 2- Memories of Alf Lansley, The Piper Ranch of Otay Mesa, Western Salt Company, South Bay YMCA, Chula Vista Mutual Lemon Association, Shangri-La, The Mysterious Fire.
* Volume 3- Imperial Beach, San Diego Country Club, Adobes, The Indians of Otay Mesa, The Cook Ranch (1994).
* Volume 4- The Little Landers Colony of San Ysidro, The Battle of Tijuana (1995).
* Volume 5- No copies are available.
* Volume 6- Churches of the South Bay- Their Stories and Photographs (1997).
* Volume 7- Native Americans of the Otay Area, Sweetwater Dam Keeper, Bonita School, R. Tyce and the Chula Vista Airport, Montgomery Fire District (2000).
Each of these works has information about the early history and early settlers of Chula Vista. I will summarize the Tables of contents of these works in the next few weeks.
From a genealogical standpoint, the biographical data of the settlers and residents of Chula Vista may be useful in answering queries that are occasionally received by the Chula Vista Genealogical Society.
The Chula Vista Heritage Museum is located at 360 Third Ave (east side of Memorial Park), Chula Vista CA 91910-3932, phone (619) 427-8092. The Museum is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2pm - 5pm (it may also be open during special events) The Society web page is at http://www.chulavistalibrary.com/Heritage_Museum/default.asp
Monday, August 27, 2007
CVGS Picnic Highlights
The Chula Vista Genealogical Society has a Picnic at the local Elks Lodge for our August meeting. Some years we have a book auction and some years we play some sort of game or participation activity.
After eating lunch, having our gift exchange (bring one, get one) and our door prize award (today it was the book Unpuzzling Your Past by Emily Anne Croom, donated by Shirley), we played a well-known game.
The game "Wheel of Genealogy Fortune" is based on the TV Wheel of Fortune, only different. There are a means to get points (we used two dice rather than a wheel), some rules like Wheel of Fortune on TV, used points rather than dollars, some word puzzles on posters, an MC - Pat Sajak (played by your humble blogger), Vanna White (played by Crystal) to write letters on the posters, a scorekeeper (played by my Angel Linda), several teams of players, etc.
The word puzzles were genealogy related - in categories like "Genealogy society," "Book and Author," "Topic and Speaker," "Society Officer," "Tag Line," "Genealogy Blog," "Genealogy Web Site," etc.
Three teams of two people were chosen for each game, and they took turns rolling the dice, guessing letters, and solving the puzzles. This is harder than it looks. Here are the six puzzles we used, with the letters R S T L N E already added (just like the final Wheel puzzles!). Can you guess what they are (I used slashes (/) to separate words above since Blogger won't take more than one space.)?
1. Society: N E _ / _ _ R _ / _ E N E _ L _ _ _ _ _ L / _ N _ / _ _ _ _ R _ _ _ _ _ _ L / S _ _ _ E T _
2. Book and Author: E _ _ _ E N _ E / _ _ / E L _ _ _ _ E T _ / S _ _ _ N _ _ L L S
3. Topic and Speaker: T _ E / _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ / R _ _ T S _ E _ / _ _ / _ L _ N / _ _ N E S
4. Society Officer: _ R _ _ R _ _ / _ _ _ _ R _ E R S _ N / _ _ N N _ E / _ T T _ N _ E R
5. Tag Line: _'_ / N _ T / S T _ _ _ / _'_ / _ N _ E S T R _ L L _ / _ _ _ L L _ N _ E _
6. Genealogy Blog: E _ S T _ _ N'S / _ N L _ N E / _ E N E _ L _ _ _ / N E _ S L E T T E R
In the game, we didn't give them any letters. There were two Bankrupts (getting snake-eyes on the dice) just before puzzle solutions, which were painful to watch. Each game solved three puzzles, and we played for about an hour.
Of the 25 people in attendance, 12 people participated as contestants, and 3 others as the staff - "Pat," "Vanna" and "Angel." Shirley and Virginia won the first game, and Martha and Barbara won the second game. All contestants got past issues of Family Tree Magazine for their participation. The winners get their names in the newsletter (and the blog).
This worked out pretty well - "Vanna" and "Angel" performed their jobs skillfully and joyfully. Everybody had fun, and most came away with a respect for what the contestants on the real Wheel of Fortune go through.
Before the meeting started, over lunch, and after the game, there were small huddles of people discussing their current research problems and successes, and enjoying getting to know each other better. We had several recent new members in attendance, and several spouses attended. It was fun!
After eating lunch, having our gift exchange (bring one, get one) and our door prize award (today it was the book Unpuzzling Your Past by Emily Anne Croom, donated by Shirley), we played a well-known game.
The game "Wheel of Genealogy Fortune" is based on the TV Wheel of Fortune, only different. There are a means to get points (we used two dice rather than a wheel), some rules like Wheel of Fortune on TV, used points rather than dollars, some word puzzles on posters, an MC - Pat Sajak (played by your humble blogger), Vanna White (played by Crystal) to write letters on the posters, a scorekeeper (played by my Angel Linda), several teams of players, etc.
The word puzzles were genealogy related - in categories like "Genealogy society," "Book and Author," "Topic and Speaker," "Society Officer," "Tag Line," "Genealogy Blog," "Genealogy Web Site," etc.
Three teams of two people were chosen for each game, and they took turns rolling the dice, guessing letters, and solving the puzzles. This is harder than it looks. Here are the six puzzles we used, with the letters R S T L N E already added (just like the final Wheel puzzles!). Can you guess what they are (I used slashes (/) to separate words above since Blogger won't take more than one space.)?
1. Society: N E _ / _ _ R _ / _ E N E _ L _ _ _ _ _ L / _ N _ / _ _ _ _ R _ _ _ _ _ _ L / S _ _ _ E T _
2. Book and Author: E _ _ _ E N _ E / _ _ / E L _ _ _ _ E T _ / S _ _ _ N _ _ L L S
3. Topic and Speaker: T _ E / _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ / R _ _ T S _ E _ / _ _ / _ L _ N / _ _ N E S
4. Society Officer: _ R _ _ R _ _ / _ _ _ _ R _ E R S _ N / _ _ N N _ E / _ T T _ N _ E R
5. Tag Line: _'_ / N _ T / S T _ _ _ / _'_ / _ N _ E S T R _ L L _ / _ _ _ L L _ N _ E _
6. Genealogy Blog: E _ S T _ _ N'S / _ N L _ N E / _ E N E _ L _ _ _ / N E _ S L E T T E R
In the game, we didn't give them any letters. There were two Bankrupts (getting snake-eyes on the dice) just before puzzle solutions, which were painful to watch. Each game solved three puzzles, and we played for about an hour.
Of the 25 people in attendance, 12 people participated as contestants, and 3 others as the staff - "Pat," "Vanna" and "Angel." Shirley and Virginia won the first game, and Martha and Barbara won the second game. All contestants got past issues of Family Tree Magazine for their participation. The winners get their names in the newsletter (and the blog).
This worked out pretty well - "Vanna" and "Angel" performed their jobs skillfully and joyfully. Everybody had fun, and most came away with a respect for what the contestants on the real Wheel of Fortune go through.
Before the meeting started, over lunch, and after the game, there were small huddles of people discussing their current research problems and successes, and enjoying getting to know each other better. We had several recent new members in attendance, and several spouses attended. It was fun!
Friday, August 24, 2007
CVGS Picnic on Monday, 8/27
Rather than cooping up our members in a warm auditorium in August to hear a genealogy presentation, the Chula Vista Genealogical Society takes their monthly meeting outside - we have a Picnic in the shade at the local Elks Lodge picnic area. And we try to have genealogy fun.
The picnic is on Monday, August 27 at 11 AM at the Elks Lodge in Chula Vista (901 Elks Lane, off of Telegraph Canyon Road). This is a "bring your own food and beverage" deal, and there will be a door prize drawing. There will also be a "white elephant" gift exchange - bring one to get one. There is always a lot of laughter and sharing at these events.
The program will be teams of attendees playing the game "Wheel of (Genealogy) Fortune" with a Pat Sajak stand-in (rumored to be Randy Seaver) and a Vanna White stand-in (all of the women want to do this - "Pat" gets to pick!). The teams of contestants will spin the Wheel and try to solve genealogy-oriented word puzzles and win valuable prizes (well, maybe). It should be a good time.
Guests and visitors are always welcome at CVGS meetings. If you need more information, please contact Randy at rjseaver(at)cox.net.
The picnic is on Monday, August 27 at 11 AM at the Elks Lodge in Chula Vista (901 Elks Lane, off of Telegraph Canyon Road). This is a "bring your own food and beverage" deal, and there will be a door prize drawing. There will also be a "white elephant" gift exchange - bring one to get one. There is always a lot of laughter and sharing at these events.
The program will be teams of attendees playing the game "Wheel of (Genealogy) Fortune" with a Pat Sajak stand-in (rumored to be Randy Seaver) and a Vanna White stand-in (all of the women want to do this - "Pat" gets to pick!). The teams of contestants will spin the Wheel and try to solve genealogy-oriented word puzzles and win valuable prizes (well, maybe). It should be a good time.
Guests and visitors are always welcome at CVGS meetings. If you need more information, please contact Randy at rjseaver(at)cox.net.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Early Chula Vista Resident - Lucius B. Barnes (1866-1949)
The Chula Vista Genealogical Society occasionally receives queries requesting an obituary lookup or a death certificate for a resident of Chula Vista. We do the lookups and pass them on. It struck me that we might want to post these obituaries online just in case descendants or other relatives do a web search for these folks, especially for early Chula Vista residents.
The Chula Vista Public Library has a complete collection of microfilm of the Otay Press (1930-1945) and Chula Vista Star-News (1945 on) newspapers. These were weekly or twice-weekly publications, and in the early years they were chock full of family information - births, marriages, deaths, vacations, visitors, special events, etc. Unfortunately, there is no index available for this newspaper.
In this case, Lucius B. Barnes was a prominent man in early Chula Vista history (the city was incorporated in 1911) and served his community well. The obituary provides his birth date and place, marriage date and place, death date and place, employment and community service, wife's maiden name, children and grandchildren names and locations in 1949.
===============================
Chula Vista (CA) Star, Friday, April 1, 1949, page B-1:
Headline: "Lucius B. Barnes, 83, Pioneer Orchardist, Dies in Sleep; Masonic Services Today."
"Chula Vista Masonic lodge 626 will conduct funeral services for Lucius B. Barnes, 83, resident of Chula Vista for 43 years, who died in his sleep Monday, at ten o'clock this morning from Hubbard mortuary chapel. Emerson A. Logan, worshipful master of the local lodge, appointed Clarence Shepherd, past master of Silvergate lodge to act as master, Dr. Williston Wirt, pastor of the Community church in which Mr. Barnes was a deacon at the time of his death, will assist. Cremation in Greenwood crematorium will follow.
"Born in Hands Grove, Iowa in February 1866, Mr. Barnes received his early schooling in Iowa and attended night school after coming to this area from Riverside. Prior to that the family had resided at El Cajon, National City and Santa Ana. Mr. Barnes came to El Cajon in 1882. He and the former Miss Lena Burgess were married December 30, 1896 in El Cajon and celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary last December.
"PROMINENT IN CITRUS
"Shortly after coming to Chula Vista, Mr. Barnes built the home at 789 Second Avenue, where the family has resided for 42 years. He was a pioneer in the citrus industry here and served as manager of the Orchard Operating company from its earliest inception until its dissolution. He had also managed orchards for non-resident owners and had operated his own 20 acre orchard. He was in charge of the National City citrus packing house of the San Diego Fruit company later becoming superintendent of the company's orchards in this area.
"VETERAN MASON
"Mr. Barnes was worshipful master of the Southwest Masonic lodge in National City in 1900 and received his 50 year membership pin from Fred S. Weed, inspector for the 110th Masonic district, in ceremonies in the Chula Vista lodge June 11, 1948. A charter member of the Chula Vista Rotary club, Mr. Barnes served on the board of deacons of the Community church for many years and was extremely active in church affairs.
"In 1948 he retired from the board of trustees of the Sweetwater Union school district upon which he served for 16 years. He also served as a member of the Chula Vista city council.
"He is survived, in addition to Mrs. Barnes, by a daughter, Mrs. Mildred Larson, Evanston, Illinois; three sons, Murray L. Barnes, Chula Vista; Kenneth B. Barnes, San Diego; Lyman J. Barnes, Rancho Santa Fe; five grandchildren, Elinore and Lloyd Barnes, Rancho Santa Fe and Kenneth, Norah and Mildred Larson, Evanston; one great-grandson, Alf David Larson, Evanston; two sisters, Mrs. Floy King and Miss Elinor Barnes, both of San Anselmo; and a brother, Ford Barnes, San Diego."
================================
If you are searching for an obituary, city directory entry or death certificate for a Chula Vista resident, the Chula Vista Genealogical Society can help. Please submit your query on the CVGS query page at http://www.rootsweb.com/~cacvgs2/page7.html. We request a $10 donation for these services and we try to respond quickly.
The Chula Vista Public Library has a complete collection of microfilm of the Otay Press (1930-1945) and Chula Vista Star-News (1945 on) newspapers. These were weekly or twice-weekly publications, and in the early years they were chock full of family information - births, marriages, deaths, vacations, visitors, special events, etc. Unfortunately, there is no index available for this newspaper.
In this case, Lucius B. Barnes was a prominent man in early Chula Vista history (the city was incorporated in 1911) and served his community well. The obituary provides his birth date and place, marriage date and place, death date and place, employment and community service, wife's maiden name, children and grandchildren names and locations in 1949.
===============================
Chula Vista (CA) Star, Friday, April 1, 1949, page B-1:
Headline: "Lucius B. Barnes, 83, Pioneer Orchardist, Dies in Sleep; Masonic Services Today."
"Chula Vista Masonic lodge 626 will conduct funeral services for Lucius B. Barnes, 83, resident of Chula Vista for 43 years, who died in his sleep Monday, at ten o'clock this morning from Hubbard mortuary chapel. Emerson A. Logan, worshipful master of the local lodge, appointed Clarence Shepherd, past master of Silvergate lodge to act as master, Dr. Williston Wirt, pastor of the Community church in which Mr. Barnes was a deacon at the time of his death, will assist. Cremation in Greenwood crematorium will follow.
"Born in Hands Grove, Iowa in February 1866, Mr. Barnes received his early schooling in Iowa and attended night school after coming to this area from Riverside. Prior to that the family had resided at El Cajon, National City and Santa Ana. Mr. Barnes came to El Cajon in 1882. He and the former Miss Lena Burgess were married December 30, 1896 in El Cajon and celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary last December.
"PROMINENT IN CITRUS
"Shortly after coming to Chula Vista, Mr. Barnes built the home at 789 Second Avenue, where the family has resided for 42 years. He was a pioneer in the citrus industry here and served as manager of the Orchard Operating company from its earliest inception until its dissolution. He had also managed orchards for non-resident owners and had operated his own 20 acre orchard. He was in charge of the National City citrus packing house of the San Diego Fruit company later becoming superintendent of the company's orchards in this area.
"VETERAN MASON
"Mr. Barnes was worshipful master of the Southwest Masonic lodge in National City in 1900 and received his 50 year membership pin from Fred S. Weed, inspector for the 110th Masonic district, in ceremonies in the Chula Vista lodge June 11, 1948. A charter member of the Chula Vista Rotary club, Mr. Barnes served on the board of deacons of the Community church for many years and was extremely active in church affairs.
"In 1948 he retired from the board of trustees of the Sweetwater Union school district upon which he served for 16 years. He also served as a member of the Chula Vista city council.
"He is survived, in addition to Mrs. Barnes, by a daughter, Mrs. Mildred Larson, Evanston, Illinois; three sons, Murray L. Barnes, Chula Vista; Kenneth B. Barnes, San Diego; Lyman J. Barnes, Rancho Santa Fe; five grandchildren, Elinore and Lloyd Barnes, Rancho Santa Fe and Kenneth, Norah and Mildred Larson, Evanston; one great-grandson, Alf David Larson, Evanston; two sisters, Mrs. Floy King and Miss Elinor Barnes, both of San Anselmo; and a brother, Ford Barnes, San Diego."
================================
If you are searching for an obituary, city directory entry or death certificate for a Chula Vista resident, the Chula Vista Genealogical Society can help. Please submit your query on the CVGS query page at http://www.rootsweb.com/~cacvgs2/page7.html. We request a $10 donation for these services and we try to respond quickly.
CVGS Research Group summary - 22 August
We had our Chula Vista Genealogical Society Research Group meeting today, with 16 members in attendance. This was a busy session - everyone wanted to share! At the start of the meeting, I reviewed the Genealogy News highlights for August - read it here. Then we discussed the research problems and success stories of the attendees.
Penny went to Texas for a family reunion, and met many cousins. She received pages from a 3 volume family history and wanted to know how to find the actual books, because there may be more family information in them. We recommended searching the book offerings at HeritageQuestOnline, Ancestry, Library of Congress, Making of America, and the BYU Archive. We also recommended searching the LDS Family History Library Catalog to see if they are available on microfilm, and also the www.worldcat.org site to see which libraries might have a copy available for Inter-Library Loan.
Joan just received a 1918 Divorce record for her John Robinson Hall and his wife from the Los Angeles Probate Court - in the mail for free. It even included a false letter stating that JRH died in 1922 (he registered for the World War 2 draft in 1942!). She asked where Los Angeles City directories might be found - she had called the LA Public Library but they would not do lookups for her. We recommended she check with the LDS FHLC for directories on microfilm, www.citydirectories.com for holdings of directories, and www.raogk.org to try to find a volunteer who might help her in Los Angeles. Alternatively, she could go to the LAPL and search them herself - she asked for an LAPL research trip!
Lori is a new member, and doesn't have genealogy software yet. We recommended she download Personal Ancestral File from www.familysearch.org to start organizing her research data. She asked about how to find the name of the ship that brought her great-grandmother from Germany. We recommended checking www.castlegarden.org, www.ellisisland.org and the Ancestry Immigration collection to start with. Other sites to consider are www.immigrantships.net and www.olivetreegenealogy.com. Lori also asked about how to find what happened to her aunt who left home at age 16 and joined the circus in the early 1900's. She thinks the girl married and settled in Fort Dodge, Iowa. We recommended that she search the records on the www.usgenweb.org site for the specific county, Google her name, search for a death record in the Iowa vital records, and to find an obituary in the local newspapers.
Bob had a great-aunt who died aboard ship in 1903 on a voyage from England to Australia on an English-registered ship. He had checked consular and emigration records at www.findmypast.com already. We recommended he check newspapers from her home town (not online) and the English Civil Registration records to see if her death was recorded there. There might also be similar records in Australia. This was a hard question, since none of us has much experience with these types of records.
Bill is searching for the parents of Christopher Leininger, who was born in Ohio in about 1850, and his parents were from Alsace. We recommended that he search the census records in order to define the family members and try to find a marriage record, a death record, and then a newspaper obituary, for Christopher, his siblings and his parents. He should try to find a naturalization record for Christopher's father. From some of those records, he may find the name of the ancestral village in Alsace and then search there for earlier generations.
Bobbi reported on her research trip/vacation to northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin - she had 3-1/2 days of family get-togethers and 3-1/2 days of research time and made the most of it. Bobbi took narrative reports to give to her cousins there, and the act of writing them helped crystallize her research goals. She visited the homestead of her great-grandfather and got pictures from a cousin. She obtained the birth certificate of unnamed twins (siblings of her father) who died as infants, township maps and plat maps from several years, many family obituaries, several wills, and voter registration records. She took notes at the family cemetery, and made several tombstone rubbings. She passed these items around to the group - Bobbi sure did a lot of work in a short time!
This was a very lively meeting with so many sharing their problems and success stories. There were several lessons relearned in the meeting, including:
* All genealogy data is not on the Internet - you still have to do repository, courthouse, cemetery and other on-site research in order to define family members and relationships.
* Writing down what you know, and analyzing the body of known facts, is very helpful to determining the information you need to find, and can be very useful in extracting information from family members.
* The society has a number of new members, and members with limited research experience, and the society needs to provide classes and seminars to help them gain knowledge and research experience. Not all of them have computer skills, genealogy software, even genealogy forms. We need to do a better job of helping them through mentors, classes, etc.
Penny went to Texas for a family reunion, and met many cousins. She received pages from a 3 volume family history and wanted to know how to find the actual books, because there may be more family information in them. We recommended searching the book offerings at HeritageQuestOnline, Ancestry, Library of Congress, Making of America, and the BYU Archive. We also recommended searching the LDS Family History Library Catalog to see if they are available on microfilm, and also the www.worldcat.org site to see which libraries might have a copy available for Inter-Library Loan.
Joan just received a 1918 Divorce record for her John Robinson Hall and his wife from the Los Angeles Probate Court - in the mail for free. It even included a false letter stating that JRH died in 1922 (he registered for the World War 2 draft in 1942!). She asked where Los Angeles City directories might be found - she had called the LA Public Library but they would not do lookups for her. We recommended she check with the LDS FHLC for directories on microfilm, www.citydirectories.com for holdings of directories, and www.raogk.org to try to find a volunteer who might help her in Los Angeles. Alternatively, she could go to the LAPL and search them herself - she asked for an LAPL research trip!
Lori is a new member, and doesn't have genealogy software yet. We recommended she download Personal Ancestral File from www.familysearch.org to start organizing her research data. She asked about how to find the name of the ship that brought her great-grandmother from Germany. We recommended checking www.castlegarden.org, www.ellisisland.org and the Ancestry Immigration collection to start with. Other sites to consider are www.immigrantships.net and www.olivetreegenealogy.com. Lori also asked about how to find what happened to her aunt who left home at age 16 and joined the circus in the early 1900's. She thinks the girl married and settled in Fort Dodge, Iowa. We recommended that she search the records on the www.usgenweb.org site for the specific county, Google her name, search for a death record in the Iowa vital records, and to find an obituary in the local newspapers.
Bob had a great-aunt who died aboard ship in 1903 on a voyage from England to Australia on an English-registered ship. He had checked consular and emigration records at www.findmypast.com already. We recommended he check newspapers from her home town (not online) and the English Civil Registration records to see if her death was recorded there. There might also be similar records in Australia. This was a hard question, since none of us has much experience with these types of records.
Bill is searching for the parents of Christopher Leininger, who was born in Ohio in about 1850, and his parents were from Alsace. We recommended that he search the census records in order to define the family members and try to find a marriage record, a death record, and then a newspaper obituary, for Christopher, his siblings and his parents. He should try to find a naturalization record for Christopher's father. From some of those records, he may find the name of the ancestral village in Alsace and then search there for earlier generations.
Bobbi reported on her research trip/vacation to northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin - she had 3-1/2 days of family get-togethers and 3-1/2 days of research time and made the most of it. Bobbi took narrative reports to give to her cousins there, and the act of writing them helped crystallize her research goals. She visited the homestead of her great-grandfather and got pictures from a cousin. She obtained the birth certificate of unnamed twins (siblings of her father) who died as infants, township maps and plat maps from several years, many family obituaries, several wills, and voter registration records. She took notes at the family cemetery, and made several tombstone rubbings. She passed these items around to the group - Bobbi sure did a lot of work in a short time!
This was a very lively meeting with so many sharing their problems and success stories. There were several lessons relearned in the meeting, including:
* All genealogy data is not on the Internet - you still have to do repository, courthouse, cemetery and other on-site research in order to define family members and relationships.
* Writing down what you know, and analyzing the body of known facts, is very helpful to determining the information you need to find, and can be very useful in extracting information from family members.
* The society has a number of new members, and members with limited research experience, and the society needs to provide classes and seminars to help them gain knowledge and research experience. Not all of them have computer skills, genealogy software, even genealogy forms. We need to do a better job of helping them through mentors, classes, etc.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Genealogy News for August 2007
Here is the August 2007 edition of the monthly Genealogy News discussed at the Research Group meeting on Wednesday.
A) GENEALOGY WEB SITES OF INTEREST
1. http://www.cyndislist.com/ has a list of the FREE databases available on http://www.ancestry.com/. The list is at http://www.cyndislist.com/ancestry.htm#Free.
2. http://www.phillyhistory.org/ - a web site devoted to Philadelphia history.
3. http://www.rootstelevision.com/ has video (in four parts) of the play "Making Up History: The Search for Annie Moore." Go to the Irish Roots section at http://www.rootstelevision.com/players/player_irishroots.php to view the play.
B) NEW GENEALOGY DATABASES ONLINE
1. http://www.ancestry.com/ new databases (see http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/recent.aspx):
* Mayflower Descendants books and records
* British Army WW 1 1914-1920 Pension Records,
* Irish Passenger Lists 1803-1806,
* Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825
* German City Directories - 130 Volumes
* Family and Local Histories
* Index to Irish Wills, 1536-1837, 4 volumes.
2. http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/ new databases (see http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/recentcontentlisting.aspx) - 10 day free access to each new database.
* Many more Quebec church records - baptisms, marriages, burials
* Many surname/family history books - letter A
* Some English history books
Note that http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/ is a commercial service, but will eventually be available at the LDS FHC sometime in the future. To get notices of the new databases, sign up for their free email newsletter.
3. http://www.footnote.com/ -- new databases in work (partially available) - see http://www.footnote.com/documents.php for all databases available. Footnote offers a 7 day free trial for all databases
1. FamilyTreeMaker 2008 software is now available for $39.95 http://www.familytreemaker.com/. The look and feel of FTM2008 is completely different from earlier versions.
2. FamilySearch has released a Request for Information to potential genealogy content providers for material to be digitized and indexed and included in the New FamilySearch. The project is called the Records Access Genesis Project. Providers (such as societies, web sites, libraries, etc.) have until mid-September to submit their proposals. The information will be available for free at FHCs and the FHL in Salt Lake city, but may cost money if the data resides on a commercial website that is accessed from home. See Dick Eastman's summary at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/08/familysearch-is.html#more.
3. http://www.footnote.com/ will begin to digitize content at the Allen County Public Library (http://www.acpl.org/), the largest public genealogy library in the USA. Presumably, this will be out-of-copyright material like county histories, surname books, city directories, etc.
4. http://www.ancestry.com/ and New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS, http://www.newenglandancestors.org/) to collaborate on making resources on both sites available to their subscribers. The announcement is at http://genealogyblog.com/ancestrycom/ancestry-nehgs-collaborate-to-promote-and-educate-about-family-history-6252.
5. The Allen County Public Library (ACPL) in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library, and FamilySearch’s Family History Library in Salt Lake City announced a joint project to digitize thousands of published family histories, city and county histories, historic city directories, and related records. It will be the most comprehensive collection of city and county histories on the Web—and access will be free at http://www.familyhistoryarchive.byu.edu/.
A) GENEALOGY WEB SITES OF INTEREST
1. http://www.cyndislist.com/ has a list of the FREE databases available on http://www.ancestry.com/. The list is at http://www.cyndislist.com/ancestry.htm#Free.
2. http://www.phillyhistory.org/ - a web site devoted to Philadelphia history.
3. http://www.rootstelevision.com/ has video (in four parts) of the play "Making Up History: The Search for Annie Moore." Go to the Irish Roots section at http://www.rootstelevision.com/players/player_irishroots.php to view the play.
B) NEW GENEALOGY DATABASES ONLINE
1. http://www.ancestry.com/ new databases (see http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/recent.aspx):
* Mayflower Descendants books and records
* British Army WW 1 1914-1920 Pension Records,
* Irish Passenger Lists 1803-1806,
* Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825
* German City Directories - 130 Volumes
* Family and Local Histories
* Index to Irish Wills, 1536-1837, 4 volumes.
2. http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/ new databases (see http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/recentcontentlisting.aspx) - 10 day free access to each new database.
* Many more Quebec church records - baptisms, marriages, burials
* Many surname/family history books - letter A
* Some English history books
Note that http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/ is a commercial service, but will eventually be available at the LDS FHC sometime in the future. To get notices of the new databases, sign up for their free email newsletter.
3. http://www.footnote.com/ -- new databases in work (partially available) - see http://www.footnote.com/documents.php for all databases available. Footnote offers a 7 day free trial for all databases
* Confederate Amnesty Papers
* War of 1812 Prize Cases
* Texas Birth and Death Certificates
* Naturalization Index - NY, MA, PA, WW1, others.
Note that http://www.footnote.com/ is a commercial service, but will eventually be available at the LDS FHC sometime in the future. To get notices of the new databases, sign up for their free email newsletter.
C) GENEALOGY SOFTWARE1. FamilyTreeMaker 2008 software is now available for $39.95 http://www.familytreemaker.com/. The look and feel of FTM2008 is completely different from earlier versions.
2. WeRelate genealogy networking database - http://www.werelate.org/. Upload GEDCOMs, create charts, collaborate with other researchers, search the databases.
D) ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. National Archives (NARA) raised their copy fees effective 1 October 2007. The cost of a Civil War pension file will be $75 for the first 100 pages, and the cost for a Revolutionary War Pension file will be $50. The official announcement is at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-16233.pdf.2. FamilySearch has released a Request for Information to potential genealogy content providers for material to be digitized and indexed and included in the New FamilySearch. The project is called the Records Access Genesis Project. Providers (such as societies, web sites, libraries, etc.) have until mid-September to submit their proposals. The information will be available for free at FHCs and the FHL in Salt Lake city, but may cost money if the data resides on a commercial website that is accessed from home. See Dick Eastman's summary at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/08/familysearch-is.html#more.
3. http://www.footnote.com/ will begin to digitize content at the Allen County Public Library (http://www.acpl.org/), the largest public genealogy library in the USA. Presumably, this will be out-of-copyright material like county histories, surname books, city directories, etc.
4. http://www.ancestry.com/ and New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS, http://www.newenglandancestors.org/) to collaborate on making resources on both sites available to their subscribers. The announcement is at http://genealogyblog.com/ancestrycom/ancestry-nehgs-collaborate-to-promote-and-educate-about-family-history-6252.
5. The Allen County Public Library (ACPL) in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library, and FamilySearch’s Family History Library in Salt Lake City announced a joint project to digitize thousands of published family histories, city and county histories, historic city directories, and related records. It will be the most comprehensive collection of city and county histories on the Web—and access will be free at http://www.familyhistoryarchive.byu.edu/.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Computer Group Summary - 8/15
We had the CVGS Computer Group meeting today, with 15 in attendance. Gary set up the projector on one of the library computers so I could demonstrate sites and searches from the podium, but there was something wrong with that computer - it could search the Internet but not the library databases (including Ancestry Library Edition). All of the other computers could do both - Internet and Ancestry. It never did get straightened out by the library staff.
Therefore, some members spent time searching in Ancestry, and most of the members followed along with my searches. We went to theses web sites:
1) The Rootsweb Mailing List Archive - at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/search.
2) The Rootsweb Message Board Search function - at http://boards.rootsweb.com/Default.aspx.
3) Joe Beine's Death Indexes web page - at http://www.deathindexes.com
4) Joe Beine's Birth and Marriage Indexes page - at http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/vitalrecords.html.
There are so many mailing list (almost 33 million) and message board (over 17 million on Rootsweb) messages, dating from the late 1990's, that many researchers don't even try to search them for other researchers who might have common ancestors. Part of the problem is that there are so many individual lists or boards that the volume is overwhelming. Searching has become much easier and faster since Rootsweb added the search engines. You can put a name in quotes - such as "isaac seaver" - on the Mailing List Advanced Search box and get good results, but you can't put the name in quotes on the Message Board search - it ignores the quotes.
Many members are stymied in obtaining birth, marriage and death certificates because of state laws restricting access. Others just don't know where to look. Joe Beine's web sites are really helpful - there are many "work-arounds" there in the state listings for specific counties. We looked at death certificates for Ohio, Arizona and Missouri today and some members were pleased to see that images of some vital records can be found online. We also went looking for cemetery records in several counties, and I showed how the Boulder (CO) Genealogical Society has put a lot of genealogical information in their database for Columbia Cemetery in Boulder.
This was a very useful group meeting because it reinforced (again!) that not all genealogy data is on the Internet, and that for the data that IS on the Internet, not ALL of it is on Ancestry.com.
Therefore, some members spent time searching in Ancestry, and most of the members followed along with my searches. We went to theses web sites:
1) The Rootsweb Mailing List Archive - at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/search.
2) The Rootsweb Message Board Search function - at http://boards.rootsweb.com/Default.aspx.
3) Joe Beine's Death Indexes web page - at http://www.deathindexes.com
4) Joe Beine's Birth and Marriage Indexes page - at http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/vitalrecords.html.
There are so many mailing list (almost 33 million) and message board (over 17 million on Rootsweb) messages, dating from the late 1990's, that many researchers don't even try to search them for other researchers who might have common ancestors. Part of the problem is that there are so many individual lists or boards that the volume is overwhelming. Searching has become much easier and faster since Rootsweb added the search engines. You can put a name in quotes - such as "isaac seaver" - on the Mailing List Advanced Search box and get good results, but you can't put the name in quotes on the Message Board search - it ignores the quotes.
Many members are stymied in obtaining birth, marriage and death certificates because of state laws restricting access. Others just don't know where to look. Joe Beine's web sites are really helpful - there are many "work-arounds" there in the state listings for specific counties. We looked at death certificates for Ohio, Arizona and Missouri today and some members were pleased to see that images of some vital records can be found online. We also went looking for cemetery records in several counties, and I showed how the Boulder (CO) Genealogical Society has put a lot of genealogical information in their database for Columbia Cemetery in Boulder.
This was a very useful group meeting because it reinforced (again!) that not all genealogy data is on the Internet, and that for the data that IS on the Internet, not ALL of it is on Ancestry.com.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Articles on Mexican States and Addresses
One of our new members, Richard Villasana, contributed two articles to our Chula Vista Genealogical Society web site collection. They are:
1. Common Misunderstandings About Mexican Addresses
2. Knowing the Mexican States
CVGS hopes to post more information about Hispanic Research, including Early California families (pre-1850), in the future. Chula Vista is in the southern part of San Diego County near the border with Baja California, and our booming population is about 50% Hispanic. CVGS sees this as an opportunity to help people interested in their family history.
1. Common Misunderstandings About Mexican Addresses
2. Knowing the Mexican States
CVGS hopes to post more information about Hispanic Research, including Early California families (pre-1850), in the future. Chula Vista is in the southern part of San Diego County near the border with Baja California, and our booming population is about 50% Hispanic. CVGS sees this as an opportunity to help people interested in their family history.
CVGS Events for August 2007
The Chula Vista Genealogical Society events for August 2007 include:
** Wednesday, August 15, 10 AM, Chula Vista Civic Center Library -- CVGS Computer Group meets in the Library Computer Lab. We will visit some new genealogy web sites and Ancestry Library Edition (ALE) databases. This is an opportunity for those members who haven't used computers for genealogy research to practice with a mentor to guide them. It is also an opportunity for members who don't have an Ancestry subscription to dig into the ALE databases.
** Wednesday, August 22, 10 AM, Chula Vista Civic Center Library -- CVGS Research Group meets in the Library Conference Room. We will review the genealogy news for August, share success stories and information, and discuss members research problems, and potential solutions, based on the collective knowledge and wisdom of the group.
** Monday, August 27, 11 AM, at the Elks Lodge Picnic Area (in Chula Vista) -- the Annual CVGS Picnic and Fun Show -- attendees should bring their own food and beverage, there will be no grills. Bring a wrapped white elephant gift for sharing. There will be an opportunity drawing for the door prize. The program will be members playing the game "Wheel of (Genealogy) Fortune" with emcee Randy "Pat Sajak" Seaver. Contestants will try to solve genealogy-oriented word puzzles like on TV. Who will be Vanna White? You'll have to come and find out! For directions to the picnic area, please contact Randy at the email and phone number below.
Remember that on Mondays - August 6, 13 and 20, that Dearl Glenn and probably John Finch will be at the table by the Family Research section of the Chula Vista civic Center Library ready to help people with their research, discuss a problem or success, or just tell stories.
We welcome guests and visitors to our CVGS programs and events - if you are in the Chula Vista area and want to attend our events - please come and introduce yourselves. If you have questions, please email Randy at rjseaver(at)cox.net or phone 619-422-3397.
** Wednesday, August 15, 10 AM, Chula Vista Civic Center Library -- CVGS Computer Group meets in the Library Computer Lab. We will visit some new genealogy web sites and Ancestry Library Edition (ALE) databases. This is an opportunity for those members who haven't used computers for genealogy research to practice with a mentor to guide them. It is also an opportunity for members who don't have an Ancestry subscription to dig into the ALE databases.
** Wednesday, August 22, 10 AM, Chula Vista Civic Center Library -- CVGS Research Group meets in the Library Conference Room. We will review the genealogy news for August, share success stories and information, and discuss members research problems, and potential solutions, based on the collective knowledge and wisdom of the group.
** Monday, August 27, 11 AM, at the Elks Lodge Picnic Area (in Chula Vista) -- the Annual CVGS Picnic and Fun Show -- attendees should bring their own food and beverage, there will be no grills. Bring a wrapped white elephant gift for sharing. There will be an opportunity drawing for the door prize. The program will be members playing the game "Wheel of (Genealogy) Fortune" with emcee Randy "Pat Sajak" Seaver. Contestants will try to solve genealogy-oriented word puzzles like on TV. Who will be Vanna White? You'll have to come and find out! For directions to the picnic area, please contact Randy at the email and phone number below.
Remember that on Mondays - August 6, 13 and 20, that Dearl Glenn and probably John Finch will be at the table by the Family Research section of the Chula Vista civic Center Library ready to help people with their research, discuss a problem or success, or just tell stories.
We welcome guests and visitors to our CVGS programs and events - if you are in the Chula Vista area and want to attend our events - please come and introduce yourselves. If you have questions, please email Randy at rjseaver(at)cox.net or phone 619-422-3397.
Friday, August 3, 2007
San Diego Genealogy Calendar
Genealogists in the San Diego area are fortunate to have a "one site" to list all genealogy events in the County. The Current Events Calendar is hosted by the Computer Genealogy Society of San Diego (CGSSD) at http://www.cgssd.org/events.php.
The Calendar software keeps it up-to-date with events in the coming two months. Of course, someone has to enter the information received from all of the local societies - Joan Lowrey does this faithfully!
The Chula Vista Genealogical Society events - programs, computer group, research group and classes are or have been listed on this Calendar.
The CGSSD site also has a list of San Diego-area genealogy societies at http://www.cgssd.org/societies.php.
The locations and hours of Public Libraries are at http://www.cgssd.org/libraries.php and local Family History Centers are at http://www.cgssd.org/centers.html.
CVGS members should bookmark the CGSSD site on their computers so that they don't miss out on important and interesting genealogy programs.
The Calendar software keeps it up-to-date with events in the coming two months. Of course, someone has to enter the information received from all of the local societies - Joan Lowrey does this faithfully!
The Chula Vista Genealogical Society events - programs, computer group, research group and classes are or have been listed on this Calendar.
The CGSSD site also has a list of San Diego-area genealogy societies at http://www.cgssd.org/societies.php.
The locations and hours of Public Libraries are at http://www.cgssd.org/libraries.php and local Family History Centers are at http://www.cgssd.org/centers.html.
CVGS members should bookmark the CGSSD site on their computers so that they don't miss out on important and interesting genealogy programs.
LDS/FHL Research Guides
The LDS Family History Library has created Research Guides for all US states, and many countries and specific topics. Each state Research Guide provides an extended description of the different types of records available to researchers, and describes the holdings of the Family History Library (in book or microform format) of those records.
You can purchase individual Research Guides at Family History Centers (the prices are very reasonable), or you can read them or download them from the LDS FamilySearch web site. The list of available Research Guides is at http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/frameset_rhelps.asp.
You can download these to your computer and print them on your own printer. I have downloaded many of them to my computer and put them on my laptop - these guides are usually the first reference I check when I have a research problem in a state or topic I have not researched in before.
CVGS purchased a set of about 60 Research Guides about three years ago from the FHC. We have them in binders in our file drawers at the library.
You can purchase individual Research Guides at Family History Centers (the prices are very reasonable), or you can read them or download them from the LDS FamilySearch web site. The list of available Research Guides is at http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/frameset_rhelps.asp.
You can download these to your computer and print them on your own printer. I have downloaded many of them to my computer and put them on my laptop - these guides are usually the first reference I check when I have a research problem in a state or topic I have not researched in before.
CVGS purchased a set of about 60 Research Guides about three years ago from the FHC. We have them in binders in our file drawers at the library.
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