CVGS Holiday Luncheon Photos - Post 3

At the 10 December CVGS Holiday Luncheon, outgoing President Randy Seaver present certificates of appreciation to the outgoing Board members, including:

1) Randy and Opportunity Drawing Chairman, Bob Page:


2) Randy and Public Relations Chairman, John Finch:



3) Randy and Library Liaison, Dearl Glenn:

4) Randy and Hospitality Chairperson, Susi Pentico

5) Randy and Historian/Cemetery Project Chairperson, Susan Zimmer.

6) The 2007-2008 Board members present at the luncheon. From the left,
Wanda Brock, Gary Brock, Dearl Glenn, Ann Stevens (behind Dearl), Connie Ottinger, Randy Seaver (behind Connie), Bob Page (back row), Susan Zimmer (in front), Shirley Becker, Susi Pentico and John Finch.

CVGS Holiday Luncheon Photos - Post 2

At the CVGS Holiday Luncheon on 10 December 2008, 2007-8 President Randy
Seaver gave certificates of appreciation to the outgoing Board members. Here are some of thep ictures.

1) Randy and Treasurer Wanda Brock:

2) Randy and Newsletter Editor, Shirley Becker:

3) Randy and Program Chairperson Connie Ottinger:

4) Randy and Secretary Ann Stevens:

5) Randy and Webmaster/Estate Papers Chair Gary Brock

CVGS Holiday Luncheon Photos - Post 1

Gary and Wanda Brock took quite a few pictures at the CVGS Holiday Luncheon on Wednesday, 10 December. Here are several photographs showing the setting, the attendees, and even some of the food:

1) From left - Shirley Becker, Wanda Brock, Connie Ottinger and Phyllis Learned:


2) From the left - Nancy Smith, Penny Bollinger and Rita Clamser:



3) From the left - John Finch and Terry Stewart:

4) From the left - Barbara Ibaibairriaga, Joan Largey, Mary Patterson and Dixie Jones:

CVGS Member and Program Surveys

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The CVGS board would like to have your input about your genealogy research capabilities, interests and needs, and the type of speaker programs - all so that we can better serve you. We have created two surveys for CVGS members to fill out and return.

The Program Survey is here.

The Member Survey is here.

Please fill them out and return them to Randy Seaver (rjseaver(at)cox.net, 1154 Via Trieste, CV 91911) by mail, email or hand them in at a CVGS meeting in January.

November 2008 Program Photo Gallery

Gary has created a separate web page with the photographs of each presenter at the Heirloom Discovery Day with Georgie Stillman, ASA.

You can see the photos at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cacvgs2/page20.html.

Have you checked all of the photo pages? There is a list of them, with links to each, at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cacvgs2/page11.html.

Genealogy News Summary for December

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Here's the Genealogy News Summary for late November and early December:

1. INTERESTING GENEALOGY WEB SITES

a) http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/index.faces - Trans-Atlantic slave trade voyages database of over 10 million African-American names from 35,000 voyages.

b) http://images.google.com/hosted/life - 110 Years of Life Magazine photographs are online. On many of the photos, you need to click on the link labeled "View Full Size" in order to see the high resolution version.

c) http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/11/online-genealog.html - Links to online genealogy dictionaries and lists.

d) http://www.123people.com/ -- permits the user to input a first name and a second name and see what the web presence is for people with the name combination.

e) http://www.naturalizationrecords.com/ -- part of the Olive Tree Genealogy suite of genealogy and family history web sites specialized in records of Canada and the northeastern United States.

f) One of the additions to the LDS New FamilySearch is the Research Wiki for Family History located at https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Main_Page. This wiki will have information on every state and every county when popluated.

2. NEW GENEALOGY DATABASES

a) at www.Ancestry.com - subscription site (US = $155.40, World = $299.40) - now available for FREE at San Diego FHC (Institution with World databases) or San Diego City or County Public Libraries (Ancestry Library Edition). Ancestry has over 7 billion names in over 26,800 databases. See new content at http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/recent.aspx. New databases this month include:

* US Federal Mortality Schedules, 1850-1880
* US City Directories (updated)
* UK Medical Registers 1859-1969 (need UK or World subscription)
* Lots more Canadian books and records (need Canada or World subscription)

b) www.WorldVitalRecords.com - subscription site (US = $39.95 for 1 year, World = $119.95 for 1 year) -- now available for FREE at the San Diego FHC. Over 11,000 databases, over 1.3 billion names. Recently added content is at http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/recentcontentlisting.aspx. New US items are FREE at WVR for 10 days. New databases include:

* More US and Canada newspaper records
* More Australia records from Bloxham collection (need World subscription)
* Queensland Public Service Records (need World subscription)


c) www.Footnote.com - subscription site ($69.96 annual retail, $11.95 monthly) - now available for FREE at San Diego FHC. They offer 7-day FREE trial. 443 Titles, over 47 million images, over 1 million free. Content list at http://www.footnote.com/documents.php. Information added this month includes:

* World War II Databases - Pearl Harbor, Documents, Hero Pages, Photos


d) www.GenealogyBank.com - subscription site (trial $9.95 for 30 days, $69.95 for 12 months). It has archives for over 2,500 U.S. historical newspapers in all 50 states, from the 1600s to the present day, with over 224 million family history records, over 29 million obituaries from more than 1,140 newspapers in more than 130 million historical newspaper articles, and more than 11,700 historical books.

* Added 63 titles from 25 states


e) http://pilot.familysearch.org/ - the LDS FREE site for indexed and browsable databases -- new content includes:

* 1870 US Census 85% complete
* Cook County, Illinois Marriage Records 1871-1920 65% complete
* Ohio Tax Records 1816-1838 25% Complete
* Ohio Diocese of Toledo Parish Records, 1794-2004, no index


3. GENEALOGY EDUCATION

a) BYU has free online genealogy courses at http://ce.byu.edu/is/site/courses/freecourses.cfm


4. SOFTWARE

a) Incline Software, LC announced the full release of Ancestral Quest 12.1. All of the new features introduced in Ancestral Quest version 12.1 are designed to aid a user in comparing and synchronizing local databases with the Family Tree database of new.FamilySearch.org, a system being developed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). An adjustment has also been made to the way a new user can try Ancestral Quest. AQ 12.1 now provides a 60-day free trial of the program with all features fully unlocked.

b) Family Historian 3, the highest rated family tree software in the U.K. is now available in the United States and Canada. This software is initially being distributed in the nearly 1,500 Target stores nation-wide. Download a free trial at http://familyhistorian3.ning.com/.


5. ANNOUNCEMENTS

a) Familybuilder (http://www.familybuilder.com) announced the release of Familybuilder DNA (https://dna.familybuilder.com), available for a limited time at the special introductory price of $59.95. It offers both paternal (YDNA) and maternal (mtDNA) tests.

b) The official U.K. National Archives site for Non Parochial and Non Conformist records BMDregisters.co.uk has just added over 600,000 records of birth, baptism, marriage and burial. These have not previously been searchable online and again contain images of birth and baptismal records. The records were previously viewable on microfilm as part of the RG8 series.

c) MyHeritage announced a partnership with FamilyTreeDNA. MyHeritage’s members can now use information contained in their DNA to find present-day relatives who share a common ancestor from many hundreds of years ago. FamilyTreeDNA users can take advantage of MyHeritage’s site to not only further research family history, but also stay connected with current family members around the world.

d) Google bought PaperofRecord (www.PaperOfRecord.com), a pioneer in the creation of web-searchable, digitized historical newspaper page images, which has 20 million newspaper page archive, mainly Canadian newspapers.

e) The Generations Network announced that they may go public, and pursue strategic acquisitions of other genealogy content providers.

CVGS Holiday Luncheon was Fun!

The annual Holiday Luncheon was a veritable feast of food, camaraderie and stories. It was Wednesday, 10 December at the South Chula Vista Branch Library in the larger conference room. There were 31 members and guests in attendance, and they came to eat, exchange gifts and wish their colleagues a happy holiday season.

Unfortunately, the pictures taken with my camera came out poorly - so I'm hoping that either Gary or Susan will pass photos to me to post on the blog.

After setting up the room, picking up a door prize ticket and opportunity drawing tickets, greeting our colleagues, and organizing the food on the serving tables (there were salads, vegetables, potatoes, turkey and ham, rolls, and desserts, sherbet punch bowl), it was time to settle down. Susi Pentico and Shirley Becker organized the food selection and setting, with help from several other willing hands.

Outgoing President Randy Seaver opened the meeting with a Thank You to the 2007-2008 Board of Directors. He brought each Board member to the front, said several kind words about their position, and gave them a certificate of appreciation for their service. Randy also gave a short "State of the Society" address that praised the Board members for working together well as a team and achieving two excellent program years. Then it was time to eat!

After dessert, Randy installed the 2009-2010 officers using a script found on the Roberts' Rules of Order web site, modified for the CVGS framework. Gary Brock was installed as President, and Ann Stevens was installed as Secretary. Virginia Taylor (Second Vice President-Membership) and Paul Price (Treasurer) were not in attendance. After this, Gary gave a short speech thanking Randy for his service and encouraging all members to support the CVGS programs in the future.

There were six door prizes, courtesy of Nancy Smith, Susi Pentico and Shirley Becker. Each person received a door prize ticket when they entered the conference room. Six winners were picked - the prizes were a large Santa Claus decoration, a large Angel decoration, a small tree decoration, and three poinsettia plants. Then it was time for the opportunity drawing of the wrapped gifts. There were about 25 gifts available, and everybody seemed happy with their selections.

"The best genealogy experience of 2008" was the topic for the member sharing. Gary called on everybody around the tables to share a bit, and most of the attendees shared something.

Finally, we auctioned off the remainder of the large ham (about 50% was left) and a whole turkey loaf to willing bidders.

Many attendees brought non-perishable canned food and unwrapped toys for donation to the Salvation Army. Nancy Smith takes care of this every year.

Then it was time to wish each other a happy holiday, clean up the room and waddle home thinking that the food was really good and we had a wonderful time!

CVGS Holiday Luncheon on Wednesday, 12/10

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The annual Holiday Luncheon of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society will be on Wednesday, 10 December, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the South Chula Vista Branch Library (389 Orange Avenue). To enter the parking lot, you have to be going north on Fourth Avenue or east on Orange Avenue. The Conference Room is at the west end of the building - enter through the door on the south side of the building facing the parking lot. The luncheon and program are FREE to attend.

The Luncheon will feature salads, ham and turkey, entree accompaniments, and desserts. If you are attending, please bring items according to:

* Surnames A- H bring desserts
* Surnames I to P bring entree accompaniments (potatoes, vegetables, etc.)
* Surnames Q to Z bring salads

The ham and turkey will be provided by CVGS, as will liquid refreshments.

Please contact Susi (619-690-1188, SusiCP(at)aol.com) to coordinate potluck items.

In addition, attendees are requested to bring:

* A wrapped gift for the opportunity drawing
* Unwrapped toys or non-perishable food items for donation to the Salvation Army
* A story about your best genealogy experience in 2008.

The program will include:

* Welcome by President Randy Seaver
* Recognition of former CVGS Officers
* Recognition of 2007-2008 CVGS Board of Directors
* Lunch
* Installation of 2009-2010 CVGS Officers
* Opportunity Drawing for Wrapped Gifts
* Door Prize Drawing
* Member Sharing "My Best Genealogy Experience of 2008"
* Happy Holidays!

We look forward to seeing all of our members at this gala event of the year!

Genealogy Days in Chula Vista - December 2008

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The Chula Vista Genealogical Society events for December 2008 include

** Wednesday, December 10, 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Chula Vista South Branch Library (389 Orange Avenue) -- CVGS Annual Holiday Program, featuring new officer installations, honoring past and present Board Officers, and a fantastic Holiday Luncheon (A to H bring Desserts, I to P bring entree accompaniments, Q to Z bring salads, ham and turkey provided, drinks provided).

** Wednesday, December 17, 12 noon, Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street) -- CVGS Computer Group meets in the Library Computer Lab. We will visit some helpful genealogy web sites. This is an opportunity for those members who haven't used computers for genealogy research to practice with a mentor to guide them.

** Monday afternoons (12 noon to 2 PM) - December 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 - Genealogy Table Talk with Dearl Glenn and John Finch in the Family Research section of the Chula Vista Civic Center Library. They are ready and willing to help people with their research, discuss a problem or success, or just tell stories.

** NOTE: There is no Research Group meeting this month.

The Chula Vista Civic Center Library is located at 365 "F" Street in Chula Vista - between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue, midway between I-5 and I-805 (take the "E" Street exit from the freeways).

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@cox.net or phone 619-422-3397.

Photos from Georgie Stillman "Heirloom Discovery Day" Program

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Georgie Stillman, ASA, evaluated a number of heirlooms brought in by members of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society for the "Heirloom Discovery Day" program on Wednesday, 26 November. Here are pictures of the CVGS members and their heirlooms, with Georgie.

Gary B. had a large framed picture made from cutouts from seed catalogs:




Ann S. brought her Seth Thomas mantle clock:



Virginia T. showed her carnival glass vase:


Susan Z. displayed her Victorian wedding dress:

Susi P. showed her Hull art deco pottery:

Nancy S. had a 1941 American Woman's Cookbook:

Bobbie L. displayed her Bavarian pressed glass bell:

Phyllis L. showed her hand-painted china salad plates:

Terry Stewart had a hand-painted ceramic pitcher:

Joan L. displayed her antique shaving mug and straight razor:

This was a fascinating program! Thank you to Georgie for telling us about our members treasures, and our members for participating.

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"Heirloom Discovery Day" at CVGS with Georgie Stillman, ASA

The most enjoyed and anticipated Chula Vista Genealogical Society meeting of the year is the November meeting when we have member sharing. For three of the past four years, we have had Georgie Stillman, ASA, a professional appraiser of artifacts and ephemera, review and evaluate items brought in by the members to share. Georgie is an expert in appraising silver, china, glassware, furniture, artworks, quilts and samplers, many dolls and other collectibles.

Today, we had about 30 people at our meeting, and Georgie worked her "magic" on us once again. For each item, the member shared what they thought the article was, and the provenance of the article. Then Georgie told the member and the audience about the article's origin, materials, manufacture, marks, probable customer status, and an approximate value.

We had ten CVGS members bring their articles for discussion and appraisal, including:

* Gary B presented a large framed picture made from seed catalog cutouts and other paper pictures. Georgie thought that this was really unique, and was probably made in the 1880's.

* Ann S. brought a Seth Thomas mantle clock, which Georgie thought was from the 1880 to 1910 time frame.

* Virginia T. had a green carnival glass vase, which was probably created in the 1950's.

* Susan Z. had a wedding dress from her husband's grandmother. Georgie said it was a muslin dress from the 1890 to 1910 period.

* Susi P shows a small art deco pottery from her New England ancestors, and Georgie said it was a Hull piece.

* Nancy S. presented a 4th edition "American Woman Cookbook" from 1941.

* Bobbie L. showed her Bavarian glass bell, which Georgie said was pressed glass from the 1920-1930 time frame.

* Phyllis L. had 7 different hand-painted china salad plates - which Georgie dated to the 1890 to 1920 time frame.

* Terry S. showed a small hand-painted clay pitcher which Georgie said she had never seen in that form. She thought it might be Hungarian.

* Joan showed her husband's grandfather's shaving mug, and Georgie said it was from Pennsylvania in the early 1900's.

Obviously, I didn't take notes on everything Georgie said about each item - she often talked for 5 to 8 minutes about each item. I tried to take photographs of each presenter and their article with Georgie - and I'll post the ones that come out well in a later post.

Georgie's style is informal, enthusiastic and interesting - she really enjoys seeing these types of artifacts and "stuff" because they are, in the main, from middle-class homes from the Victorian era and later. She is used to appraising high-end items for collectors and estates. It is fascinating to see an expert appraiser at work - the words seem to flow effortlessly and I am awestruck by the knowledge level.

It was a great society program.

Some Civil War databases available on Footnote.com through AccessGenealogy

The Birmingham Genealogical Society noted that some Civil War databases and images on www.Footnote.com are available for FREE through the web site Access Genealogy at http://www.accessgenealogy.com/civil_war.htm. Free access to the selected databases is available ONLY through that link and the links on that web page.

The free access is available through 1 December 2008.

www.Footnote.com also has membership specials for Veterans ($39.95/year) and Non-Veterans ($59.95/year) until 1 December 2008 also (regular price is $69.95/year).

CVGS Computer Group pictures

The CVGS Computer Group meets every third Wednesday at 12 noon in the Computer Lab of the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street, Chula Vista). There are 12 computer stations in this lab, plus the "control computer" that can be used from the instructor's podium to project on the wall of the room.

Here is a picture of the "wall" from a recent Computer Group meeting:




Here are two pictures of the smiling and/or concentrating faces from the front of the room:

The leader of the Computer Group is Shirley B, the lady in the blue shirt on the left of the last photograph.

CVGS Program on Wednesday, 11/26 - "Heirloom Discovery Day"

The next Chula Vista Genealogical Society Program Meeting is this Wednesday, 26 November at 12 noon, at the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street in Chula Vista) auditorium. This FREE meeting will feature:

1) A short business meeting with reports of society activities

2) The election of officers for 2009 - 2010 conducted by John Finch, Nominating Committee Chairperson. The following nominations are from the Nominating Committee:

President - Gary Brock
First Vice-President Programs - no nominee
Second vice-President Membership - Virginia Taylor
Treasurer - Paul Price
Secretary - Ann Stevens

3) The "Heirloom Discovery Day" program presented by Georgie Stillman, ASA.Georgie Stillman has been a professional appraiser since 1971. She is a Senior member of the American Society of Appraisers, past President of the San Diego Chapter, and Founding director of the International Society of Appraisers, having held many offices in each organization.

She is an expert in appraising silver, china, glassware, furniture, artworks, quilts and samplers, many dolls and other collectibles. Georgie does not appraise pre-1830 Chinese or Oriental items, oriental carpets, antiquities, fine jewelry, coins or stamps.

In today’s program, Georgie will provide an estimated value of the heirlooms brought by our members and will briefly comment on the origin of the piece.

We have 14 heirlooms from our members' households and collections lined up for Georgie's expert appraisal.

Please plan to attend this meeting. Enter through the Conference Room door in the east hallway in order to register, gather handouts, buy a drawing ticket and have a snack/drink. Guests and visitors are always welcome at CVGS meetings.

CVGS Officer Nominations

A slate of society officers for the 2009-2010 calendar years has been announced by the Chula Vista Genealogical Society Nominating Committee (John Finch, Chairman, Art Roy and Phyllis Learned members). The slate includes:

President: Gary Brock

First Vice President - Programs: no nominee

Second vice President - Membership: Virginia Taylor (incumbent)

Treasurer: Paul Price

Secretary: Ann Stevens (incumbent)

The Society General Meeting on Wednesday, 26 November at 12 noon, in the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library auditorium, will feature election of officers.

Officer installation will be celebrated on Wednesday, 10 December at the annual Holiday Luncheon held at the Chula Vista South Library, starting at 11 a.m.

Index to Spanish-Mexican Families of Early California, 1769 to 1850 - Volume II: G, H, I and J Surnames

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The Southern California Genealogical Society published three volumes of the work by Marie E. Northrop titled Spanish-Mexican Families of Early California: 1769-1850 (Published by Southern California Genealogical Society, Burbank, California. Volume I - 435 pages. Volume II - 396 pages. Volume III - 525 pages). A description of the work by Northrop, and researchers before and after her, are here.

The index for Volume I is here.

The families in Volume II with surnames starting with G, H, I and J are:

VOLUME II - G SURNAMES:

page 88 - Rafael Gallardo (1802-????)

page 89 - Carlos Maria Garcia (1776-1824)
page 91 - Eugenio Garcia (1808-????)
page 92 - Francisco Bruno Garcia (1759-1819)
page 93 - Francisco Maria Leon Garcia (1778-1834)
page 95 - Jose Antonio Inocencio Garcia (1791-1878)
page 97 - Jose Julian Garcia (1779-????)
page 98 - Jose Maria Canuto Garcia (1793-1838)
page 100 - Jose Norberto Garcia (1796-1844)
page 101 - Juan Jose Garcia (1774-1818)
page 103 - Juan Jose Garcia (1912-????)
page 104 - Pascual Antonio Garcia (1784-1841)
page 105 - Tomas Garcia (1806-1845)

page 106 - Jose Vicente Gonzales Garibay (1753-1821)

page 107 - Manuel Ygnacio Martin German (1792-????)
page 109 - Cristoval Antonio German (1790-????)

page 110 - Jose Antonio Gomez (????-1803)
page 111 - Manuel Gomez (????-????), m. 1811
page 112 - Rafael Gomez (????-1838)

page 113 - Diego Gonzales (1733-1814)
page 114 - Jose Rafael Gerardo Gonzales (1750-1797)

page 115 - Jose Julian Guerrero (????-1784)

page 115 - Joseph Ignacio Ladron de Guevara (1762-1820)

page 116 - Miguel Antonio Guillen (1768-1819)

page 118 - Toribio Martinez Guzman (1750-????)

VOLUME II - H SURNAMES

page 119 - William Edward Petty Hartnell (1798-1854)

page 122 - Juan Maria Jorge Hernandez (1776-1852)
page 123 - Justo Lorenzo Hernandez (????-????) m ca. 1775

page 124 - Gregorio Ygnacio Higuera (1789-????)
page 125 - Jose Antonio Higuera (1787-????)
page 127 - Jose Maria Higuera (1786-????)
page 128 - Juan Jose Higuera (1787-1826)
page 129 - Salvador Higuera (1793-1845)

page 130 - Daniel Antonio Hill (1799-1865)

VOLUME II - I SURNAMES

VOLUME II - J SURNAMES

page 132 - Jose Francisco Juarez (????-1782)

CVGS Research Group highlights - Wednesday, 12 November

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The Chula Vista Genealogical Society Research Group meeting at the Library today had 12 in attendance, including three visitors. We went around the table and everybody shared their genealogy highlights for the last month:

John is still chasing birth certificates from England with some success. He found orphan records in Luzerne County PA that might have information about his 2nd-great-grandmother.

Andi (a visitor) is visiting John from Northern California, and they are having fun chasing some of her ancestors in Tennessee using the census and vital records on Ancestry.

Dearl is still fighting his new computer - he thinks he's losing.

Jerome (a visitor) has been working on his genealogy for awhile and has 2,000 persons in his database. He's looking for a place to get research tips and techniques - we told him he's at the right place. He wondered "how much work should you do on lines?" and Shirley said "as much as you want."

Charlene (a visitor) has been doing her research for about ten years, and has two local ancestors that she is researching.

Virginia received her mitochondrial DNA results from Ancestry - she is in the H haplogroup. She was cleaning a closet and found some treasures that her sister gave her some time ago.

Shirley H. wondered why the 1900 US census index on Ancestry has changed. We explained that they shifted to the index generated by FamilySearch Indexing.

Phyllis wondered if there were marriage records in Brook County VA (now WV) in 1820. We recommended checking the USGenWeb site and the LDS FHL Catalog. She mentioned the BYU family history TV program that is on digital cable channel 435 at 11:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. No one else knew about it.

Shirley B. received an envelope from her sister with their mother's birth certificate, and her SSN on the back of it. There was also a paper with the names of four Plue relatives - she wonders if they are still alive.

Dick is enjoying working with Family Tree Maker 2009 - especially the links to Ancestry.com. He gave a brief summary of his uncle's safecracking exploits for the group's amusement.

Nancy wants to reorganize all of her paper files. We recommended the Sharon Carmack book about Organizing Your Family History Research.

Randy discussed the new Google Your Family Tree book and passed it around. He also described his adventures in New York City and on the Wholly Genes Conference and Cruise to the Caribbean, and passed the syllabus around.

Shirley B. demonstrated her new genealogy filing system on her computer. She adopted Leland Meitzler's system that he described at the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree in June. The key is to have a fast scanner and a big external drive. She brought her 500 gb external drive and walked us through the computer filing system.

Andi and John described Andi's research problem. She has 1880 and 1900 census data for her George Cory (born ca 1836 in VT) family in Dickson County, TN, and a marriage record in 1870 for George Cory and E.R. Pickett, but her grandmother was positive that Harrell was Elizabeth Rebecca's maiden name. It's made more complicated by two "Hessell" brothers living with the Cory family in 1880. We recommended looking for an earlier marriage of a Harrell to a Pickett, and looking for George Cory, the two "Hessell" brothers, and E.R. (or Elizabeth or Rebecca) with different surname spellings in the 1870 and earlier census records. We also suggested looking in online family trees to find more about the families, and looking in military records, since George was an "engineer" in the 1880 census - perhaps he was a former Union soldier and part of the Reconstruction effort.

Charlene had two problems to discuss: Her Willis Mills was born about 1820 in KY, but resided in IL, MO and TX in his life. She had a timeline with many names marrying Mills people in these places, but is not sure if they are all related or not, and if they are, how are they related? We suggested that she check online family trees and the USGenWeb county sites, and search probate, land and tax records to try to put families together. This sounded like a big kinship problem with several families moving together and inter-marrying. Her second problem is the William and Margaret (Reynolds) Taggart family - were they from Ireland or the Isle on Man? Charlene has found them in PA, IL and MN, last in the 1885 state census in MN. We suggested that their origin might be found in county history books, obituaries, naturalization records and death records.

This was a very lively session - it was fun to have several problems to challenge us.

Genealogy News Summary for November

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Here's the genealogy news summary for late October and early November:

1. INTERESTING GENEALOGY WEB SITES

a) http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ - the Perry-Castaneda Historical Maps Collection at the University of Texas.

b) http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gentutor/trails.html - Early American Roads and Trails by Beverly Whitaker.

c) http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/censusatlas/ - Census Atlas of the USA for 2000.

2. NEW GENEALOGY DATABASES

a) at www.Ancestry.com - subscription site (US = $155.40, World = $299.40) - now available for FREE at San Diego FHC (Institution with World databases) or San Diego City or County Public Libraries (Ancestry Library Edition). Ancestry has over 7 billion names in over 26,500 databases. See new content at http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/recent.aspx. New databases this month include:
* US Army Indian Campaign Service Records Index, 1815-1858
* Brooklyn NY Catholic Church Baptisms (1837-1900) and Marriages (1839-1900)
* US Navy Pensions Index, 1861-1910
* US Military and Naval Academy Registers, 1805-1908
* US Native-American Applications for Enrollment in Five Civilized Tribes, 1896
* US Native-American Enrollment Cards for Five Civilized Tribes, 1898-1914
* Jewish Records from Holocaust (free indexes) - from www.JewishGen.org (20 million names)
* Many more Canadian books and manuscripts
* British World War I Army Service Records, 1914-1920
* UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1970
* Paris, France Births, Marriages, Deaths, ~1700 to ~1900

b) www.WorldVitalRecords.com - subscription site (US = $39.95 for 1 year, World = $119.95 for 1 year) -- now available for FREE at the San Diego FHC. Over 11,000 databases, over 1.3 billion names. Recently added content is at http://www.worldvitalrecords.com/recentcontentlisting.aspx. New items are FREE at WVR for 10 days. New databases include:

* More Canadian titles from the Dundurn Group collection
* Some Mexico newspapers
* Some Australian records from Ryerson Index


c) www.Footnote.com - subscription site ($69.96 annual retail, $11.95 monthly) - now available for FREE at San Diego FHC. They offer 7-day FREE trial. 434 Titles, over 47 million images, over 1 million free. Content list at http://www.footnote.com/documents.php. Information added this month includes:
* Updated Newspaper databases

d) www.GenealogyBank.com - subscription site (trial $9.95 for one month, $69.95 for 12 months). It has archives for over 2,500 U.S. historical newspapers in all 50 states, from the 1600s to the present day, with over 224 million family history records, over 29 million obituaries from more than 1,140 newspapers in more than 130 million historical newspaper articles, and more than 11,700 historical books. Added content from:
* over 100 newspapers in 31 states.

e) http://pilot.familysearch.org/ - the LDS FREE site for indexed and browsable databases -- new content includes:
* Vermont Enrolled Militia Records, 1861-1867 (100% complete, index and images)
* Louisiana War of 1812 Pension Lists , 1812-1817 (100% complete, no index, browse images)

Seven new indexing projects were released during the past two weeks:
* Argentina 1869 Census – Buenos Aires (Part 2)
* Argentina 1869 Census – Cordoba y San Luis
* Massachusetts Death Records
* Massachusetts Marriage Records
* New Hampshire Birth Records
* UK – Cheshire – Church Records
* UK– Cheshire – Land Tax

3. GENEALOGY EDUCATION

a) The National Genealogical Society, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, announced a new educational course offering, Working With Deeds. This online courses teaches a researcher to recognize and understand various types of deeds and to analyze the information found in them. These skills help family historians sort out the mysteries of ancestral relationships and solve difficult brick-wall problems. For more information or to register for an online course or the NGS Home Study Course, visit the NGS website at http://ngsgenealogy.org and click on Learning Center.

b) Google Your Family Tree -- This book by Dan Lynch is written in a friendly, informative, and non-technical way — but still conveys the depth of power contained within each major part of the Google service. Each concept is illustrated with large, easy-to-view images showing exactly how to execute the command being discussed and what results you will achieve. If you have ever used Google or any Internet search engine and experienced frustration with millions of listings resulting from your query, you are about to discover a true breakthrough! He dissects more than one hundred powerful commands and features of Google, but maintains a focus on how they can be used specifically to conduct family history research. There are special tips for finding people, places, and even filters for searching through different time periods. The book is $34.95 at www.googleyourfamilytree.com.

4. SOFTWARE

a) Itsourtree.com Releases Free Family Tree Software -- The software enables users to edit and create a family tree on their own PC. If desired, they can then upload it to www.itsourtree.com and share it with relatives and friends. The Home Edition offers state-of-the-art usability and technology at no cost. Besides operating in the standard GEDCOM format the software also allows the printing of various familial lists in an appropriate genealogical standard.

b) FamViewer for iPhones and iPod Touch -- Aster Software announced the release of its new genealogy application, FamViewer, that allows genealogists to carry their genealogy databases with them on their iPhone and iPod Touch. FamViewer imports standard GEDCOM files and displays them on the iPhone. You can carry your genealogy database with you wherever you bring your iPhone or iPod Touch.

5. ANNOUNCEMENTS


a) Ancestry.ca announced a joint initiative with FamilySearch International. As part of the agreement, FamilySearch will digitize and index Canadian census records that Ancestry.ca has acquired. These digitized and indexed records will then be made available to Ancestry.ca members on the company’s website, and the indexes will also be available to the public at www.FamilySearch.org. The images will be free to qualified FamilySearch members and all FamilySearch family history centers. FamilySearch will deliver images and indexes to Ancestry.ca for censuses from 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1916 Censuses to launch online in 2009. In return, Ancestry.ca will provide images and indexes to FamilySearch for the 1851, 1891, 1901 and 1906 Censuses.

b) Library and Archives Canada (LAC) announced a collaborative partnership with Ancestry.ca, which will allow the two organizations to provide unprecedented online access to the most comprehensive collection of Canadian historical records available. As part of the agreement, Ancestry.ca will digitize and index microfilm and original records held by LAC and make these available to Ancestry.ca members. All of the digitized records will eventually be available free of charge to users of the LAC website.

c) Ancestry.com announced it has introduced the world’s largest online collection of Jewish family history records. Ancestry.com has partnered with two leading organizations committed to the preservation of Jewish heritage – JewishGen, an affiliate of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York City that maintains the world’s premier Jewish genealogy website, and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). These unique records, including photographs, immigration records, Holocaust records and memorials, can now be searched alongside other records already accessible on Ancestry.com, creating the largest collection of Jewish family history records on the Web with more than 26 million records documenting Jewish life.

d) Ancestry's online self-publishing service (formerly AncestryPress) -- has a new name, MyCanvas, and a new website. You can check out the new site by clicking the "Print & Share" tab (formerly the "Publish" tab) on Ancestry.com. Customers who go to www.ancestrypress.com will automatically be forwarded to www.mycanvas.ancestry.com.

Index to Spanish-Mexican Families of Early California, 1769 to 1850 - Volume II: E, F and G surnames

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The Southern California Genealogical Society published three volumes of the work by Marie E. Northrop titled Spanish-Mexican Families of Early California: 1769-1850 (Published by Southern California Genealogical Society, Burbank, California. Volume I - 435 pages. Volume II - 396 pages. Volume III - 525 pages). A description of the work by Northrop, and researchers before and after her, are here.

The index for Volume I is here.

The families in Volume II with surnames starting with E, F and G are:

VOLUME II - E SURNAMES:

page 77 - Jose Mariano Estrada (1784-????)
page 79 - Jose Raymundo Estrada (1790-1830)

page 80 - Joaquin Antonio Jose Ignacio Fernando Ramon Pio Quinto Estudillo (1800-1852)
page 81 - Jose Antonio Ramon Joaquin Ignacio Victorino Estudillo (1803-1852)
page 84 - Jose Maria Estudillo (1722-1830)

VOLUME II - F SURNAMES

page 85 - Joseph Rosalino Fernandez (1756-????)

page 86 - Henry Delano Fitch (1799-1849)

VOLUME II - G SURNAMES

page 88 - Rafael Gallardo (1802-????)

page 89 - Carlos Maria Garcia (1776-1824)
page 91 - Eugenio Garcia (1808-????)
page 92 - Francisco Bruno Garcia (1759-1819)
page 93 - Francisco Maria Leon Garcia (1778-1834)
page 95 - Jose Antonio Inocencio Garcia (1791-1878)
page 97 - Jose Julian Garcia (1779-????)

Perry-Castaneda Map Collection

I found this really neat Exploration and Settlement Map for 1675 to 1800 on the Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection on the University of Texas web site - this map is at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/united_states/exploration_1675.jpg.

This map collection is very rich - go explore the Historical U.S. maps and see if one or more can help you understand migration trails of your ancestors. The exploration and settlement map for 1800 to 1820 is here, for 1820 to 1835 is here, for 1835 to 1850 is here, for 1850 to 1890 is here, etc.

Does anybody know where Polypotamia and Pelisipia were in the 1783 to 1803 time frame? Check out this great territorial map of the United States.

Genealogy Days in Chula Vista - November 2008

The Chula Vista Genealogical Society events for November 2008 include:

** Wednesday, November 12, 12 noon, Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library -- CVGS Research Group meets in the Library Conference Room. We will review the latest genealogy news, share success stories and information, and discuss members research problems, and potential solutions, based on the collective knowledge and wisdom of the group.

** Wednesday, November 19, 12 noon, Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library -- CVGS Computer Group meets in the Library Computer Lab. We will visit some helpful genealogy web sites. This is an opportunity for those members who haven't used computers for genealogy research to practice with a mentor to guide them.

** Wednesday, November 26, 12 noon to 2 p.m., Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library - CVGS Program Meeting in the Auditorium. After a brief business meeting and election of officers for 2009-2010, the featured speaker will by Georgie Stillman who will appraise members artifacts and collectibles in an "Heirloom Discovery Day" presentation.

On Monday afternoons (12 noon to 2 PM) - November 3, 10, 17 and 24 - Genealogy Table Talk with Dearl Glenn and John Finch in the Family Research section of the Chula Vista Civic Center Library. They are ready and willing to help people with their research, discuss a problem or success, or just tell stories.

The Chula Vista Civic Center Library is located at 365 "F" Street in Chula Vista - between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue, midway between I-5 and I-805 (take the "E" Street exit from the freeways).

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@cox.net or phone 619-422-3397.

CVGS Program on Wednesday, 29 October -- Peter Watry on "Images of America: Chula Vista"

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The October Program Meeting of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society will be on Wednesday, October 29th at 12 noon in the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street) in the auditorium. The meeting is Free for all attendees, and guests are welcome. After a short business meeting hosted by Gary Brock, the program "Images of America: Chula Vista" by Peter Watry will be presented.

Peter Watry was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, and came to Chula Vista in 1961 as one of the original teachers at the new Southwestern College. He taught accounting and economics at Southwestern College from 1961 until 1996.

Peter has been active in the Heritage Museum, founded by Frank Roseman in 1993, for about ten years. He wrote the "Save Our Heritage" newsletter for the Heritage Museum for six years. He created and has presented the "History of Chula Vista" to third-graders in Chula Vista schools for the past four years.

Peter has been involved in each of the six "Historic Home Tours" of Chula Vista, and was primarily responsible for the twelve historic pedestals located along downtown Third Avenue, and for obtaining the Rohr drop hammer mounted next to the Heritage Museum. Most of these have been accomplished with Frank's help.

Peter Watry and Frank Roseman co-authored "Images of America - Chula Vista" a pictorial history of Chula Vista just published by Arcadia Publishing Company.

Please join us for this free meeting. Guests and visitors are welcome at all CVGS meetings. We request that you enter via the Conference Room door near the East entrance of the library in order to register, gather handouts, buy an opportunity drawing ticket and have a snack. We will start the meeting in the auditorium at 12:20 p.m.

Photos from the Jean Wilcox Hibben seminar

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Here are some pictures from the "Discover Your Family History" seminar presented by Dr. Jean Wilcox Hibben on Saturday, 18 October.

Jean's first presentation was Clue to Clue - a recounting of her search, from the beginning, of her Wilcox and Freeman families:


In Jean's second presentation, she told the story of her great-grandfather, John Adam Hollaender in character as Adam's wife, Caroline (Trapschuh) Hollaender:

Jean's husband, Butch, helped her out on the presentation about Civil War songs and stories:

In a spare moment, Jean and CVGS President Randy Seaver posed for a picture:

Dr. Jean Wilcox Hibben was fabulous today

The Chula Vista Genealogical Society had its Family History Month seminar titled "Discover Your Family History" today. Jean Wilcox Hibben, PhD., CG was the featured speaker. The program announcement is here. She made three presentations:

* Clue to Clue: Tracking a Family over Time and Miles -- Using various clues, you can piece together the life of an ancestral family.

* John Adam Hollaender: Survivor -- A Civil War soldier’s life story told in the first person by his wife, Caroline Maria Trapschuh.

* Bringing your Civil War Ancestor Back to Life: Songs & Stories of the War of the Rebellion -- Using music and stories to understand to the events on the battlefield and the home-front.

The first talk, clue to clue, was an excellent review of "how-to-do" your genealogy and family history research. Using her own Wilcox and Freeman families, Jean showed how to use family records, repository records and Internet records to search clue by clue to find names, dates, places, documents, and stories to determine a family structure and events. As she went through the presentation, she provided wise counsel to all genealogists on the research process. Many in the audience were amazed by the records she found in upstate New York in the 18th and 19th centuries (there is hope for my Smith family!). Jean used a lot of humor in her PowerPoint presentation, which was fun and funny.

The second presentation was a biography of a German immigrant in the 1840's, who became a Civil War soldier and a barber. Jean told John Adam Hollaender's life story as his wife, Caroline Marie (Trapschuh) Hollaender, sitting in a chair holding a memory book, with Adam's Civil War mementos and barber equipment on the table nearby. She then used a PowerPoint presentation to show the many papers and documents that she found, and told us where she found them. It was amazing to see how much information could be gathered for one person and his family. Of course, Jean's Hollaender family were packrats...and Jean received the collected family papers, mementos, ephemera and other stuff handed down to her mother and then to her, then did the research to put it all together.

The final presentation was a program of about ten songs from the Civil War era. Jean played the banjo, guitar and mandolin, and her husband Butch played the saw (very eerie sound!), to present these songs, and told stories about the songs themselves and their authors. In several cases, she played different versions of the same song, as sung by the Union and rebel sides. Jean has five CD-ROMs of her songs now - you can see the list at www.circlemending.org.

The audience totally enjoyed Jean's presentations - they were informational, fun, touching, and entertaining - we even got to sing along! I urge you - if you have the opportunity to see and hear Jean at a local society meeting or a conference - to take advantage of the opportunity; you will totally enjoy yourself and learn a lot about genealogy research in the process.

My thanks to Jean Wilcox Hibben for giving so much of her time and effort to educate and entertain us, and to the willing workers of CVGS who made this seminar a success.

"Discover Your Family History" Seminar with Jean Hibben on Saturday 18 October

To celebrate October as Family History Month, the Chula Vista Genealogical Society and the Chula Vista Public Library will present a fall seminar:

DISCOVER YOUR FAMILY HISTORY
Saturday, October 18, 2008, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library Auditorium
(365 F Street, Chula Vista CA 91910)

FREE for all interested persons to attend.

GUEST SPEAKER: Jean Wilcox Hibben, PhD, CG.

* Clue to Clue: Tracking a Family over Time and Miles -- Using various clues, you can piece together the life of an ancestral family.

* John Adam Hollaender: Survivor -- A Civil War soldier’s life story told in the first person by his wife, Caroline Maria Trapschuh.

* Bringing your Civil War Ancestor Back to Life: Songs & Stories of the War of the Rebellion -- Using music and stories to understand to the events on the battlefield and the home-front.

About the Speaker

Jean Wilcox Hibben, PhD, CG, obtained her bachelors and masters degrees in Speech Communication and worked as a professor in the field for 13 years before leaving academia to pursue her passions: folklore and family history. She recently received her doctorate in Folklore.

A national speaker, Jean began giving presentations to the genealogical community in 2003 and has been doing public speaking for over 30 years. She also volunteers at the Corona CA Family History Center and trains Family History consultants.

For information on past and future programs, comments about Jean’s work, ordering CDs, listings of her various topics, and more, see her website: http://www.circlemending.org/.

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There will be a light lunch available at 12 noon – “make-your-own sandwiches” veggies, fruit, cookies, water, etc. We ask that people take their food into the nearby park to eat. A donation for the food will be appreciated.

RESERVATIONS REQUESTED:

Please contact Virginia at 619-425-7922 or irishdoll@cox.net so that CVGS can plan refreshments and handout requirements.

Visit the Chula Vista Genealogical Society web site ttp://www.rootsweb.com/~cacvgs2) or the Society blog (http://cvgencafe.blogspot.com/) or contact Randy Seaver (619-422-3397, rjseaver@cox.net) for more information.

Computer Group Summary - 15 October 2008

We had a full house - 12 genealogists - in the Computer Lab today for the monthly Computer Group meeting. After Gary hooked the master computer to the projector, Shirley asked Randy to demonstrate library online databases and then library catalogs.


First, we visited the Chula Vista Library's online databases - the genealogy-related databases are newspapers, and the library has 20 current newspapers via NewsBank, the New York Times since 2000, the San Diego Union-Tribune since 1983, and the Chula Vista Star-News for 1938-1969. These are accessible from home using a Chula Vista library card.


We checked out the San Diego County Library, the San Diego City Library and the Carlsbad Library online databases also, but needed a library card to access them. Randy explained that all three had Ancestry Library Edition for use at the library branches, but not at home. He used his Carlsbad card to demonstrate use of HeritageQuestOnline.


Randy showed the New York Times archives (1851-1922, and 1980 to present are free) and Shirley suggested the http://www.fultonhistory.com/ web site for upper New York newspapers. Finally, Randy showed the Google News Archive site at http://news.google.com/archivesearch/ which is different from Google News.


We then looked at the Catalog search features of the Los Angeles Public Library (http://www.lapl.org/) for those going on the SDGS trip there on 1 November. We explored WorldCat (http://www.worldcat.org/) and NUCMC (http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/) to demonstrate how to find books and manuscripts at distant libraries, so that they can order them through Inter-Library Loan.

Lastly, we looked for vital records in different states - using www.vitalrec.com, www.deathindexes.com and http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/vitalrecords.html.

Some attendees followed along on their own computer system, others watched the demonstrations, and several did their own research in online databases.