CVGS workshop on Saturday, 3 January 2015 at Bonita-Sunnyside Library

The next CVGS Workshop is at the Bonita-Sunnyside Library (4375 Bonita Road) on Saturday, 3  January 2015 from 1 pm to 4 pm.

CVGS members Gary Brock and Sam Seat will be presenting "Wild Apricot."  This is the online service for the updated CVGS webpage, meeting notices, Board member information, and member interactions.  

They will also be explaining the changes to our CVGS webpage. It's important for all to come learn how this site will help you to help the society and yourself.

CVGS Annual Holiday Luncheon Highlights

The CVGS Annual Holiday Luncheon was held on Thursday, 11 December 2014 at the Chula Vista South Branch Library in Conference Room B.  There were about 40 people in attendance.

1)  President Virginia Taylor called the meeting to order at 12 noon, with these highlights:

*  She asked for a moment of silence for the two members who died during 2014 - Geni Powell and Kevin Brown.

*  She then noted that over 50% of CVGS members have joined since 2010.  She read a list of members who have been members since 2009, 2004, 1999, and 1994. 

*  She presented certificates of appreciation to the 2013-2014 Board members.

*  She narrated a slide show for four longtime CVGS Members - the attendees had to guess who they were from photos.  The four were Nancy Yates, Sandy Palumbo, Mary Nelson and Margaret Peters.

*  She announced that longtime member and Board Member Shirley Becker was awarded a Life Membership for her service to the Society.

*  Finally, she asked the newly elected 2015-2016 Board Officers to come forward to be installed.  Randy Seaver read the description of the duties of each office, and then each individual was instyalled one at a time by:

**  Susi Pentico installed Treasurer Gary Brock
**  Shirley Becker installed Secretary Karen Yarger
**  John Finch installed 2nd Vice President/Membership Chair Karen Smith
**  Randy Seaver installed First Vice-President/Programs Chair Jane Strawn
** Gary Brock installed President, Virginia Taylor.

Lastly, Randy Seaver asked the attendees to pledge their support to the 2015-2016 Board of directors and the Society.

Here is a photo of the 2015-2016 Board Officers:

2)  It was time to eat the delicious ham and turkey (provided by the Society), the finger foods, salads, vegetable and potato dishes, rolls and butter, and desserts brought by the attendees.  

3)  After the delicious meal, it was time for the drawings:

*  The Door Prizes (every attendee had one ticket) - a Santa Claus (Joan Largey won), an Angel (Wendy Falkenhan won) and a Popcorn Christmas Tree (Fran Cornell won).

*  The Opportunity Drawing for the table decorations - poinsettias and other arrangements.

*  The Gift Exchange - every one who brought a gift received a ticket to select a gift from the table.

4)  Many attendees to the Annual Holiday Luncheon brought unwrapped toys and canned food to donate to the Salvation Army.  

This was a fun and happy occasion with lots of great food and fellowship, plus recognition of the volunteers who help make the society function well.

December Research Group Highlights

The CVGS Research Group meeting on Wednesday, 10 December had 12 attendees.  

In the first hour, Randy discussed:

*  The Member Survey and the Program Survey, and handed copies to all in attendance.

*  A short summary of the Heritage Books Genealogy Cruise with photographs.

*  Legacy Family Tree Webinars - genealogy education available for free or by subscription.  See www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com.

*  Ancestry.com's Free State Research Guides - see Tuesday's Tip - Collect Ancestry.com's FREE State Resource Guides.

*  Ancestry DNA matches have been updated to eliminate many false positives.  See http://dna.ancestry.com/

*  RootsMagic 7 was released, with a WebHints feature for MyHeritage and FamilySearch record matches.  See www.rootsmagic.com.

In the second hour, the attendees shared their questions, challenges and successes, including:

*  Karen Y.'s neighbor wrote a book titled Journeys Home published by National Geographic; Karen passed a proof copy around the group.  

*  Shirley received an FamilyTreeDNA match contact who said she was related to John Howland of Plymouth, but provided no other information.

*  Shirley also described finding Phelps and Bickle family information in a book on www.Archive.org.  

*  John found information about his Shed family in Massachusetts on Ancestry.com.  It is also available on google Books.

*  Diane says that she is an "eclectic researcher" and enjoys going off on research tangents.  She looked for records of an old boyfriend and found a Find A Grave memorial for one of his parents with an obituary mentioning him.

*  Diane is going to Mexico next week to research her husband's family - the church records for the town are not available on FamilySearch.

*  She has ordered more 23andMe autosomal DNA kits as Christmas gifts so she can test her son and several cousins.  With them, she will have tested 14 family members.  A previously tested cousin recently died suddenly, but she has his DNA results.

*  Ana has several family members with the same first name and surnames, and wondered how she should sort these out to keep the families straight.  The group suggested using Family Group Sheets, talk to family members, and use an online tree or genealogy software to organize all of the information.

*  Karen S. asked about passenger lists of persons to colonial Virginia.  The group suggested the FamilySearch wiki for Virginia immigration, and to read the reference books listed there.  Also read Virginia history and immigration on Wikipedia.

*  John was frustrated by duplicate families in his Ancestry Member Tree - he can't seem to merge them.  The Ancestry.com Help page was explored to find the correct process to use.

*  Virginia mentioned the FamilyTreeDNA upgrade sale, and recently has received more matches.

*  Karen Y. described the day at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park at the CVGS table.  She took the two Glen Abbey Cemetery books published by CVGS, which elicited admiration and interest in the society.

The next CVGS Research Group will be on Wednesday, 14 January 2015 starting at 12 noon in the Conference Room of the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street in downtown Chula Vista).  

December 2014 Issue of CVGS Newsletter is Available

The December 2014 issue of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society (CVGS) Newsletter was published this week.  You can read it online, in a PDF format - use the Newsletter link at www.CVGenealogy.org.

The Table of Contents lists:

page 1 - December 11th Holiday Luncheon
page 2 - President’s Message 
page 2 - Membership and Program Interest Surveys 
page 2 - Membership Dues for 2015 
page 3 - Election of 2015-2016 Officers 

page 3 - January 3rd Workshop 
page 3 - Computer Group Review 
page 3 - Lemon Grove Research Group News 
page 3 - San Diego Central Library Hours
page 4 - SDGS Family History Seminar on 1/10 

page 5 - Free Online Genealogy Newsletters 
page 5 - Genealogy News for November 2014 
page 6 - November 12th Research Group Review
page 7 - November 26th Program Review 
page 8 - New Genealogy Books Available 

page 9 - CVGS Society Information 
page 9 - San Diego Genealogy Events 

page 10 - Genealogy Days in Chula Vista 

CVGS Holiday Luncheon Meeting is Thursday, 11 December at South Library

 THURSDAY, December 11th HOLIDAY LUNCHEON

from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

At Chula Vista South Branch Library Conference Room (389 Orange Avenue)

The annual Holiday Luncheon will have turkey, ham, and drinks provided by CVGS.  The pot luck breakdown for the rest of the meal will be coordinated by JoAnn (phone 619-421-3628, email jabonner13@gmail.com) and Jane (phone 619-434-4051, email jstrawn2@cox.net)– please contact them by 12/7 to coordinate potluck dishes.   The potluck schedule is:

A to F Surnames:  Potatoes (Irish or Sweet), Veggies, Casseroles

G to K Surnames:  Desserts

L to P  Surnames: Salads, Rolls, Butter 

Q to Z Surnames:  Snack trays, Condiments, Olives, Pickles, Cranberry Sauce, etc.

The program will be installation of the newly elected officers for 2015-2016, plus some society historical reviews.

There will be a free door prize drawing, and a bring one/get one gift exchange ($10 limit). 

 Attendees are requested to bring canned food and/or unwrapped toys for donation to the Salvation Army. 

CVGS Workshop is Saturday, December 6

The Saturday, December 6th Workshop at Bonita-Sunnyside Library (4375 Bonita Road) is in the Community Room from 12 noon to 3 p.m.  

Susi Pentico will lead the discussion on “Planning Next Year's Events and Goals.” 

Genealogy Days in Chula Vista - December 2014

The Chula Vista Genealogical Society events for December 2014 include:

**  Saturday, 6 December, 12 noon to 3 p.m., Bonita-Sunnyside Library (4375 Bonita Road) -- Saturday Workshop:  Susi Pentico will lead a workshop on "Sharing the Holiday With Friends." 

** Wednesday, 10 December, 12 noon to 2 p.m., Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street) -- CVGS Research Group meets in the Library Conference Room, led by Randy Seaver.  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, 17 December, 12 noon to 1:30 p.m., Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street) -- The CVGS Computer Group will not meet this month.

** Thursday, 11 December, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Chula Vista South Branch Library (389 Orange Avenue).  CVGS Annual Holiday Luncheon will be in the Conference Room.  The program will be 2015-2016 Officer Installation and CVGS historical highlights.  This is a potluck luncheon - see more details in CVGS Holiday Luncheon Meeting is Thursday, 11 December at South Library.

**  Saturday, 3 January, 12 noon to 3 p.m., Bonita-Sunnyside Library (4375 Bonita Road) -- 
CVGS Workshop.  Susi Pentico will moderate a discussion on "TBD" 

**  Wednesdays, 3, 10, December, 10 a.m. to 12 noon, Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street) --Research Assistance in the Family Research area.  John Finch will help you with your research problems.  Bring your laptop if you want to do online research.

The Chula Vista Civic Center Branch 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).

The Bonita-Sunnyside (County) Library is located at 4375 Bonita Road in Bonita - turn north on Billy Casper Way, just west of the Otay Lakes Road intersection with Bonita Road, on the north side of Bonita Road.

We welcome guests and visitors to our CVGS programs and events - if you are in the greater San Diego area and want to attend our events - please come and introduce yourselves.  All CVGS events are FREE to attend, except for some seminars and picnics.