Monday, November 9, 2015

CVGS Fall Seminar Review - 7 November 2015

The CVGS all-day Fall Seminar, titled "Over the Pond," was held on Saturday, 7 November 2015 at the Bonita Golf Course, with about 42 persons in attendance.  

There were four presentations by two speakers - Judith Brooks and Toni Perrone.  The talks and a brief description of them were:

1)  "High Road or Low Road -- How and Why the Scots Migrated" by Judith Brooks.  This talk was an historical overview of the Scots - the topography and history of Scotland, from early settlement to present day, with information about religious strike, mercenaries, Treaty of Union, period of enlightenment, and migration from Scotland to Ireland, England, South Africa, North America, and other countries.  Reasons for migrating included civil strife, famine, adventurous spirit, religious turmoil, exiled as felons, prisoners or undesirables, trade prospects, and governments asking for colonists.

2)  "Italian Genealogical Research" by Toni Perrone.  Toni reviewed the different resources available to pursue Italian family history - oral histories, civil records, passenger lists, naturalization records, newspapers, census records, city directories, occupational records, vital records, cemeteries, etc. Local and national Italian genealogical and historical societies were mentioned.  Many Italian immigrants to the U.S. were from the south of Italy because they were poorer and more crowded than the North, where more people owned land.  The main ports of emigration were Genoa, Naples, Palermo, Messina and Marseilles.  From 1880 to 1886, migration was mainly from the North, and from 1887 to 1915 they were mainly from the South.  Chain migration was common - one person migrated initially, then family members and friends came.  They usually lived in Italian communities in large cities.

3)  "Marriage and Inheritance Customs in Germany" by Toni Perrone.  This talk covered marriage customs and records - minimum ages, soldiers, bonds, dispensations, permission to marry, marriage inventory, marriage contracts, and more.  It also covered Inheritance customs - types of impartible inheritance and partible inheritance, She also covered land terms and measurements.

4)  "Using Ancestral Religious Migratory Patterns to Find Church Records to Further Your Research" by Judith Brooks.  Topics included identifying where your ancestor lived, determining their religious denomination, factors affecting where they have gone to church, and then a review of many of the denominations and their records.  Information about Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Reformed, Huguenot, Congregational, Unitarians, Quakers, Baptsis, Moravians, Mennonites, Amish, Brethren, Greek Orthodox, 7th Day Adventists, Mormons, and Jewish beliefs and practices were provided.

In the 15 to 30 minutes between each talk, the attendees checked the prize board - there were over 50 different door prizes and opportunity drawing prizes - including Ancestry, Newspapers, Fold3, MyHeritage, Findmypast, Mocavo, and GenealogyBank subscriptions; there were also RootsMagic, Legacy Family Tree, Family Tree Maker, and Family Tree Builder genealogy software also; plus many local business and attraction prizes.  

The sit-down plated luncheon was satisfactory with chicken and beef, potatoes, broccoli and salad, with cookies for dessert.

Diane Godinez took many photographs of attendees and the setting, and I will post some photographs as time permits.

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