Chula Vista Genealogical Society Genealogy Days in July 2024

 The Chula Vista Genealogical Society (CVGS) (https://chulavistagenealogysociety.wildapricot.org/) hosts four genealogy-related meetings each month.  

The July 2024 meetings are:

1)  General Meeting with a program speaker:  Wednesday, 31 July 2024, 12 noon PDT on Zoom, hosted by President Karen Smith.  Registration is open at https://chulavistagenealogysociety.wildapricot.org/event-5718678.  This month's speaker is Melissa Barker on "Breathing New Life Into Your Boring Ancestors."  The speaker's handout is available for a limited time to members only.

2)  Research Group Meeting on Wednesday, 10 July 2024 at 12 noon PDT on Zoom, hosted by Randy Seaver (Research Chair).  Registration is open at   https://chulavistagenealogysociety.wildapricot.org/event-5549035.  This meeting discusses   recent genealogy industry news, research tips and techniques, and how they apply to your genealogy research.  A handout is available after the class.

3)  DNA Interest Group Meeting on Wednesday, 17 July 2024 at 12 noon PDT on Zoom, hosted by Randy Seaver (Research Chair).  Registration is open at  https://chulavistagenealogysociety.wildapricot.org/event-5549052.  This meeting discusses recent genetic genealogy news, DNA testing and analysis, and how they apply to your genealogy research. A handout is available after the class.

4)  Genealogy Education Class on Tuesday, 16 July 2024 at 1 p.m. in-person at Bonita-Sunnyside Library (4375 Bonita Road, Bonita CA 92002), hosted by Karen Smith.   Registration is open at   https://chulavistagenealogysociety.wildapricot.org/event-5686623.  This class provides an opportunity to work with fellow genealogists, ask genealogy questions and share your family tree generation chart. Working on basic genealogy skills and resources, this class can benefit any level of genealogist. Every Tuesday class is different, depending on the needs of the group.  The focus of this month’s class will be on FamilySearch.org.  

NOTE:  The Zoom meetings are open to all registered persons, but are limited to 100 total seats.  

NOTE: The Chula Vista Genealogical Society offers an annual membership of $30 (JOIN at   https://chulavistagenealogysociety.wildapricot.org/page-18223).  Members have full access to videos and handouts from recent programs, Research Groups, and DNA Interest Groups,  In addition, a monthly 10-page Newsletters with news of past and upcoming meetings are emailed to Members.

Chula Vista Genealogical Society Meeting on Wednesday, 24 April Features Thomas MacEntee

  Wednesday, 24 April 2024, 12 noon PDT 

CVGS General Meeting (in a Zoom Video Conference) 

“The Mysterious Death of Anna McPhillips" 

by Thomas MacEntee

Can a mysterious family photo with a cryptic message on the back lead you to an amazing story of love and loss? Starting with a family photo, learn how you can plan your genealogy research to find out more information about the photo’s subject including vital record information, newspaper articles, and even circumstances that you might not expect! You’ll also learn how to track your research and use solid research methodology to evaluate records. 

 Thomas MacEntee is a professional genealogist specializing in the use of technology and social media to improve genealogical research and as a means of interacting with others in the family history community. 

 PLEASE REGISTER for this event through the event email that will be sent to all CVGS members or on the CVGS website (https://chulavistagenealogysociety.wildapricot.org/event5675915). 

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This program will be held online using the Zoom video conferencing platform for Meetings.

Please note that the meeting starts at 12 noon Pacific Time (3 p.m. Eastern time, 2 p.m. Central time, 1 p.m. Mountain time). The Zoom Meeting room will be open by 11:45 a.m. Pacific Time for visiting and helping attendees connect.

Members and non-members can register on the CVGS website for this meeting at   https://chulavistagenealogysociety.wildapricot.org/event-5675915)  and look for the email with the Zoom meeting reminder after registration, or on Tuesday, 23 April, with the link to JOIN the Zoom meeting. Contact randy.seaver@gmail.com if you have problems or register too late for the email.  

Attendance is free but only 100 Zoom seats are available, so please register soon.

NOTE: The Chula Vista Genealogical Society offers an annual membership of $30. Besides the monthly General Meeting with a program speaker on the last Wednesday of each month, there is a monthly Research Group meeting on second Wednesdays on Zoom, an in-person Education meeting on third Tuesdays, and a DNA Interest Group meeting on third Wednesdays on Zoom, all at 12 noon Pacific time.  There is also a monthly 10 page email newsletter chock full of program announcements, research tips, research articles, and program reviews.

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Chula Vista Genealogical Society Meeting on Wednesday, 29 November Features Mags Gaulden

 Wednesday, 29 November 2023, 12 noon PST

CVGS General Meeting (in a Zoom Video Conference)

“Betty Jean’s Story: Forensic Genealogy And Adoption”

by Mags Gaulden

Betty Jean was abandoned in Asheville, North Carolina in 1927. All her life Betty Jean wanted to know who her parents were, but her search ended abruptly in the 1950s when she was shown her very empty files by a clerk at the courthouse. Until her cousin contacted her asking about some family papers. "You know I am adopted?" and the cousin answered, "you know, helping adoptees find their families is one thing my business does?" Follow along as we work the history, we find connections and ultimately find Betty Jean’s Family.

Mags Gaulden is a genetic genealogist based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She has dedicated decades to researching family histories and exploring the role of genetics in genealogy. Born and raised in the United States, Mags developed an early interest in family history and genealogy. She started researching her own family tree, which led her to discover the power of genetic testing in genealogy.

In addition to being a sought-after international speaker and workshop coordinator, Mags is the founder of Grandma’s Genes, a genealogy consultation firm in Ottawa, and mitoYDNA.org, a free and accessible Y and mitochondrial DNA database for the genealogy community that is a 501(c) 3 non-profit based in Maryland.

Mags is a leader at WikiTree, a collaborative, community-based genealogy website. She works with the DNA Integrators Project to further the DNA features of WikiTree and has been recognized for her contributions to the site with the prestigious Leader badge.

She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the International Society of Genetic Genealogy, among other organizations. Her passion for family history, combined with her expertise in genetics and genealogy, has helped many people uncover their family histories and connect with their roots.

PLEASE REGISTER for this event through the event email that will be sent to all CVGS members or on the CVGS website (https://chulavistagenealogysociety.wildapricot.org/event-5471621).

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This program will be held online using the Zoom video conferencing platform for Meetings.

Please note that the meeting starts at 12 noon Pacific Time (3 p.m. Eastern time, 2 p.m. Central time, 1 p.m. Mountain time). The Zoom Meeting room will be open by 11:45 a.m. PDT for visiting and helping attendees connect.

Members and non-members can register on the CVGS website for this meeting at   https://chulavistagenealogysociety.wildapricot.org/event-5471621.  and look for the email with the Zoom meeting reminder after registration, or on Tuesday, 28 November, with the link to JOIN the Zoom meeting. Contact randy.seaver@gmail.com if you have problems or register too late for the email.  

Attendance is free but only 100 Zoom seats are available, so please register soon.

NOTE: The Chula Vista Genealogical Society offers an annual membership of $30. Besides the monthly General Meeting with a program speaker on the last Wednesday of each month, there is a monthly Research Group meeting on second Wednesdays and a DNA Interest Group meeting on third Wednesdays, all at 12 noon Pacific time, plus a monthly 10 page email newsletter chock full of program announcements, research tips and program reviews.

Chula Vista Genealogical Society Meeting on Wednesday, 30 October Is About Newspapers!

Wednesday, 30 October 2019, 12 noon

CVGS General Meeting at South Chula Vista  Library 

(389 Orange Avenue, Chula Vista CA 91911, 

in the Marketplace - use the Main Entrance)

Speaker:  CVGS Member Randy Seaver on 

“Researching in Historical Newspapers”

Newspapers are a vital historical resource for genealogy researchers. However, they are an underutilized resource, even with more newspapers coming online as searchable digital images. Newspapers offer all sorts of gems for genealogy and family history researchers. We can use them to unlock the stories of our ancestors, as well as learn more about the time and place in which they lived.

In this presentation, Randy will describe the information types that can be found in historical newspapers; where you can find information about which newspapers have been published in a specific locality; and where you can find historical newspapers in print, on microfilm, or in digital image collections.  He will describe how he has solved some of his genealogy mysteries using historical newspapers.

 Randy Seaver is a San Diego native, a graduate of San Diego State, and a former aerospace engineer at Rohr in Chula Vista.  He started chasing dead ancestors in 1988 and has built a family tree with about 55,000 persons.  He has been a member of CVGS since 1992, and is currently a member of NEHGS and SDGS.  He has written several books about his own family history, and blogs about his genealogy world daily on Genea-Musings (www.geneamusings.com). 

NOTE:  This meeting is free for all to attend.  There will be a short business meeting and refreshments after the presentation.

CVGS DNA Interest Group 21 November Meeting Notes

The second CVGS DNA Interest Group meeting was on 21 November at the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library in the Conference Room.  17 members were in attendance.

Randy demonstrated and discussed AncestryDNA for most of the meeting, including:

*  Settings, and downloading your raw DNA in a ZIP file for upload to another DNA provider.

*  Ethnicity Estimate -- Regions (reference groups), Migrations, and Timeline.  AncestryDNA recently changed and added to their Regions definitions, and now has 15,000 reference group profiles in 350 regions.

*  DNA Circles -- these include descendants from your common ancestors who have an Ancestry Member Tree with your ancestors.  They may not be a DNA Match with you, but are with other DNA Circle members.  A user can see the relationship paths from the common ancestors to themself and to the DNA Circle member.

*  New Ancestor Discoveries -- these are historical persons that may have common ancestors in the trees of DNA Matches with you.  I've never found a tree match.

*  DNA Matches -- these are persons who have a DNA match of at least 6 centiMorgans with you.  The user can search Matches by surname and location; can see how much DNA is shared with a match; can view "Shared Ancestor" matches (a green leaf Hint, with relationship path for you and the match); can view "All Matches" (ordered by amount of shared centiMorgans for each match); can view "Shared Matches" in a list (other matches who share a DNA segment with you and your specific match); indication if a match has a public Ancestry Member Tree, a private tree, an unlinked tree, or no tree at all (you can review public trees and unlinked trees); view a Matches Map on the "All Matches" page.

For each match, the user can Compare ethnicities, send a message, add or edit a Note, and explore available trees to try to find common ancestors.  I use the MedBetter DNA Chrome extension to display my Notes on the All Matches page.

*  Creating a Quick and Dirty Ancestry tree to find common ancestors from public trees or unlinked trees - see Blaine Bettinger's YouTube video here.  I do this in one private unsearchable trees using Ancestry's search capabilities, starting from someone in a Match's tree.

*  To keep track of your AncestryDNA matches, I use a spreadsheet to list Match user name, amount of shared DNA in cM, number of segments, if they have a tree, if they are in another set of DNA matches (like MyHeritage or GEDMatch), and if I have added their line to my RootsMagic tree.

The next DNA Interest Group meeting will be Wednesday, 19 December at 12 noon in the Conference Room at the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street, Chula Vista, CA).

CVGS Program Review - November 28th Show and Tell and Officer Election

The November 28th Chula Vista Genealogical Society (CVGS) meeting at the Bonita-Sunnyside Library had two components - election of officers, and a members show-and-tell of oldest heirlooms or antiques.

1)  The slate of Officers elected for the 2019-2020 calendar years were:

*  President -- Karen Smith

*  1st Vice-President, Programs -- Virginia Taylor

*  2nd Vice-President, Membership -- Carrie Holleron

*  Treasurer -- Karen Polk

*  Secretary -- Karen Yarger

The Officers will be installed at the 12 December Annual Holiday Luncheon.

2)  The Show-and-Tell antique presentations included:

*  Karen Y. displayed photographs of her 1790 Pembroke drop-leaf table.

*  Karen S. displayed her 1860s "Shines" doll and a photograph of her grandmother as a child holding the doll.

*  Karen P. showed a photograph of her 80-year old bear doll, which was her grandmother's doll.

*  Rosa G. discussed her 1890s scissors which were her grandmother's

*  Tameron H. displayed her book of her grandfather's bedtime stories titled Indian Wars, and read one of the short stories.

*  Arlene W. discussed five baskets that her grandmother obtained from Pima Indians in Arizona.

*  Sam S. brought his 1936 Crosley battery-operated tube radio that was his grandfather's in Tennessee, and also a cast-iron kettle from the 1800s.

*  Virginia T. showed her small Santa doll, bought in 1936 by a sibling, and on the Christmas tree
every year.

*  Fran C. discussed her hand-made candle holder brought by covered wagon in the late 1800s from the Midwest to San Jose, California.

CVGS Annual Holiday Luncheon on Wednesday, 12 December 2018

The Annual Holiday Luncheon will be on Wednesday, 12 December at the Chula Vista South Library (389 Orange Avenue in Chula Vista in the Conference Rooms at the west end of the building). Enter the parking lot from Orange Avenue east of Fourth Avenue and park at the west end of the parking lot.  There is a side door near the Conference rooms.

Turkey, ham and drinks will be provided by CVGS. 

The potluck breakdown for the rest of the meal will be coordinated by JoAnn Bonner (phone 619-892-2478 and email jabonner13@gmail.com) and Karen Polk (phone 619-972-7251 and email  karenpolk66@yahoo.com). Please contact them by 5 December to coordinate the potluck dishes. The potluck schedule is:

• A to F Surnames: Salads, Rolls, Butter
• G to K Surnames: Appetizers, Condiments, Snack Trays
• L to P Surnames: Potatoes, Vegetables, Casseroles
• Q to Z Surnames: Desserts

There will be a free door prize drawing, opportunity drawings for table decorations, and there will be an optional bring one/get one gift exchange ($10 limit).

Attendees are requested to bring non-perishable food and/or unwrapped toys for donation to the Salvation Army. Attendees are also requested to wear their best ugly Christmas sweaters.

The program will be the installation of the newly elected 2019-2020 CVGS Board Officers.

Chula Vista Family History Day - Saturday, 29 September 2018

The Chula Vista Genealogical Society and the Chula Vista Public Library proudly present the 3rd Annual Family History Day on Saturday, 29 September 2018 at the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street in Chula Vista, California 91910) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  

The Theme for this event is "DNA Research."

The family history activities will include:

*  10:30 a.m. in the auditorium - Opening session and Keynote address:  "Overview of DNA Testing and Analysis for Genealogy," by Randy Seaver

*  12 noon in the auditorium - Presentation:  "Who Is ... County Supervisor Greg Cox," by Randy Seaver (a definition of Mr. Cox's family history)

*  Throughout the day (hosted by CVGS volunteers, FamilySearch staff, and library staff:

**  Register in the library lobby before entering the library
**  Create your family tree - in the Conference Room
**  Search online for family records - in the Computer Lab
**  Children family history activities - in the Children's library
**  Help with DNA - in the Local History Room
**  FamilySearch Library computers and help - in the main library near the windows
**  CVGS book collection - in the "family research" stacks
**  Research advice and information - in the main library
**  "Ancestors Matter!" family story and photo display - in the main library

There will be door prizes for lucky ticket holders at both presentations and at 3 p.m. in the library lobby.

This is a free activity for all persons interested in their family history.  Please come for an hour or for the entire day.

For more information, go to www.CVGenealogy.org or call toll free  1-844-268-2847.

Saturday Workshop on 3 March 2018

Susi Pentico will lead the discussion of "Where to Look for Help? at the March 3rd Saturday Workshop.  

It will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Community Room at the Bonita-Sunnyside Library (4375 Bonita Road, in Bonita, California).  

CVGS February Program Meeting: Susi Pentico on "Lost Ancestors"

Wednesday, 28 February 2018, 12 Noon

Program:  Susi C. Pentico on “Lost Ancestors”

at Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street) Auditorium

Susi Pentico will be presenting "LOST ANCESTORS.”  We want to break the ice with society members and to learn more about our fellow researchers.  Who are they researching? Who else has my surname? What area are they researching?  Could we team up at times and gain more knowledge?   The last two Saturday workshops have been leading up to this major event.  It is fun to see the faces go from "You do?" to  "Wow!" 

Come prepared to share information with fellow members and see if we can shake a few more leaves out of the trees.  We will be rotating research areas for this event so plan on bringing at least three surnames, places, and times.   You need to bring a Five Generation Chart, an iPad, computer, or pencil and paper, in order to record your potential successes or followups to be further searched and analyzed.

Susi Jones Pentico was born in Wyoming, raised on a cattle and dairy ranch in Wyoming and California.  She started family research at age 12 with her Mom as a guide (she was Mom's helper writing letters).  Susi has been married almost 59 years, is the mother of five, grandmother of ten, and great-grandmother of two. Susi was a founding member of CVGS, and loves to share her knowledge and help others.  

A short business meeting will precede the "Lost Ancestors" presentation. The membership will be presented with the Society's Annual Report and Proposed 2018 Budget for approval. 

CVGS Research Group Review - 14 February 2018

There were 13 attendees at the February 14th Research Group meeting of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society.  Nancy treated us with Valentine hearts.

In the first hour, Randy discussed the genealogy news for the last month, including:

*  the RootsTech 2018 video streaming from 28 February to 3 March at www.rootstech.org.

*  how to access the RootsTech 2018 syllabus articles at http://app.core-apps.com/rootstech2018/events/view_by_day?tracks&type (one article at a time)

*  the CVGS FamilySearch Library visit and his finds

*  his Lanfear DNA match connection on MyHeritage - the relationship is correct and the location is correct.

*  the George W. Seaver research saga - outlined at http://www.geneamusings.com/2018/02/the-rest-of-george-w-seaver-story-part_15.html

In the second hour, the attendees discussed:

*  Bobbie described a love story about her ancestor Albert LeMagdaliene, who moved from Quebec to Lake County, Illinois.  He married twice, for 25 years and 30 years respectively, and they are buried together.

*  Arlene found a book, Gathering of Zion, on the shelf at the Chula Vista library with a reference to her 2nd-great-grandmother.

*  Karen S. has been working with a DNA match who is adopted.  They think they have found family, and asked about how to contact them.  The group suggested several online resources, including the DNA Detectives Facebook group.

*  John has been successful finding his wife's families in Mexico church and civil registration records.  The group noted that some states now have indexes for Civil registration records.

*  Sam has been working on descriptions of his eight great-grandparents.  

*  Karen Y has been collecting Maryland Eastern Shore information for the 2/28 CVGS program meeting.  She has been trolling for names, dates, and places in online resources for six of her ancestral surnames.

*  Virginia's 5th cousin sent some family material.  She sent messages to 7 AncestryDNA matches, but only 2 have responded.  One sent a photo of Virginia's great-grandfather, and the other has family in Virginia's Indiana home town.

*  Susi discussed her Jones family line, and the contacts she has made.  It seems they have finally decided that Susi is a serious researcher who has lots of information to share on her tree families.

*  Diane has an ancestor named Valentine in Germany born in 1859, connected to her Longhurst family.  She has been corresponding with a cousin who often gets things wrong.

The next CVGS Research Group meeting will be Wednesday, 14 March 2018 at 12 noon in the Auditorium of the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street, Chula Vista CA 91910).  

February 2018 Issue of CVGS Newsletter Published

The February 2018 issue (Volume 28, Issue 2) of the CVGS Newsletter was published on Monday, 12 February.

The Table of Contents for this issue is:

*  page 1 - February 28th General Meeting
*  page 2 - President's Message
*  page 2 - Membership Address Changes
*  page 2 - Register for Meetings on CVGS Website

*  page 2 - Member Services
*  page 3 - Next Saturday Workshop
*  page 3 - Next Research Group Meeting*  page 3 - Next Computer Group Meeting

*  page 3 - Next Lemon Grove Meeting
*  page 3 - Help Wanted
*  page 3 - Scholarship Donations Welcome
*  page 4 - Hispanic Research Classes in San Diego

*  page 4 - Upcoming Family Tree Webinars
*  page 5 - January 31st Program Review
*  page 6:  February 3rd Saturday Workshop Review
*  page 7 - January 10th Research Group Review

*  page 8 - Field Trip to FamilySearch Library
*  page 8-  Recent Blog Articles of Interest
*  page 9:  CVGS Member Wanda Brock Passed Away*  page 10 - Genealogy Days in Chula Vista

*  page 11 - CVGS Society Information
*  page 11 - San Diego Area Genealogy Events

The CVGS Newsletter is available on the CVGS website (www.cvgenealogy.org) - CVGS members can see the current issue, but non-members cannot see the last two issues of the newsletter.

Program Review - Marti Lewis on "Exploring Your DNA Results"

There were 34 in attendance for the CVGS program meeting on 31 January at the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library.  

The speaker was Marti Lewis who discussed "Exploring Your DNA Test Results."

Marti said there were many ways to use DNA to trace your Family History.  The main question most people have is "what do we do with it?"  

Each person receives 23 pair of chromosomes from their biological parents - 22 pair are autosomal chromosomes, and 1 pair of sex chromosomes: Males receive a Y-chromosome from their father and an X chromosome from their mother;  Females receive an X-chromosome from each parent.

There are three types of DNA testing that deal with your 23 pairs of chromosomes:

*  Y chromosome:  A sex chromosome transmitted from fathers to sons.  This follows the paternal line (e.g., 1 of your 32 3rd great-grandparents).

*  Mitochondrial DNA:  Matter outside the cell nucleus, transmitted from females to children.  This follows a maternal line (but males don't pass it on) (e.g., 1 of your 32 3rd great-grandparents).

*  Autosomal DNA:  The DNA on 22 chromosomes that are passed from all of your ancestors through your parents (e.g., all 32 of your 32 3rd great-grandparents).

With Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA tests, you can determine the haplogroup of the paternal and maternal lines - where did they originate, where did they migrate to in ancient times.  The Y-DNA haplogroups differ from the mtDNA haplogroups.  For instance, Marti's mtDNA  haplogroup is L3e, which came from Mozambique.

AncestryDNA, 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA and MyHeritageDNA offer autosomal testing, but only FamilyTreeDNA provides Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA tests.  23andMe does provide haplogroup definition as part of their service.

What can you learn from your Autosomal DNA test?

*  Ancestry Composition - your ethnicity, according to how your DNA matches the test company's reference groups.  Marti's ethnicity estimate shows that she is 65% Sub-Saharan African, 32.2% European and 1.8% East Asian/Native American.

*  Compare your DNA to your matches - the percentage of DNA you share helps determine the possible relationships to your matches.  Each DNA match on your list will tell you how much you share with that person.  Typically, you share 50% with a parent, 25% with a grandparent, 12.5% with a great-grandparent, etc.  A first cousin will share about 12.5% with you, a 2nd cousin about 3%, a 3rd cousin about 0.8%.

*  Find common ancestors with your DNA matches.  She explained the concept of cousins and removed cousins - a 3rd cousin shares 2nd great-grandparents, and a 3rd cousin once removed would share common ancestors 4 generations back for one person, and 5 generations back on the other line, in other words one generation different from a common ancestor.

Marti described one of her autosomal DNA matches - William Paxson Gordon (a white man), with whom she shares 26 cM in 2 segments, meaning he is probably a 3rd cousin 1x removed, with common second great-grandparents.  One of Marti's second great-grandmothers is Cynthia Jane Paxson (1825-1886) whose father had one of William Gordon's Paxson ancestors.  

She said that it helps to have an online Family Tree that your family and cousins can find and use - Marti's is on the Tribal Pages website.   The site is free, although there is an annual fee for image storage.

Marti has found that DNA testing and analysis has helped unravel some of her family history mysteries.  In some cases, DNA test analysis can strengthen your research paper trail, and help you avoid false connections.

This was a good introduction to DNA testing and analysis for CVGS members.

CVGS Program on 31 January: Marti Lewis on "Exploring Your DNA Results"

Wednesday, 31 January 2018, 12 Noon

Program:  Margaret Lewis on “Exploring Your DNA Results”

at Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street) Auditorium

Margaret “Marti” Lewis, is a compelling and influential voice in the genealogy community.  She has been  featured, quoted, profiled and published in several major media publications. Marti volunteers as a Contributor to Find a Grave, is a Consultant on African American Research at the San Diego Family History Center, is a former Administrator for the African American Genealogy Research and the California pages on Facebook.  She is also the President of the San Diego African American Genealogy Research Group.  

She is available on Thursday evenings from 6 p.m. To 8 p.m. at the Family History Center (4195 Camino Del Rio South) for personal consultations and a free class.   Although Marti’s focus is African American Research all her presentations offer research strategies for other nationalities as well.  Everyone is welcome!

Marti's presentation will be “Exploring Your DNA Results Today - You Can Discover Who You Are, Where You Came From, and Analyze your Ethnicity with DNA Testing!”  

The presentation will take you on the journey Marti took to unravel the mysteries of her ancestors, and substantiate her Family Tree back to 1522.  Marti admits she is no DNA expert … she would just like to stress the importance of the strategies she uses with pedigree charts and on-line family trees to explore her DNA results to create her Family Tree.   

All meetings of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society are free to attend.  Visitors are welcome.  There will be a short business meeting, and refreshments, after the program presentation.

January 24th CVGS Research Trip to the Family History Library

On  Wednesday, January 24th, John Finch will lead a research trip to the FamilySearch Center and Library in Mission Valley (4195 Camino del Rio South, ground floor on east side of building).  

The group will meet to carpool on the second level of the Chula Vista parking garage on Third Avenue (between Fuddruckers and Marie Callenders) by 10 a.m., at which time the  carpools will depart. We'll leave the Library at about 2 p.m.  

FamilySearch has ended microfilm rentals, but has added many microfilm collections in digital format, and some of them are available to view on the computers at the FamilySearch Library.  Be sure to bring a USB drive so you can download record mages to the drive for use at home.

If you plan to join us - and especially if you can drive, please contact John at jan27@cox.net or Karen Yarger at khy13@hotmail.com. 

If you don't want to carpool, meet us at the FamilySearch Library, which opens at 10 a.m.  

Research Group Summary - 10 January 2018

There were 14 in attendance at the CVGS Research Group meeting on Wednesday, 10 January 2018, at the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library Conference Room.

In the first hour, Randy reviewed genealogy news from the past two months, including:

*  FamilySearch now requires a free registration to use any of their services - record search, research wiki, library catalog, Family Tree, etc.  They have added digital microfilm of many of their records for access through the Library Catalog, and some of them require access to be at a FamilySearch Library.

*  The Rootsweb website has been down for awhile due to a data breach on the servers.  They will gradually bring most of the services back gradually. 

*  Ancestry Member Trees have not been indexed since October, and the indexing does not cover trees without an attached Ancestry source. 

*  A new edition of Val Greenwood's Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy was published. 

*  Randy got a new HP Envy laptop computer for Christmas, has loaded his genealogy files, but the HDMI to VGA adapter doesn't work well. 

*  Randy found his own, his brothers and his mother's graduation photos in the new Yearbook Collection on MyHeritage. 

In the second hour, the attendees discussed their Christmas genea-gifts and New Year's resolutions:

*John and his wife got a Christmas card from a Fresno cousin.

*  Arlene went to Salt Lake City and the Family History Library and found ancestry books.  She also bought Dana McCullough's book Unofficial Guide to FamilySearch.

*  Virginia found information for her great-grandfather in a newspaper article on NewspaperArchive.com.

*  Karen S. received a message from a DNA 2nd cousin match on Ancestry who is searching for her birth parents..

*  Susi is working through her 20 boxes of genealogy records in storage.  She received a gift from a cousin of a family photo album.

*  Bobbie reviewed her goals and added a new one for a brickwall ancestor.  She is using a book to find a list of relatives in Bamberg, Germany, and is working with a DNA cousin in London.

*  Connie bought an AncestryDNA test.  She is investigating joining the DAR and Daughters of Union Veterans from the Civil war.

*  Joanna is moving so she can hook up her computer to the Internet.

*  Gary is conversing with a DNA first cousin.  He has a wayward uncle on his mother's side who may have married after World War II.

*  Helen is working on three boxes of photographs, putting them on her computer and plans to send them to relatives.

*  Debbie is just starting, and is looking for information on her mother's grandfather from Poland.

*  Linda has scanned several boxes of photographs at the FamilySearch Library and saved them to a USB drive.  Some of them need to be repaired because of damage. 

*  Sam has a new computer.  He found that a relative was a World War I Army Air Corps pilot in France.  He asked "When you find a photograph on Ancestry.com, can you use it?"  The group discussed copyright and provenance.

The next CVGS Research Group meeting will be Wednesday, 14 February 2018 in the Conference Room of the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library.

January 2018 Issue of CVGS Newsletter

The December 2018 issue (Volume 28, Issue 1) of the CVGS Newsletter was published on Monday, 8 January.

The Table of Contents for this issue is:

*  page 1 - January 31st General Meeting
*  page 2 - President's Message
*  page 2 - Membership Address Changes
*  page 2 - Register for Meetings on CVGS Website

*  page 2 - Member Services
*  page 3 - Next Saturday Workshop
*  page 3 - Next Computer Group Meeting
*  page 3 - Next Lemon Grove Meeting

*  page 3 - Help Wanted
*  page 3 - January 24th Field Trip 
*  page 4 - La Vista Cemetery Project
*  page 4 - Upcoming Family Tree Webinars

*  page 5 - Annual Holiday Luncheon Review
*  page 6 - SDGS Annual Meeting and Seminar
*  page 6 - Notable Blog Posts
*  page 7 - Next Research Group Meeting

*  page 8 - Dear Randy Question
*  page 9 - CVGS Society Information
*  page 9 - San Diego Area Genealogy Events
*  page 10 - Genealogy Days in Chula Vista

The CVGS Newsletter is available on the CVGS website (www.cvgenealogy.org) - members can see the current issue, but non-members cannot see the last two issues of the newsletter.

Annual Holiday Luncheon Meeting on Wednesday, 13 December at Chula Vista South Library

The CVGS Annual Holiday Luncheon will be Wednesday, 13 December, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Chula Vista South Library (389 Orange Avenue) in the Conference Rooms.

Turkey, ham and drinks will be provided by CVGS.  

The potluck breakdown for the rest of the meal will be coordinated by JoAnn Bonner (phone 619-421-3628, email jabonner13@gmail.com) and Ana Castro (phone 619-781-8441, email crcastro@cox.net).  Please contact them by 12/10 to coordinate the potluck dishes.  The schedule is:

A to F Surnames:  Snack trays, Condiments, Olives, Pickles, Cranberry Sauce, etc.
G to K Surnames:  Potatoes (Irish or Sweet), Veggies, Casserole
L to P Surnames:  Desserts
Q to Z Surnames:  Salads, Rolls, Butter

 A sign-up sheet was passed around at the 29 November program meeting.

There will be a free door prize drawing, and attendees may bring an optional bring one/get one gift exchange item ($10 limit).  Attendees are requested to bring non-perishable food and/or unwrapped toys for donation to the Salvation Army.

A business meeting will be held to review the 2017 CVGS year, and to share "What is your favorite holiday gift?"

CVGS November 29th Program Review - "Heirloom Show and Tell"

There were about 30 attendees at the "Heirloom Show and Tell" program on 29 November.

There were 11 CVGS members who presented their heirlooms, with the help of Gary who showed photographs of the treasures on the big screen.  The heirloom presenters and their heirloom treasures were:

*  Diane shared a quilt and photos of her grandson Giovanni since his birth one year ago.  She noted that she keeps newspapers for all of the family birth dates.

*  Bobbie presented a two-page 15-generation pedigree chart of her French-Canadian ancestry which she received from a relative.

*  Karen Y. brought a sterling silver sugar bowl and creamer service that was a gift to her grandparents, and a wedding gift to Karen.

*  Ralph shared a wooden Jesus Christ crucifix that his family obtained in Mexico.

*  Randy presented five beautiful copper enamel art pieces created by his mother, Betty (Carringer) Seaver during her life as therapy for having four males in the family.  

*  Susan shared a teddy bear made from a fur coat which she received as a child.

*  Susi showed a painting of her grandmother, and portraits of two more relatives. 

*  Joanna discussed a small Bavarian tea pot.

*  Nancy presented a circular family tree.

*  Gary showed mystery photos he has received over the years for which he doesn't know who provided them.  

*  Ceasar presented photos of Internet antique browsers from the first ARPANET web browser, Mosaic, and Netscape Navigator.

This was a fun program, and has become an annual program event.

29 November CVGS Program - "Heirloom Show and Tell"

Wednesday, 29 November 2017, 12 noon

Program:  CVGS Members on “Heirloom Show and Tell”

at Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F St.) Auditorium

      In November, we will again have our "Heirloom Show and Tell" event. Please bring a favorite family heirloom to share with the society. Tell us the story of your heirloom and how you came to be in possession of it.  

      Please send a picture of your heirloom to Gary Brock (gary@brocksystems.com).  Please get it to him no later than November 24.  Also send Virginia Taylor (irishdoll@cox.net) a brief description of your item, so she can plan the program. Items must be  listed with her - no last minute additions will be accepted.

     Let’s have lots of heirlooms and stories, to share.

     See the 2016 heirlooms in CVGS November 30th Program Review - "Heirloom Show and Tell."