The December meeting of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society Research Group had 10 members in attendance. It was a lively group!
Randy discussed some of the news from the last month - the DNA test deals with 23andMe and FamilyTreeDNA, plus the Geno 2.0 announcement, and the RootsMagic 6 announcement. He also shared the SDGS Seminar announcement for 14 January 2013 with David Rencher speaking. Randy showed off his new free website (http://my.rootsmagic.com/rjseaver/) with ancestors, sources, photos and documents. He also showed his "cousin bait" reports online at Scribd (www.scribd.com) (free) with 10 generations for each of his great-grandparents. He also discussed how he used the free 1000Memories site (www.1000memories.com) to put his family photographs online. Lastly, he went through the process of finding and saving New York land records from the FamilySearch record collections.
In the second hour, each person in the group shared their challenges, successes and questions, including:
* Joanna was very excited after several sessions on Wednesday mornings with John. They found a 1910 article online (in an Ancestry Member Tree) that was a biography of her great-grandfather. It discussed his life and work, and his family - parents, grandparents, and children too. There was a statement that he was related to Roger Williams. A photograph of the family in the 1920s was also found and displayed. The plan is to use the census to find out more about these families, and to contact the cousin who posted the information.
* Jaye is reviewing the research material that she has, and is writing down ideas for further research. She hopes to avail herself of John's expertise on Wednesday mornings, also. She told a story about a relative who died, but had no known next of kin. The funeral home found a $100 bill sewn into his coat that covered the burial cost. Jaye wants to know more about this man, and the group suggested she look in census records, city directories, newspaper archives, online trees, Google, Find A Grave, and more.
* Karen had a Christmas card from a cousin asking about cousin Sylvia, who did family history research but is now deceased. An article was found in a Dallas area newspaper online about her.
* Ralph's friend had obtained World War II medals for his father from NPRC in St. Louis, so Ralph investigated the process and submitted the SF180 form for his own father.
* Bobbie wants to set goals for 2013, including upgrading her DNA tests to get more information on her mitochondrial DNA; adding data to her five-generation chart; use a paid researcher to obtain more information about her Bavarian ancestors; they plan a research trip to Buffalo, N.Y.
* Mary Lou found Turner surname ancestral fmailies from 1830 in Ohio to the 1890s in Nebraska, but some entries were Truman or Furner rather than Turner. She is looking for more information about her Irish great-grandfather Harnett born in County Cork in about 1840, who served in the Civil War from Illinois. She has found many records, including a pension record, but none of them list his birthplace or his parents names. The group suggested local historical society holdings, looking at alternate surname spellings, and pursuing siblings and children's vital records, etc.
* John has enjoyed helping Joanna with her research on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 12 noon in the Family Research area of the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library. He hopes that others will stop by and consult with him when possible.
The next meeting of the CVGS Research Group will be Wednesday, 9 January in the Conference Room at the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street in Chula Vista.
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