~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE LIVERMORE-AMADOR GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY E-MAIL BULLETIN FOR JANUARY 2008 January 1, 2008 ======================================================= Happy New Year to all L-AGS Members and Guests! ======================================================= SUMMARY OF EVENTS FOR JANUARY 2008 (See details on a later screen.) - Family Tree Maker Group: No meeting in January - General Meeting: Tuesday, January 8 - The Master Genealogist: Thursday, January 19 - Study Group: Thursday, January 24 - L-AGS Board Meeting: Tuesday, January 29 ======================================================= A N N O U N C E M E N T S L-AGS OFFICERS FOR 2008 Anne Homan, President At the general meeting on December 11, the following officers were elected by unanimous vote: President Anne Homan First VP, Programs Arleen Wood Second VP, Membership Patrick Lofft & Gail Bryan Recording Secretary Rose Marie Phipps Corresponding Secretary Barbara Hempill Business Manager Larry Hale ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ANNUAL AUDIT Anne Homan, President Duncan Tanner and Dick Lerche have agreed to serve as the Audit Committee to examine the L-AGS financial books for 2007. In accordance with the L-AGS Bylaws and Standing Rules, http://www.l-ags.org/bylaws.html, they will report their conclusions to the Board in February. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ YOUR CHANCE TO SHARE Jane Southwick, Roots Tracer Editor Our Roots Tracer will be available at the February 12th meeting. In the spirit of "Members Helping Members," here is your chance to share your experiences with others and perhaps get some helpful feedback. Have you had a breakthrough in your research that has enabled you to say Eureka? We would like to hear about it. An article could be about: * a noteworthy family reunion over the holidays * an ancestor who was found, and how he was found * a research trip taken and what happened * a seminar that helped you * a subject in a study group that triggered a research idea * a book that proved helpful Many of you have had exciting "finds" and we would like to share these with our readers. Please send your article to: mailto:rootstracer@l-ags.org. If you feel you are not able to write an article, you could send the information to the same e-mail address and we will put it together for you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COMING MARCH 2008 - SAN FRANCISCO LIBRARY FIELD TRIP Kay Speaks, Study Group Chair A formatted version of this announcement can be found at http://www.L-AGS.org/temp/SF_trip_08.doc Have you visited the San Francisco Main Public Library yet? It is a truly beautiful library with many resources for genealogists. Many L-AGS members have expressed an interest in visiting this library. Therefore, this coming March we will venture forth to visit the library via BART. The BART train actually has a stop directly across the street from the library. The address is 100 Larkin Street at Grove Street, Civic Center, San Francisco, CA 94102. Directions: http://sfpl.org/librarylocations/main/maindirections.htm To see a floor plan, click on: http://sfpl.org/librarylocations/mainindex.htm, then click on Main Floor Plan (PDF) under "Helpful Information." By viewing this map you will be able to see all the designated locations for resources and special collections or events. The library has six floors. In order to utilize the library and their online databases, you need to acquire a San Francisco Library card. The cost is free for California residents, and usually last two years. You can download the application, or use the online version. However, you must pick up your library card in person with a form of ID. For detailed information follow this link: http://sfpl.org/services/librarycard.htm. I've only had informal conversations with various librarians at this point, so stay tuned for more information! You should not apply for your library card until approximately two weeks prior to our visit or the paperwork will likely get lost. A comment with the application should indicate you are part of the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society and will be arriving to pick up your card during our visit. Tip: As I travel throughout California, I visit local libraries and obtain a library card. This allows me to access their special online databases and collections via the library's Web site. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ YOUR PUBLICATIONS George Anderson, Web Page Editor The latest addition to our list of members' publica- tions is a book by longtime L-AGS member, Wes Nelson. It is "Ancestors of Harry Arnold Nelson, Jr. (1913- 1985)," 2007, 98 pages. See: http://www.l-ags.org/mempubs.html Wes has donated a copy to the L-AGS Library. It will appear on our shelves as soon as it is cataloged. It is L-AGS policy to encourage members to publish their results, even if distribution is limited to family. An important purpose of the "Publications by our Members" Web page is to inform members who are planning to publish of experienced mentors within the club who may be able to help them. When you have published a book, even to a limited distribution, please allow us to announce it on "Publications by our Members." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE 101 RANCH Arleen Wood, First Vice President, Program Mary Dillon's talk about "The 101 Ranch" at the December general meeting brought many favorable com- ments. We have purchased the book she recommended, "The Real Wild West: The 101 Ranch and the Creation of the American West," by Michael Wallis, for our library. After it is cataloged, it will be placed on the circu- lating shelves so you can take it home for reading. Watch for its availability on: http://www.ci.pleasanton.ca.us/services/library/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CIVIL WAR PRESENTATION The Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society is presenting a program of interest to Civil War buffs on January 15th. Details are at: http://www.L-AGS.org/temp/Santa_Clara.jpg Thanks to Dick Finn for this announcement. ======================================================= J A N U A R Y M E E T I N G S Visitors are welcome free of charge at all of our meetings. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FAMILY TREE MAKER FOCUS GROUP Leader: Dick Finn at mailto:XXXX@wecare.net There will NOT be a FTM meeting in January because the school is closed for the holidays. See you the first Thursday in February. Most of our group are FTM users (from beginners to experts) who discuss problems and solutions, share successes, answer questions, and in general help each other with the Family Tree Maker genealogical software. All persons interested or potentially interested in Family Tree Maker are invited to attend. For information on our group please call Dick Finn at 925- XXX-XXXX or e-mail him at mailto:XXXX@wecare.net. Contact Dick for information about topics to be discussed. Visitors are welcome and there is no charge to attend. Bring your questions, comments, and if you have a laptop with FTM loaded (any version) and/or the FTM Handbook, you might bring them. The L-AGS FTM e-mail forum at mailto:ftm.group@L-AGS.org is NOT closed in January. It is available to post questions, answers and comments. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MONTHLY GENERAL MEETING Arleen Wood, 1st Vice President, Program mailto:program.chair@L-AGS.org Date: Tuesday, January 8, 2008, 7:30 p.m. Location: Congregation Beth Emek, 3400 Nevada Court, Pleasanton Map to the meeting site: http://www.L-AGS.org/maps/Pls-BethEmek.html Free admission, visitors are welcome! Guest Speaker: Sue Johnston L-AGS Member Genealogy Instructor at Los Positas College Topic: "End Writer's Block: Write Your Family History One Byte at a Time" For most of us, family history research is exciting and fun. We sit happily in courthouses studying the cryptic penmanship of a long-dead court clerk, and we traipse eagerly through muddy cemeteries searching the worn stones for any familiar name. Writing the results of our research, however, is not as exciting. We can stare at the computer screen for hours, and come up with nothing better than, "John Doe was born circa 1865 in Wellsboro, Tioga County, Pennsylvania." Writing seems like hard work! There's no better way to test the validity and thoroughness of our research, though, than writing The Family Story. Come learn a few tricks to help you get started on your family's story - and along the way, pick up a few hints on improving your research techniques, as well. Susan Johnston's Biography: Susan graduated from Yale University with a degree in physics and began working in medical research while studying voice at Peabody Conservatory. She left both careers to raise two children. One day, she discovered a box of old photographs, her children's ancestors, and in studying those people, found a new vocation. In her thirty years of genealogy explorations, she has given countless lectures on many topics in many states to audiences ranging from second graders to nonagenarians; she has taught hundreds of classes, including courses now at Las Positas College; and she has met many wonderful friends. She paraphrases one of her favorite authors, "I have hazel eyes. Everything else is subject to change." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TRI-VALLEY TMG USERS GROUP Date: January 19, 2008 Time: 9:00 a.m. - Noon (each meeting is like a mini- workshop) Location: 7077 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 110, Pleasanton, CA 94566 Map to the meeting site: http://www.l-ags.org/maps/Pls-KollCenter.html A formatted version of this announcement can be found at http://www.L-AGS.org/temp/TMG_jan08.doc Topic: Using People Filters-Getting the People You Expect Leader: Kay Speaks, tvtmg.chair@l-ags.org Instructors: Kay Speaks and Sue Johnston Note: In January we will continue to use TMG Version 6.12, even though Version 7 is now available to download. The January meeting topic will be "Using People Filters-Getting the People You Expect" using Terry Reigel's Web site as our primer for the meeting. Be sure to download tutorial information and bring it with you to the meeting; Terry's TMG Tips: http://tmg.reigelridge.com/Filters.htm TMG has powerful filter features that are used to select groups of people, events, sources, citations, and more. This month we focus on people filters which are used in the List of People report, and to display a selected set of individuals in the Project Explorer and the Picklist. The main body of the people filter is the same for all three applications, but there are differences in the options offered at the bottom of the filter in each application. With the aid of a digital projector, Kay and Sue work as an instructional team. We discuss, demonstrate, and brainstorm best practices of the software using a hands-on method. We learn TMG's features by actually entering samples of the lesson into a TMG class database. Each monthly session is like a mini three- hour TMG workshop. Guests are always welcome at our meetings. Accommodations for laptops are available. If you have a laptop, bring it with you to the meeting. A copy of the group's practice database will be provided to you. A laptop is not a requirement as the lesson will be digitally projected. If you can't stay for the entire 3 hours, come and leave early. TMG questions not specific to all attendees will be addressed in the later part of our meeting. Please bring samples of your problem if possible. We hope to see you at the next meeting! A free demo version of the software can be downloaded at http://www.whollygenes.com. For additional information contact: mailto:tvtmg.chair@l-ags.org. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STUDY GROUP MEETING Leader: Kay Speaks Contact Mail: study.group@l-ags.org A formatted version of this announcement can be found at http://www.L-AGS.org/temp/SG_jan08.doc Date: Thursday, January 24, 2008 Time: 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM Location: LDS Church, 950 Mocho Street, Livermore, CA Map to the meeting site: http://www.l-ags.org/maps/Liv-FHC.html Topic: "Black Sheep Genealogy Research" As many of you know, I started my genealogy research to solve a family murder mystery. As an offshoot of my family genealogy presentations, a number of other researchers have decided to also research their "black sheep" ancestors and have been successful. Our January session will be dedicated to finding our infamous ancestors. Trying to solve a mystery of your own? Have you researched your black sheep and wish to share the experience with the Study Group? Want help solving a black sheep brick wall? If so, please send an e-mail to study.group@L-AGS.org. If you would like to discuss your black sheep ancestor, please let us know so we can add you to our agenda. Don't forget to use our L-AGS Study Group forum for any genealogy topic discussion or computer interest questions. L-AGS is blessed with people willing to share their knowledge and expertise! E-mail the forum at: mailto:study.group@L-AGS.org. You can also post suggestions for future Study Group topics. ======================================================= FUTURE GENERAL MEETINGS Arleen Wood, First Vice President, Program mailto:program.chair@L-AGS.org A formatted version of this announcement can be found at http://www.L-AGS.org/temp/programs_08.doc UPCOMING PROGRAMS FOR 2008 The following presentations are planned for 2008. The programs are held at our regular meetings on the second Tuesday of each month. Meetings are open to the public at 7:30 p.m. at the Congregation Beth Emek, 3400 Nevada Court, Pleasanton. Visitors are welcome. Admission free. ------------ Date: January 8 - See full announcement above. Topic: "End Writer's Block: Write Your Family History One Byte at a Time" Presenter: Sue Johnston, Teacher, Lecturer, L-AGS member Writing seems like hard work! There's no better way to test the validity and thoroughness of our research, though, than writing The Family Story. Come learn a few tricks to help you get started on your family's story - and along the way, pick up a few hints on improving your research techniques, as well. ------------ Date: February 12 Topic: "Ancestry: Review and What's New" Presenter: Kay Speaks, Corporate Information Technology Manager for Leisure Sports, L-AGS member, Lecturer Many new features and changes have occurred on the Ancestry.com Web site. We will review these new features and recent changes. Kay will also discuss how Ancestry's software uses "exact" or "fuzzy" search technology to make your results more applicable to your research. We'll also talk about Ancestry blog sites and much more. ------------ Date: March 11 Topic: "Tradition and Tradition Breakers: One Korean Family Lineage, 720 A.D.-1955" Presenter: Hildi Kang, Retired Livermore Special Ed Teacher, Author, Lecturer Korean lineage records are among the oldest and most complete in the world, and after years of research exploring the records in general and her husband's family records in particular, Hildi completed a book on the results. Her talk, based on the book, will present highlights from the three separate threads of the research: the history of the records themselves, translation of the 39 generations of direct ancestors, and the Korean history that interacted with those ancestors. =======================================================