THE LIVERMORE-AMADOR GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY E-MAIL BULLETIN FOR SEPTEMBER 2008 September 1, 2008 ====================================================== SUMMARY OF EVENTS FOR SEPTEMBER 2008 (See details on a later screen.) - Family Tree Maker Group: Thursday, September 4 - General Meeting: Tuesday, September 9 - Study Group: Thursday, September 25 - The Master Genealogist: Saturday, September 27 - L-AGS Board Meeting: Tuesday, September 30 ====================================================== A N N O U N C E M E N T S GENEALOGY COURSE AT LAS POSITAS Sue Johnston My genealogy course at Las Positas College in Livermore, "Get Serious About Your Family's Heritage," is scheduled to start in September. The course is split into two parts, Part One (course number HG412/5610) and Part Two (course number HG413/5611). If you plan to take both courses, you need to enroll for each part. You can enroll on line at the Las Positas College Community Education web site: http://laspositas.augusoft.net/index.cfm? After you sign in, the classes can be found here: http://laspositas.augusoft.net/index.cfm?FuseAction=1071 Both courses consist of four two-hour classes, Saturdays, from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Part One runs September 13 through October 4; Part Two runs October 11 through November 1. Brief course descriptions are on line. Each class session centers discussion on original examples of source material and genealogical problems that may be solved by those examples. Homework assignments will require the students to investigate materials at the local library and develop expertise in finding and evaluating online sources. The final assignment requires the student to analyze actual primary source material for content and reliability, and to formulate a research plan based on each source. This course will provide students with the information, examples, and practice necessary to enable him or her to analyze a genealogy problem and formulate a research plan. The student will learn to conduct a literature search of secondary source material, locate and evaluate the primary source material relevant to the problem at hand, and present research results in a logical and well-documented manner. Early registration is recommended because class size is limited. The cost is $89 per session (four classes), or $159 if the student signs up for both sessions at the same time. Due to a computer glitch, in order to get the price break, students who sign up online need to call the Community Education department, 925-424-1467, ask for Frances De Nisco, and $29 will be refunded to them. If anyone would like to know more about the classes, please feel free to contact me. Sue Johnston XXXX@comcast.net 510-XXX-XXXX [Testimonial from Kay Speaks: Many of the L-AGS TV-TMG Users Group have taken Sue's genealogy classes at Las Positas. We can all attest to the wonderful learning experience we received from the entire Beginning through Advanced sessions. Sue is a wonderful teacher. Her presentations, handouts and additional information, created especially for her students, go well beyond what you would normally expect from an instructor. Even those of us who had been researching our genealogy for many years learned about new research techniques, found new resources and additional ways to analyze our data. If you have attended Sue's lectures at L-AGS general meetings, or at our last two seminars, you will know that her genealogy instruction is excellent. Kay Speaks L-AGS Study Group] --------------------------------------------------------- GENEALOGY ON THE "TODAY SHOW" George Anderson Ten years ago, I remember watching as members of the cast of NBC's "Today Show" presented videos about their ancestors. Al Roker, Matt Lauer and Katie Couric visited their ancestral homes and met with living relatives. Last week, they updated those reports, this time without Katie but with Meredith Vieira and Ann Curry. You can view those videos, each about 12 minutes, at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26455893/ I'm not sure how long the stories will remain online, so I intend to download them to a DVD. The genealogies are truly inspiring. All four of the TV stars are descended from penniless immigrants from four different ethnic backgrounds. Al Roker's were slaves in Bermuda, Matt Lauer's were Jewish residents who were evicted from their village in Romania, Meredith Vieira's were from the Azores like so many families in our area, and Ann Curry's mother grew up in Japan. The research, of course, was done by professionals. The photography and staging were also first class, as befits a high-budget program with millions of viewers. Yet, the subjects of the reports were visibly moved by the visits to their ancestral homes. That is a reaction that many of us have experienced ourselves. --------------------------------------------------------- LOCAL CONFERENCES OF NOTE Monterey County Genealogy Society: October 11, 2008 - Geoff Rasmussen, genealogist, author and educator, will be the keynote speaker for the 2008 Central Coast Genealogy Conference sponsored by MoCoGenSo and the Seaside Family History Center. The keynote presentation will be "Timelines & Chronologies, Secrets of Genealogical Success". A full schedule of classes will be offered at the conference. Details at: http://www.mocogenso.org/conference.htm - - - - - San Mateo County Genealogical Society: November 8, 2008 - "Gathering the Evidence," a Quartet of Genealogy Lectures by Paula Stuart-Warren. Complete details are on a flyer that can be downloaded from: http://www.smcgs.org/flyers/seminarf08a.pdf http://www.smcgs.org/flyers/seminarf08b.pdf ================================================== S E P T E M B E R 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 Date and Time: Thursday, September 4, 7:30 p.m. Always the first Thursday of the month. Place: Old Almond Ave. School, now called Vineyard Adult Education Facility, at 1401 Almond Avenue, Livermore. Drive into the back parking lot. As you face Almond Ave., we are in the building to the right in the front complex, room 5. Look for the FTM sign. Map to the meeting site: http://www.L-AGS.org/maps/Liv-AlmondSchool.html As always, we will provide a problem-solving atmosphere in which attendees are free to ask questions and offer answers and tips about FTM. We will continue to discuss the question, "Should I or should I not upgrade to FTM 2008?" We are especially interested in comments from those who have upgraded. 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. Please avail yourself of the L-AGS FTM e-mail forum at mailto: ftm.group@L-AGS.org to post questions, answers and comments. --------------------------------------------------------- MONTHLY GENERAL MEETING Arleen Wood, First Vice President, Programs mailto:program.chair@L-AGS.org For a formatted version of this announcement, see: http://www.L-AGS.org/temp/General_Meeting_Sep_08.doc Date: Tuesday, September 9, 2008 Time: 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 Visitors are welcome, no charge Topic: "New Resources on FamilySearch.org " Guest Speaker: Margery Bell Assistant Director of the Oakland Regional Family History Center "New Resources on FamilySearch.org" The database of FamilySearch.org which has been available on- line through the Mormon Family History Library is being greatly expanded. There is a massive indexing of records going on at this time by thousands of people for the Family History Library. Church members and volunteers are working on digitizing all of the FHL microfilm. Marge will be demonstrating and talking about the new Family History Center Portal with the subscription websites available at all family history centers. She will also demonstrate the new pilot website making the LDS digitized records available free on line and the new familysearch wiki. Margery Bell is the Assistant Director of the Oakland Regional Family History Center where she has worked for 25 years and a thirty-plus-year genealogist. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother. She is the author of "Line Upon Line: A Beginners Guide to Genealogy." --------------------------------------------------------- STUDY GROUP MEETING Leader: Kay Speaks Contact: mailto:study.chair@l-ags.org For a formatted version of this announcement, see: http://www.L-AGS.org/temp/Study_Group_Sep08.doc Study Group Meeting Leader: Kay Speaks Contact Mail: mailto:study.group@l-ags.org Date: Thursday, September 25, 2008 (fourth Thursday of the month) Time: 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM Location: LDS Church, 950 Mocho Street, Livermore, CA Map: http://www.l-ags.org/maps/Liv-FHC.html Topic: Using U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918, in Your Genealogy Research Because of the Civil War costs, the government was in need of money. The first income tax for individuals was enacted by Congress in July 1862. We will discuss a brief history of personal income tax during these years, the type of records created and if they have survived. We will review the period tax lists available online and show how you can put your ancestor's wealth in perspective. 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. --------------------------------------------------------- Tri-Valley TMG Users Group The Master Genealogist Software Leader: Kay Speaks, mailto:tvtmg.chair@L-AGS.org For a formatted version of this announcement, see: http://www.L-AGS.org/temp/TMG_Sep_08.doc Date: Saturday, September 27, 2008 (Note Rescheduled Date) Time: 9:00 a.m. - Noon Location: 7077 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 110, Pleasanton, CA 94566 Map to the meeting site: http://www.l-ags.org/maps/Pls-KollCenter.html Instructors: Kay Speaks and Sue Johnston (not present in September) Future TV-TMG Meeting Dates (note some dates have been rescheduled from our normal 3rd Thursday of the month meeting date). 2008: 18 Oct, 22 Nov, No December meeting; 2009: 17 Jan, 21 Feb, 28 Mar. Meeting dates are subject to change. September Topic: Getting Started - Chapter 2 of "A Primer for The Master Genealogist." This month we discuss two ways of getting started with The Master Genealogist: (1) starting with an empty Project and entering data directly into the software, or (2) importing your data from another genealogy program. Although GEDCOM is supported, TMG's GenBridge(tm) import technology does a much better job of transferring your data in most cases. TMG can import directly from Family Tree Maker(tm), Personal Ancestral File (PAF)(tm), and many other programs. Bring a copy of your alternate genealogy software file and a GEDCOM file to class so you can learn how to import both types of files. If possible, please RSVP if you plan to attend, mailto:tvtmg.chair@L-AGS.org. TV-TMG classes use Terry Reigel's new "A Primer for The Master Genealogist" book written for Version 7. Read about the book at http://reigelridge.com/press/primer.htm 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 TV-TMG class practice 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 three 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 Terry Reigel's book can be purchased from this website. For additional information contact: mailto:tvtmg.chair@l-ags.org. ================================================== PROGRAMS FOR 2008 GENERAL MEETINGS Arleen Wood, First Vice President, Programs See a formatted version of this announcement at: http://www.L-AGS.org/temp/Program_calendar_08.doc See also details of the September program in the full announcement above. We have been fortunate to get a calendar of excellent speakers 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 Topic Presenter ----------------------------------------------------- September 9 The New Family Search Marge Bell October 14 The Five Civilized Tribes of South- eastern United States Taffy Couts November 11 An American Story - The History of Abram Bradbury Lowell and His Family David Lowell December 9 Show and Tell: Members Sharing L-AGS Members and Guests ==================================================