THE LIVERMORE-AMADOR GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY E-MAIL BULLETIN FOR NOVEMBER 2008 November 3, 2008 ============================================================= SUMMARY OF EVENTS FOR NOVEMBER 2008 (See details on a later screen.) - Family Tree Maker Group: Thursday, November 6 - L-AGS on TV! Thursday, November 6 - General Meeting: Tuesday, November 11 - The Master Genealogist: Saturday, November 15 - Study Group: No meeting in November - L-AGS Board Meeting: Tuesday, November 25 ============================================================= A N N O U N C E M E N T S L-AGS ON TV! Anne Homan and Dick Finn will appear on Grass Roots Channel 26 at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 6, to discuss the old caricatures they have been researching. The color sketches of prominent Livermore citizens were drawn in 1910 at Dan's Place, a popular saloon. The video can be seen in advance at: http://www.grassrootsissues.com and will remain indefinitely in the Grass Roots archives at that address. You can also scroll down in the archives to view a video of the interview of Dick and Jane Southwick on June 14, 2006. - - - - - TIME TO RENEW Dues for renewal of your membership in L-AGS are payable on or before December 31. After that date they will become overdue, and if not paid by April 1, you will become a past member. The membership committee would appreciate your payment as soon as possible to avoid the need for telephone and e-mail reminders. Four levels of membership are available: Individual $18 Family $25 Benefactor $40 Patron $100 Benefactors and Patrons will be recognized in four consecu- tive issues of the Roots Tracer. To renew your membership, make your check out to "L-AGS" and mail it to L-AGS P.O Box 901 Livermore, CA 94551-0901 - - - - - NEW LOCAL HISTORY INDEXES Six new page indexes to Tri-Valley local history books have been posted on our Web site. The new indexes, plus 32 others previously posted, can be found by going to our home page at http://www.L-AGS.org/ and following the links: "Searchable Local Records - Cemetery, Census, etc." / "Person name indexes to selected local history books." As the introductory page for these 38 books explains: "Some local history books were published without person name indexes. In the process of creating a master index to all local history sources, page indexes to person names in those unindexed books were compiled and are presented here. Two formats are offered. One is for viewing the index on the screen. The other is for downloading and printing the index, allowing those who own the book to paste an index in it." The "master index" mentioned is found via the link just before the one cited above: "Master index of names associated with the history of eastern Alameda County." The "page index" shows every page in the given book that the listed person appears on; the "master index" shows only every book that the listed person appears in. The six books newly indexed are: "Images of America: Dublin," by Mike Lynch and the Dublin Heritage Center, Arcadia Publishing, 2007. "Alameda County, Past and Present," by Leslie J. Freeman. Tri-Valley names only. Press of the San Leandro Reporter, 1946. "Images of America: Early Livermore," by The Livermore Heritage Guild. Arcadia Publishers, 2006. "Images of America: Pleasanton," by Mary-Jo Wainwright and the Museum on Main. Arcadia Publishers, 2006. "Images of America: San Ramon Valley; Alamo, Danville, and San Ramon," by Beverly Lane and Ralph Cozine for the Museum of the San Ramon Valley. Arcadia Publishers, 2005. "Images of America: Sunol," by Victoria Christian. Arcadia Publishing, 2007. The names from these six books, plus those from two others, will be added to the master index soon. - - - - - NOMINATING COMMITTEE The L-AGS nominating committee, consisting of Frank Geasa, Anne Homan and Arleen Wood, will announce its slate of officers for 2009 at the November meeting. The slate will include nominees for president, program chair, membership chair and recording secretary. Any member not on that slate who wishes to volunteer for one of the four positions may contact the committee. The election will be held at the December meeting. Anne Homan - - - - - San Mateo County Genealogical Society is offering a seminar on this coming Saturday, 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 ============================================================= N O V 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, November 6, 7:30 p.m. The Subject for the meeting is Family Tree Maker 2009 which was released recently. The meeting is 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. 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 Tuesday, November 11, 2008, 7:30 p.m. Guest Speaker: David Lowell Topic: There's a Scribe in Every Family 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 David Lowell is one of the founders of The Independent newspaper in Livermore. He is the author of two family history books: "An American Story: History of Abram Bradbury Lowell and His Family" and "Finding Ourselves." He will explain the methods he used for researching his family, including oral histories, newspapers stories, historical anecdotes and collaborating with new-found cousins. He will share some of the stories from these books. For a full biography of our speaker, see: http://www.L-AGS.org/temp/General_Meeting_Nov_08.doc *********************************************** SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT THE DECEMBER MEETING *********************************************** December 9, 2008 Member Sharing: Show and Tell YOU are the Program! We all share a love of genealogy. How do I know that? Because I see you at the meetings. What triggered that “genealogy gene” in you? Where are you in your genealogical journey? Do you have a favorite famous, or infamous, person in your ancestry? We all have a story to tell. We will have an informal sharing on December 9th and you are all invited to share your story. We would appreciate knowing who is going to participate. Please send me an e-mail at program.chair@L-AGS.org by November 21. If you are going to use a picture or photo in your presentation, please send a jpeg or picture to Dick Finn by November 21 so he can place it into a PowerPoint program. This will enable everyone to see the photo while you are talking. If you need help in scanning, please contact Dick at XXXX@wecare.net. Some suggestions and guidelines for telling your story are at: http://www.L-AGS.org/temp/Member_Sharing.doc We hope we will have a good participation of our members and friends. We are counting on you! ------------------------------------------------------------- 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/TVTMG_Nov_08.doc Date: Saturday, November 22, 2008 (Note Rescheduled Date) Time: 9:00 a.m. to 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 Topic: Personal Data Entry Standards Chapter 4 - A Primer for The Master Genealogist by Terry Reigel There is no set way to enter data in TMG. The program accommodates a wide variety of users with different needs. The opposite side of this flexibility is that users need to decide on the personal standards that best meet their needs and preferences. You must evaluate your objectives. With these objectives clearly in mind, many of your personal data entry standards will become clear. We will discuss key objectives, name conventions, place conventions, abbreviations, conflicting data, multiple persons in an event, GEDCOM export requirements, source conventions, and creating a test project. TMG classes use Terry Reigel's book, A Primer for the Master Genealogist, written for Version 7. Read about the book at http://reigelridge.com/press/primer.htm If possible, please RSVP if you plan to attend: mailto:tvtmg.chair@L-AGS.org. 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: tvtmg.chair@l-ags.org. ------------------------------------------------------------- STUDY GROUP MEETING Leader: Kay Speaks Contact: mailto:study.chair@l-ags.org NO STUDY GROUP MEETING IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER BECAUSE OF CONFLICTS WITH HOLIDAYS Don't forget to use our L-AGS Study Group forum for discussions of any genealogy or genealogy-related computer questions. The forum does not close for the holidays! 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. ============================================================= PROGRAMS FOR FUTURE GENERAL MEETINGS Arleen Wood, First Vice President, Programs See details of the November program in the full announcement above. We have been fortunate to get a calendar of excellent speakers for 2008 and early 2009. 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 ------------------------------------------------------------- November 11 There's a Scribe in Every Family David Lowell December 9 Show and Tell: Members Sharing L-AGS Members and Guests January 13 "The Early Pioneers in the Livermore Valley, California, Were One Big Family," by Isabel Nolte. This book is a genealogical record of many Livermore Valley Irish families who intermarried. February 10 "Best of the Genealogy Gems Podcast," Lisa Louise Cooke, Author, radio show producer. She will talk about the sharpest and most creative ideas from her popular podcast show. March 10 "San Francisco Genealogy," by Ron Filion, co-founder of SFgenealogy.com. Researching San Francisco genealogy using the SFgenealogy.com website =============================================================