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The Livermore Roots Tracer Volume XXI Number 3 August 2001 Editors: Debbie Pizzato and Vicki Renz |
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The Livermore Roots Tracer Volume XXI Number 3 August 2001 Editors: Debbie Pizzato and Vicki Renz |
The Roots Tracer is a quarterly publication with articles of interest to the genealogist. Members are encouraged to submit their "Profiles" and articles of general interest. Queries are free. The Roots Tracer is published in February, May, August and November. The deadline for each quarterly is the 15th of the previous month. Submissions must contain the name of the submitter, as well as the name of the author, publication and date of any published article that is being quoted. Send material to: The Roots Tracer, P. O. Box 901, Livermore, CA 94551-0901 or E-mail: rootstracer@l-ags.org
Table of Contents
Allan Siason |
Relliford and Janice Hygh |
James Stanley |
Bernadette Keane |
Cassie & Lindsay Wood |
Bruce Bell |
Roy E. Statham, Jr. |
David and Nikki Montez |
Membership Report As of August 1, 2001
| Individual | 128 |
Memberships | 128 |
Individuals |
| Family | 48 |
Memberships | 96 |
Individuals |
| Life Memberships | 7 |
Memberships | 9 |
Individuals |
| Benefactors | 3 |
Memberships | 4 |
Individuals |
| Honorary/Charter | 5 |
Memberships | 5 |
Individuals |
| Honorary | 2 |
Memberships | 2 |
Individuals |
| Totals | 193 |
Memberships | 244 |
Individuals |
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Awards For Our Members |
David Abrahams gave me an envelope with Awards of Merit for both Vicki Renz and Harold Norris from the California State Genealogical Alliance. I announced the awards at our general meeting on Tuesday, July 10.
The Award of Merit reads:
"Vicki Renz / Harold Norris –
Be it therefore known that the above named individual is recognized by the California State Genealogical Alliance for meritorious service in genealogy and family history.
Presented this 23rd day of June 2001.
California State Genealogical Alliance
Signed: Sheila Benedict, President, CSGA"
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President’s Message |
Our "Genealogy Booth" at Alameda County Fair 2001 was a success. Thanks to your ideas and suggestions, it was improved over last year. This year it was sponsored by three organizations – The Tracy Area Genealogical Society (TAGS), The Josefa Higuera Livermore Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), and the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society (L-AGS). "Thank you" to all volunteers: Barbara Wills, Leo Vongottfried, Margaret Toth, Kaye & Stan Strickland, Jane Southwick, Sandy Sinwald, Robbie Robinson, Gynice Pomykal, Sue Overturf, Dolores Olness, Wilma Myers, Pat Moore, Erma McCue, Linda & Mark Libby, Jan James, Jan & Sonny Hygh, Barbara Hill, Linda Garrett, Caroline Foote, Dick Finn, Jane Everett, Nancy Douglas, Mary Dillon, Michael Davis, Bud Barlow, Harriet & George Anderson, Beverly Ales, David Abrahams, Frank Geasa, and Gail & Jon Bryan. That is 35 names by my count vs. about 15 names last year.
Next year we may be able to move into the air-conditioned Young California Building. This will be a challenge – we will likely want more than one telephone connection and will need staffing for more than three hours each day. Let’s aim to double our number of volunteers again by inviting more nearby genealogical societies and related organizations to join us as co-sponsors of the booth.
What might it have cost a company to sponsor a similar booth at the fair for three hours per day for 17 days with two employees? Assuming minimum wage of $7 per hour, I estimate over $700 in salaries alone! If this company wanted to staff the booth with experienced genealogists and a website, it would have cost well over TEN times more! This helps demonstrate how very special I think our group of volunteers at our Genealogy Booth is!
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Elderhostel in Denmark |
Wanda and I enjoyed three weeks in Denmark the end of May. We enrolled in a two week Elderhostel Danish history/genealogy class held in Berjingbro and Copenhagen. We all had Danish roots.
The class included lectures on Danish history and art, the school systems, the tax and social welfare systems, and politics. We spent two days at the Viborg Archives with much success. We had bus tours through Denmark and into Northern Germany.
For three days before the class we visited the Danish island of Bornholm off the coast of Sweden. We went by the new bridge to Sweden and then the high-speed ferry. On Bornholm we had two excellent guides and visited two farms that Wanda’s ancestors had lived on – one now owned by a member of parliament. At both farms the owners were most hospitable – great food! We also went to a birthday party for a distant cousin. We learned a lot about Danish politics – they sure do not like the high taxes and almost unlimited number of immigrants.
After the class we rented a car and visited a number of villages that my ancestors had lived in. We visited the Stadegaard Farm near Højen that my great great grandfather bought in 1828. It is now the largest dairy farm in the area. Everything is computer controlled. Unfortunately our family no longer owns the farm!
We were able to find a bed and breakfast accommodation in Ny Højen near Øster Starup and Agård and the farms my grandparents lived on before they sailed to America. Bed and breakfast inns are a good way to meet local people and stay on working farms.
We have had great success with two very able researchers in Bornholm and two more excellent researchers in Jutland. Please contact us for their names and addresses.
P.S. Do not count on getting much information from grave markers in Denmark. If someone does not pay for the plot upkeep, the markers are removed after 25 or 30 years. If you are very lucky, you may find a family marker in the "bone pile" or stacked along the back cemetery fence. More likely, the marker would have been recycled. That explains why in some churchyards dating back to the 1100s only half to three-fourths of the plots have any markers.
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Paper Trail Leads to Kansas
Part 3 |
When I left off last time, Anna had received a couple of phone calls, one from her cousin Jay Ingle and then one from her half brother Jerry Ingle, who lives in Kansas. . .
Cousin Jay Ingle and his wife Loretta were traveling through Stockton in February. We arranged a meeting for brunch, and had a wonderful visit. Two hours later, a roll of film and promises to meet again. Jay really was the catalyst for finding and contacting some of the cousins. I don’t know that we would have gone any further if he hadn’t stepped in and helped. Anna said she was fine with the information we’d found, and happy to have some new cousins. Little did we know there were more relatives awaiting her in Kansas!
Anna and her brother Jerry Ingle (84 years old) talked a few more times over the phone and sent some letters and photos back and forth. More faces to go with the names, and what a handsome family they were. Also by this time, another cousin, Connie Ingle had also contacted us both by phone.
A trip was in the works: Anna and Jerry wanted to meet. I wanted to go too, meet my new e-mail friend, as well as the other new relatives. Two of my own sisters have lived in Missouri for two years, and I’d never been to see their homes. What a great trip – visit with Anna and also get to Missouri. We set the date, and then we had to wait and wait! Finally we were off, nervous, excited and wondering. What would it be like? The weather, the countryside, the people…
May 3, 2001, about 9 months after our paper trail began leading to Kansas, we were there, touching down at the Kansas City Airport. Who would have believed we were there, after all the phone calls and e-mails, we’d arrived. We settled into our hotel, and Anna called her brother, Jerry, before we’d finished unpacking. They were ready and waiting for us the next day! It was almost too much to try and sleep, for the excitement of it all.
May 4, 2001, 9 a.m., and we were on Jerry’s doorstep in Raytown, Missouri. He welcomed Anna so warmly, introductions all around, his wife Helen, and then me, the traveling companion. We sat together for three hours, talking and sharing, questions asked and answered all around. Jerry shared mementos, photos and items which belonged to their father.
We had lunch and then took a trip over to Miami County to see Paola. Jerry was the navigator as I drove through the countryside. It was so beautiful, warm, and alternately raining. We California travelers loved every thing we saw along the way. We visited the cemetery, and saw James Ingle’s resting place, Anna’s father. It’s hard to explain the feeling, watching this, watching them, sharing this private time. Once again, we were seeing a place, which had only been words on a piece of paper. Then a tour of Paola, all the while talking and talking, almost non-stop. Back to Raytown for a snack and then to the hotel to recuperate. What an emotional day – overwhelming, adrenaline was flowing all day long. We felt like we’d been wrung out by dinnertime. Could it be any better? What a great day!
May 5, 2001, we set off to the eagerly awaited INGLE FAMILY REUNION! We drove to Lawrence, Kansas, wondering out loud, could or would this day be as great as the day before? We arrived to a wonderful and warm welcome from our hostess, Connie Ingle. Arriving to meet the cousins we’d heard about, e-mailed to some, written to others. All descendants share the same great-grandfather, Charles Wesley Ingle. Photos to share, and more non-stop talking all afternoon. A photo session, which proved quite comical at times. And all too soon our afternoon wound down, the cousins said goodbye, promises to keep in touch, as well as a good dose of amazement! How had we managed to do all of this? Did we really manage a family reunion using the Internet? Well, yes, yes we had done just that.
The next day we again met with Connie and Gene Ingle for some more sight-seeing of the area, learned a bit of the history, visited the Sutton Cemetery and Overbrook, too. We saw more of Lawrence, Kansas, and then had to be on our way. Anna was going back to Raytown to spend time with her brother Jerry and I was off to Columbia to visit with my sisters.
When Anna and I met up again two days later, we agreed, this trip had far surpassed our expectations. Meeting everyone was wonderful, more than we could ever imagine. We took our flight home, playing over and over in our heads all the different conversations we’d had over the long weekend. What a wonderful trip we’d had, it was over, we were on our way home. How do we explain to family and friends what we’d just experienced? The new friends we’d made; the countryside we’d seen; the places in Paola; the courthouse; James Ingles’ homes; Lawrence, Kansas; the college town, Raytown, Missouri; all the cousins. We came home with photos and memories. Letters have been exchanged, thank you to all.
Thank you to all in Kansas who made us welcome, thank you for sharing a bit of yourselves, your family, your history, all shared with a couple of strangers from California, who had an even stranger tale to tell.
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Ellis Island – The Missing
Records |
Ever since the Ellis Island immigration records became available on-line, there has been some question as to whether all of the approximately 12 million records of the immigrants that passed through Ellis Island between January 1892 and December 1924 are actually available on the computers at Ellis Island or at <www.ellisislandrecords.org>.
There is no question in my mind that the release of the records is one of the major helps available to those of us who have ancestors that came to America between 1892 and 1924. A great deal of thanks is due the thousands of volunteers from the Church of Latter Day Saints, the National Park Service, and the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Foundation.
Having said that, I must now report that all of the 1892-1924 records are not available on line – and never will be. The question of missing records first came to me just after the records were first available on the web. Searching as hard as I might I was unable to find my great-grandparents and their children including my grandfather. I made contact with a nationally known genealogy expert who e-mailed me that all records had been transcribed and available on the web. I was very puzzled why I couldn’t find "Gramps."
After a trip to Ellis Island and three visits to the National Archives in New York City, this is what I found after a number of discussions with staff and management:
The bottom line: after discussions with staff at Ellis Island and the National Archives, it seems that about 70-75% of the 1892-1924 records are available on the Ellis Island website. That percentage will improve (transcribing is still going on) but never come close to being fully complete. Like a lot of genealogical resources, you may find some "gold" about your ancestor (height, eye and hair color, scars, stature, ship they came one, the full name they came to America with, the date they left the old country, who they were going to see, amount of money they had, and more). But remember, perhaps one in four of your ancestors that went through Ellis Island may not be found on the website.
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Livermore Valley History |
Editor’s Note: Gary Drummond has long been a student of Livermore Valley History. He is the author and editor of several publications on valley history, including the stories of Mary Ann Harlan Smith, William Mendenhall and James D. Smith, Headmaster of Livermore College from 1875 to 1893. He is on the Board of Directors of the Livermore Heritage Guild.
Livermore’s Early Chinese Community
When the Central Pacific railroad tracks were laid down through the valley in late 1868 and into 1869, the construction contractor employed an estimated 500 Chinese laborers to create a roadbed and lay ties and rails. When the project was complete, most of the Chinese found employment elsewhere. Some, however, remained in the Livermore Valley. One hundred and twenty found work in Murray Township, according to the 1870 U.S. Census, many as cooks and laborers. But in Laddsville and Livermore, 10 were employed as laundrymen.
A laundry was a service that attracted the local citizens. Many were single farm laborers who often didn’t take (or chose not to take) time for the demeaning task of washing their own clothes; others were single professional men in the community.
One laundryman, named Wing Sing, was publicizing his
services in Laddsville as early as 1874. He advertised that he would deliver laundry
within 10 miles of town. There is evidence that he prospered, as he is listed on the tax
assessment rolls shortly after Livermore’s incorporation in 1876. He is also listed
as a subscriber to the fund for Livermore’s Centennial Year Fourth of July
celebration.
Dr. Jocktoon Kum Yong, a practitioner in the arcane art of Chinese medicine, was offering his services to the public about the same time. His newspaper advertisements noted that he was "(E)minently successful in the treatment and cure of all diseases….His system of ascertaining the cause of sickness is a translation of the pulse."
The number of laundrymen in Livermore had increased to 22 by 1880. According to the 1884 Sanborn map, the washhouses were concentrated just southeast of the present 1892 Central Pacific depot on L Street. The 1884 Sanborn map shows four washhouses located there, but the 1888 map shows them gone. Why? In 1886 the town Board of Trustees banned Chinese washhouses in an area bounded by Linden Street on the north, Junction Avenue and School Street on the east, by College on the south and N Street on the west. So the Chinese moved just outside the town limits to the southwest corner of First and P Streets. A year later the ban was revoked, but the larger number of washhouses didn’t return to within the town boundaries.
Later, other washhouses were located on J Street between First and Second Streets and on the west side of South Livermore Avenue between First and Second. The one on South Livermore had a sad history. In April 1921 a fire broke out. In October 1924, there was another fire. A final conflagration occurred in July 1927 that destroyed most of the clients’ laundry, the business furnishings and the building. By that time, Caucasians were prominent in the local laundry and dry cleaning business and consequently Chinese washhouses, as the community had known them for 50 years, ceased to exist.
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Computer Interest Group (CIG) News |
The CIG meets once a month to hear speakers on genealogical computer related subjects such as software (new, revised, how to use it, etc.), hardware (computers, storage devices, scanners, cameras, printers), web sites, useful CDs, etc., that help us in our quest for genealogical information. We have useful handouts and even a door prize now and then. During the last several months we have had time for our members to bring up their own computer problems, which other members helped solve. We also had a talk on selecting digital cameras including functionality, cost, data storage, and even the need. In the coming months we plan to hear from software producers, what’s new in hardware and software that might help genealogists, including search engines and getting data from the World Wide Web. In the fall, we will have an expert on data storage who will share his knowledge on how best we can store our data – and how long it might last. Bring a friend.
During the school year we meet the fourth Thursday of the month except November and December at 7:30 at the Livermore Adult Education Building, 543 Sonoma Avenue, Livermore. See <www.l-ags.org/sonoma.html> for a map to the school. The August meeting may be held at a different location. Please check your e-mail or the L-AGS web site before the meeting.
Members needing help with a computer problem may call one of the mentors listed in the Member’s handbook.
For information on CIG please call Dick Finn at 925-447-9652 or e-mail him at rwfinn@pacbell.net or George Anderson at 925-846-4265 or gwajr@home.com. Contact Dick or George for information about topics to be discussed or to let us know about items you would like to hear about.
L-AGS Family Tree Maker Focus GroupThe L-AGS Family Tree Maker (FTM) Focus Group meets the first Thursday of the month at 7:30 at the Livermore Adult Education Building, 543 Sonoma Avenue, Livermore. See <www.l-ags.org/sonoma.html> for a map to the school. The September meeting may be held at a different location. Please check your e-mail or the L-AGS web site before the meeting.
We are primarily a group of FTM users (from beginners to experts) who discuss problems and solutions, share successes, answer questions, and help each other with the Family Tree Maker software. At recent meetings we have talked about using shortcuts to input data, generating charts that show specific information and generations, making charts for family reunions, and using work-a-rounds to bypass problems.
All persons interested or potentially interested in Family Tree Maker are invited to attend. For information on our group please call Dick Finn at 925-447-9652 or e-mail him at rwfinn@pacbell.net or George Anderson at 925-846-4265 or gwajr@home.com. Contact Dick or George for information about topics to be discussed.
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"Yearning to Breathe
Free" |
Elderhostel, in cooperation with the South Street Seaport Museum of New York City, has a program that will be of interest to many of our members. "Yearning to Breathe Free" explores the history of the immigrant experience in New York City. Each day for 4½ days there are slide lectures by the museum staff, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the National Archives and others on "Coming to America", "Newest New Yorkers", "Coming to Ellis Island," etc. There are field trips to the National Archives and Ellis Island and walks over the Brooklyn Bridge to "the wickedest ward in New York," the Lower East Side, Chinatown, and the Fulton Fish Market (2nd largest, but most diverse in the world).
For more information about the program, see the Summer 2001 U.S. and Canada Elderhostel catalog, go to <www.elderhostel.org> or call the Finn’s at 447-9652 or Lovell’s at 447-2573.
P.S. There is a fair amount of walking, but the accommodations at the Marriott Financial Center are great.
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Memories of the Alameda County Fair 2001 |
By Jon Bryan
This year our Genealogy Booth was in the Gem & Mineral Hobby Collection Building in the "Court of 4 Seasons." The location between the drinking fountain and restrooms may have increased our total number of visitors by a factor of two or more compared to last year!
"Thank you" to Building Coordinator Nancy Bankhead and her assistants Maureen, Judy, Gabe and Tammy for assisting us at every turn.
Last year we used a computer with two sets of CD-ROMs – the Social Security Death Index and the Family Finder Index. This year we were able "to kick it up a notch" with a telephone connection to the Internet. We used the L-AGS website with our "Genealogy for Students" list developed for presentations to Mendenhall School seventh graders. I often called it performing "extemporaneous genealogy." We seldom knew what we might find when we input a surname and other information provided by a visitor in those various genealogical databases. When we had many visitors at the booth at once, it was obvious that next year we might want to consider having more laptop setups and telephone connections.
During one discussion with Nancy about a more quiet location in future years, the air-conditioned Young California Building was mentioned as a possibility. The loud musical performances on the "Court of 4 Seasons" stage sometimes forced us to communicate with written notes! A time or two I noticed visitors yelling in my ear and I still wasn’t understanding everything they said! This noisy environment almost required us to ask that surnames and other information be printed on scratch paper.
Near the end of the fair, Nancy introduced Dick Finn and me to Rita Pascoe, the Building Coordinator of the Young California Building (YCB). Rita already is acquainted with some L-AGS members including Dick Finn and Mary Dillon. Later I met Rita again in the YCB. She pointed out some possible spots for the Genealogy Booth in 2002. I especially liked the building corner to the right of the 4-H food booth. This would accommodate more space for maps on bulletin boards. The YCB also has a stage with some chairs where presentations and demonstrations may be put on. Don’t you think L-AGS and their co-sponsors might want provide some very special presentations on genealogy in 2002 and beyond?
In 2002, I think we should try to have volunteers at our Genealogy Booth more than three hours per day. I think staffing from about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. might be better. To do this I hope we can add more co-sponsors from nearby genealogical societies and related organizations. Volunteers from both the local chapter of the DAR and the Tracy Area Genealogical Society indicated they would like to join us next year. If we are in an air-conditioned building, many would be willing to volunteer for more hours! If we can get two or three telephone connections, we will need more volunteers at the fair at the same time plus more computer setups.
I will always remember the look that George Anderson described on a security person’s face when he asked something like "Where can I find this "X" on this map where the demonstrators are supposed to meet?"
Several visitors I talked with thanked us for having our Genealogy Booth at the Fair. I think they recognized it as something both "free" and "new" at the Fair! This made it an attraction to fair visitors. Having volunteer genealogists there to help answer questions really made it work. One day Frank Geasa found seven generations for one visitor. The next day he broke that record with eight generations for another visitor. I suspect he made two new lifetime friends! Certainly, this was not commonplace! Apparently these particular visitors did not know that one of their "cousins" had been "really bitten by the genealogy bug!"
I was showing one visitor how she might use the California Birth Index (CABI). She pointed out her name on the screen. Then she surprised me by saying something like "Oh!, there is my brother’s name three lines below. I never got to see him because he was two years younger and put up for adoption!" I really shared her special excitement. She wrote down all of this information. Will it help her locate her brother? Only time will tell (to use one of my Dad’s expressions). Solving adoption puzzles usually isn’t easy and I have read articles that suggest it may be even harder in the State of California.
Several visitors came back to the booth with a question like "Do you think you can help me find my old girlfriend?" When I got this question from a male visitor, I said that it would probably be easier for her to find him because of the last name change from "Maiden" to "Married" name. I should have also added that this question would be more easily researched for those who lived in Texas because that state has marriage and divorce databases on the Internet along with birth and death databases!
After the Fair was over, we tallied the results of the "Where in the world were you born?" survey. We counted 393 pushpins – 273 in the U.S. and 120 in foreign countries. Much like last year, our survey should not be considered precise. We got reports that pushpins were moved when we were not there at the booth. Occasionally a pushpin would fall to the floor and who knows if we got it back in the correct hole! There likely was a visitor bias because we heard remarks like "I don’t need to add a pushpin because my state is already represented" or "My region doesn’t have room for additional pushpins."
We counted pushpins in 47 of the 50 States. Only Delaware, New Hampshire and Vermont did not have pushpins! California had the most pushpins (31), followed by Texas (16), Illinois (15), Oklahoma (14), Nevada (13), Pennsylvania (13), New York (11) and Colorado (10).
There were pushpins in 54 foreign countries. As we might expect, our neighboring countries, Canada (13) and Mexico (8), had the most representatives. This was followed by Italy (6), Portugal and the Azores (5), China (5), Norway (4) and Sweden (4). One of our surprises was to have a visitor born on Jan Mayen Island which belongs to Norway. A surprise on the low side was that we only found one pin in Japan.
By Frank Geasa
What struck me about the fair right off and throughout until the end was the friendliness of the staff and the support we got from all of them. Whenever I asked for anything, they went out of their way – whether it was for a ladder or for paper copies.
One of the nicest memories was of an older woman being wheeled into the building by her daughter. She needed to use the ladies restroom but the chair wouldn’t fit through the door. I wondered how they were going to get it through when the lady got up and walked in without the chair or her daughter. The daughter came over to talk to us while waiting and informed us that her mother was 105. This was a surprise in itself, but we were surprised even more when the mother walked out of the restroom and, as they were getting ready to continue with the fair, told her daughter she didn’t want to be in the chair but would push it herself. I guessed this was to help with her balance. In any case, she left the building pushing the chair at a strong pace. I almost wanted to yell after the daughter to get all the stories from her mother. It was obvious that at 105 she was sharp as a tack and no doubt a walking historical repository.
Another fond memory was of a lady who came in, looked at our booth, indicated her cousin was after her to send her information on her family and announced she was sure we wouldn’t have any information on her ancestors. I put her mother’s name in the ancestor search on Ancestry.com and apparently her cousin hadn’t waited for her help – starting with her mother, there were 7 generations back and a large family tree there. Her comments went something like "Oh my!, oh my!, there is my grandmother, there is my great grandmother, and there some more. Oh my! I’d better start getting that stuff together to send my cousin." She was so excited she nearly danced away from our booth.
The next day we actually found 8 generations back for someone else and while they were surprised and delighted, the atmosphere wasn’t half as charged as that first lady.
The other recollection I have is of the enjoyable time I had working with the volunteers. Everyone was so pleasant and so helpful. I think we all had a good time and that was reflected in the response we got from the visitors.
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U.S. Customs Service Documents |
In May I attended the NGS annual conference in Portland, Oregon. One of the sessions presented by Harvey Steele was on NARA Record Group 36. Customs records are a little used source of genealogical research. Mr. Steele, NARA San Bruno, and SF Media Resource Center Customhouse provided many, many examples of record samples found in Record Group 36. Just a few of these records include registration of vessels, licenses, marine casualties, cargo lists, passengers’ effects, intelligence reports on passengers, index of letters sent and received, register of employees, list of deceased and deserting seamen (1872-1942), newspaper clippings relating to narcotics smuggling activities (1920-1955), shipping articles and crew lists. If someone in the service traveled by waterway, they will be listed as a passenger on a ship in these records. This information is basically filed by chronological date and is not indexed. One of the web sites to visit for Record Group 36 information is <www.nara.gov/guide/rg036.html>.
The Customs Service, created by an act of July 31, 1789, became part of the Department of the Treasury when that department was established in September 1789. The Service has been responsible for the enforcement of numerous laws and regulations pertaining to the import and export of merchandise, collection of tonnage taxes, control of the entrance and clearances of vessels and aircraft, regulation of vessels involved in the coastwise and fishing trades, the protection of passengers.
The act that established the Customs Service in 1789 also provided for the creation of collection districts in various coastal, river, Great Lakes, and inland ports. A collector of customs in each district was responsible for the enforcement of all rules and regulations, including the protection of American seamen and passengers and the forwarding of basic data on immigration, imports and exports. Occasionally the collector acted as the depository for federal funds and collected taxes for the Bureau of Internal Revenue. A naval officer in each district, coordinate in rank with the collector, was required to keep separate accounts and copies of all manifests and entries and to countersign certain of the collector’s accounts. A surveyor, under the collector’s supervision, kept a daily record of all vessel arrivals and clearances and was assisted by inspectors, weighers, and gaugers in the collection and payment of bounty allowances and fees and the measurement of foreign vessels for tonnage duties.
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Giving Forward – Part One |
Ed. Note: I receive a monthly newsletter from Your Family Legacy <www.webyfl.com>, a web site devoted to encouraging the passing on of our family history. The owners have given permission to reprint a recent issue, which I will do in installments. Following is Part One.
Many ancestors have passed before you, each contributing in some way to your life today. There is no way we can thank them for what they gave to us. But we can "give forward" by preserving the past for future generations. Here is one way:
Make a heritage scrapbook. What better way to remember your ancestors than to record their lives in pictures and words. Use acid-free, lignin-free materials, then it will be around for generations to come. Don’t be overwhelmed by trying to scrapbook your whole heritage at once. Look at it as many histories or stories. You can scrapbook smaller family units. For example, do each of your great grandparents and their families in separate scrapbooks. Or try a theme scrapbook such as all your military veteran ancestors. Be creative. Interweave family lore along with historical facts to make your heritage come alive. These heritage albums will be wonderful to hand down. For more information about heritage scrapbooks, see <http://scrapbooking.about.com/cs/heritageinfo/index.html>.
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Library News |
On July 1, 2001, Pleasanton Library completed a changeover to a new computer system which includes the online catalog, circulation and acquisitions. It seems to be functioning very well, and has the advantage of showing Pleasanton’s own holdings on first view. It still has links to other libraries if what you want is not on site.
The City of Pleasanton may be buying two new computers for us this year, as part of their planned capital equipment spending. We think this is likely to be a good thing for us to be on the regular replacement schedule.
We have received more books, but I’ll wait to review them until they are actually in the catalog and on the shelf; I think it’s less frustrating if you are interested in a title, and we’re less likely to lose the notes we make of the ones we want to see, until they’re really ready.
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CD Collection Update |
The L-AGS 50-50 Purchase Plan for Genealogy CDs is still very active. As you recall, we purchased many of our CDs in 1999 and 2000 with this plan, which calls for 50% of the purchase price to be paid for by the L-AGS member/donor and 50% by L-AGS. Members participating in the 50-50 plan have exclusive use of the CDs in their homes before they are placed in the Pleasanton Library. CD titles and retail prices are listed in the L-AGS website <www.l-ags.org> on the CD Buy/Wish page.
So far this year we have added 36 new CD titles from Family Tree Maker, Heritage Quest, Progeny, New England Historic Genealogy Society and LDS/Family Search. The highlight of this years CD acquisitions is the LDS/Family Search complete transcription of the original 1880 United States census on 50 CDs. This fantastic set includes the enumeration of individuals within households and institutions and allows you to view those who were neighbors of your ancestors. Approximately 50 million names are contained on the CDs. The names are divided into seven regions and are accompanied by a National Index. L-AGS members and users of the Pleasanton Public Library are urged to become acquainted with this essential resource. Since the purchase price is only $49, after using it once at the library, you will undoubtedly want to order your own set.
A second research CD worth mentioning is the American Genealogical-Biographical Index that L-AGS has just acquired through the 50-50 plan. This CD version of the AGBI is the equivalent of almost 200 printed volumes of the AGBI collection, containing nearly four million names, related statistics and sources for further research.
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Tri-Valley TMG Users Group |
Many of us have alternate genealogy software programs. Perhaps we like the ease of entering data in a particular program, while another software program is the one your family and friends use. Are you looking for more flexibility in report writing? Whatever the reason, The Master Genealogist (TMG) may be just the genealogy software, or alternate software package, for which you have been waiting. This is the software used by many professional genealogists. The Genealogical Software Report conduct by Bill Mumford ranks TMG as #1. You can review his report at <www.mumford.ab.ca/reportcard/index.htm>. A free demo of the TMG software can be obtained from <www.whollygenes.com>.
We are a beginning TMG users group formed earlier this year. Users with several years of experience offer their assistance to those attending the meetings. With the use of a laptop and a digital projector, we are able to demonstrate techniques and answer questions. Many users bring their personal laptops to our sessions. We meet the second Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the LDS Church, 950 Mocho Street, Livermore. For more information contact Joyce Siason at 925-462-9536.
Return to Table of Contents
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Past Programs |
On May 8th John Heyse of Crockett, CA spoke on "German Research – Finding the Church Records." John is an experienced genealogist and a mentor for Bavaria and Palatinate for the Sacramento German Genealogical Society (SGGS <www.sacgergensoc.org>). Unless he is traveling in Europe, he usually attends SGGS meetings on the last Tuesday each month. He is often found at the LDS Family History Center in Oakland on Friday mornings, helping people with their German research. His numerous trips to Germany make John an experienced German traveler and researcher. John’s presentation began with a trip he took to Germany with his major professor where he found one of his ancestors. He has been interested in genealogy ever since!
On June 12th, Jana (McPherson) Black of Marin County spoke about the "USGenWeb Project and the GenWeb Site for Marin County." Both Jana and her husband Carl are active members in the Marin County Genealogical Society (MCGS <www.rootsweb.com/~camargs>). The Marin County Genweb site can be found at <www.cagenweb.com/marin/>.
The USGenWeb project is committed to providing free access to data in all counties in all states in the U.S. They depend on a broad network of volunteers to be responsible for a county. Jana showed us the Alameda County GenWeb site at <www.katpher.com/alamecty/alamecty.htm>. This includes a list of genealogical societies including L-AGS.
The MCGS website has transcriptions of births, marriages and deaths from the Marin Independent Journal newspaper. The Marin County GenWeb site includes queries, biographies, deeds, pensions and wills. Jana views the Internet as a wonderful place for the genealogist to get clues. A good researcher will follow up on this by checking the documents carefully and citing the sources. She also shared a guideline that says information about a particular person should not made public on the Internet until all of their generation has passed away.
Our "Thank You" to L-AGS member David Abrahams for recommending Jana as a speaker after hearing her presentation at the California State Genealogical Alliance (CSGA).
On July 10th we had a patriotic program featuring Pat Moore and Linda Garrett, members of the local DAR chapter, Josefa Higuera Livermore.
Pat Moore showed a PowerPoint presentation about the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). It was founded on October 11, 1890 in Washington, D.C. The group currently has about 170,000 women members in about 3,000 chapters in all fifty states and some foreign countries. Any woman not less than 18 years of age who can prove a lineal, blood line, descent from an ancestor who aided in achieving American independence may consider membership. After contacting a DAR chapter, my wife, Gail, was pleasantly surprised last year by the assistance she was given in documenting each statement of birth, marriage and death in the proving process. Pat also mentioned the DAR Index set in our L-AGS collection at the Pleasanton Library. More details about the NSDAR may be found at <www.dar.org/natsociety/default.html>. Individuals seeking additional information should contact: Jane Everett, 925-443-5565, jbeveret@inreach.com; Glynice Pomykal, 925-455-4807 or gpomykal@home.com; or Pat Moore, 925-447-854 or triciamoore@home.com.
Linda Garrett showed a PowerPoint presentation about one of her ancestral lines – the Patrick Anderson Family and their ties to Valley Forge. Linda and her husband visited various locations so they had personal photos to illustrate the presentation. Because this family included legislators and judges, Linda was able to find old books that added to her family information.. Linda used "Bibliofind" <www.bibliofind.com> to find old and rare books. This is found under "Bookstores" on the L-AGS website. Both the DAR and Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) websites may be found under "Hereditary Societies" on our website, too.
Pat provided a prize, so we had a drawing. Glynice Pomykal won the book titled Rise to Rebellion: A Novel of the American Revolution by Jeff Shaara (July 2001). Could we have found a more appropriate winner? Glynice is a member of both the DAR and L-AGS.
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From the Attic |
A Family Album and A Family Bible
By Mildred Kirkwood
My cousin, Virgie Meyer, is now in a nursing home and unable to recall all of her genealogy. Her genealogy information was being stored in an old shed, along with a lot of other stuff. Her granddaughter and I went through it all and picked out the things we thought should be in a genealogy file. I intend to put their family information into Family Tree Maker and put it on a CD for them.
Her granddaughter loaned me this photo album and Bible that had belonged to Virgie’s grandmother, Dora Williams. The Bible was begun in 1882. Dora kept it up during her lifetime, as did Virgie, so the Bible contains information on 10 generations of their family. The album contains many old pictures of the family. Virgie made an index card, on which she typed the names of each person in the photos, so I don’t need to remove the photos to find out who they are. I think she was very brave to loan me such precious items. If they were mine, I wouldn’t let them out of my hands!!
| They ran out of room to write all the family statistics, so they have written it on the fly leaf and several other pages all through the Bible. There are newspaper obituaries pasted to the back cover. |
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All in all, there is a lot of information here. There was also a box of newspaper clippings, including many family obituaries, articles on weddings, personal articles about some members of the family. In fact, by going through these items, I have discovered that I have some relatives named Dunn in Pleasanton, as well as some named Summers in Antioch. Maybe someday I will get around to trying to find them.
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The album has a padded cover with a mirror and a metal decoration (copper, maybe). It has thick pages, with spaces for photos on each side. There were many photos that I had never seen before. |
The family, Newport, has a recent web site and I will send some of the photos and other information by e-mail to be added to the web site. Hopefully, this will help other family members interested in their family history. Since the website has been launched, several people have contributed and it has already become a very informative and useful site. Descendants of Thomas Newport genealogy page: <http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~rwbaker/ancestry/newportgen/Newportgen.htm>
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Life in the Past Lane |
Livermore Herald, 17 April 1877
Where Is Your Child at Night?
We frequently see children of from six to twelve years of age, both boys and girls, playing about our streets in the evening. A few nights since, we saw such a band on Third Street as late as ten o’clock. Of what can the parents of these children be thinking? Do they have an idea that this species of "night-school" is beneficial to the little ones? It is this very street education which is filling San Francisco with hoodlums and preparing for the people of that city a problem which we fear they will never solve.
See that the little ones are at home at night, and more, make that home pleasant and attractive; join with them in some game or pastime or read aloud from some instructive book or paper. By so doing, you will take from the child all desire to go out, and implant in his or her mind thoughts of good, instead of evil. Think on this.
Livermore Herald, 30 December 1880
A very plausible chap, with face of brass, tongue of treacle, and possessed of the
power of truthful lying in a most remarkable degree, imposed on a number of families in
this place recently, in a most transparent and curious manner. He offered for sale an
article called by him "Manchester Rock," which he guaranteed would, if merely
put into the oil in any common lamp, prevent all breakage of lamp chimneys and danger of
explosion. Strange to say, he made a number of sales in this vicinity, each purchaser
being also sold to the full amount of the purchase money. The victims of this swindle are
very chary about making known the facts of their being "taken in," and we
therefore place the facts above before our readers that others may not add to his
dishonest gains.
These two articles were submitted by Gary Drummond.
Livermore Herald, 29 Feb 1908
Mountain Lion Killed in Altamont Hills
A mountain lion was killed last Friday on Mrs. John Scullion’s place almost a mile and a half northwest of Altamont.
The animal first made its appearance in M. Keerans’ dooryard about eleven o’clock. Mrs. Keerans was attracted to the door by the barking of the dogs. She saw a large tawny beast within a few feet of the house. It was fleeing before the dogs which kept a respectful distance in the rear. The animal passed out of sight and was next seen on the Scullion place about 11:30 by Jas. Scullion, who was plowing. Mr. Scullion’s dog first noticed the animal and held it at bay on the side hill. Mr. Scullion heard the barking of the dog and was startled to see a full-grown lion within a short distance of him.
He shouted to his brother Tom, who was working on a fence a short distance away, to bring his axe. Armed with the axe he helped hold the animal at bay while Tom went to Jesse Young’s place and secured a rifle. Mr. Young accompanied him back to the place where the animal was at bay but could not be made to believe that the animal was anything more formidable than a California lynx. He changed his opinion when he saw the huge cat, which was growling and lashing his sides with his tail in anger, while Scullion and his dog pluckily held him at bay. Tom took hasty aim and fired but missed. Mr. Young was more accustomed to his gun and taking careful aim laid the big cat low with a well directed shot. The animal measured six feet, eight inches from tip to tip. The Scullion brothers skinned the animal and sent the pelt to a San Francisco taxidermist to be mounted.
It has been known for a number of years that a mountain lion ranged the Brushy Peak country as it was seen or heard at rare intervals but nothing had been heard from it for a couple of years and it was thought to have left the country. Mountain lions are plentiful in the mountains lying to the south and east of town but this is the nearest that one has approached to the valley in many years.
The State Fish Commission offers a bounty of $20 for every lion killed, the pelt of
which is delivered to their office which a sworn certificate stating the animal was killed
within the State."
Submitted by Jon Bryan
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G. R. O. W. |
If you have ancestors from Gorran-haven, Cornwall, England you are fortunate in having
this site to visit. If not you might want to visit it just to enjoy a great site. It
includes search lists for marriages, baptisms, cemeteries, landowners, fisherman, etc. The
list starts from the 1600s.
http://www.gorran-haven.com
A useful site for those with German ancestors in the Sudentenland, it has general
information for the area, lists of resources available, gazetteer links, abbreviations
lists and many useful links.
http://german.genealogy.net/reg/SUD/sudet_en.html
The 1881 census of Vancouver Island, BC is indexed on line at this site. A rather
unique feature is the capability to search the census by occupation.
http://web.mala.bc.ca/dunae/census/
A roster and some personal information on the men who made up Teddy Roosevelt’s
Rough Riders can be found at this site. Included for many are physical descriptions and
where they resided before joining the Rough Riders.
http://members.tripod.com/~Phonelady/rough-riders.htm
The cemetery site for Madison County, Indiana contains a database of over 70,000
individuals who found their final rest in the 98 cemeteries listed.
http://www.and.lib.in.us/cemetery/
Those researching genealogy in New Mexico will want to visit the following site with
homepages and considerable information on all the counties. It also features a surname
search list and queries.
http://www.newmexicogenealogy.org
A site focusing on genealogical research in the North of Ireland with many useful links
including one to the Public Record Office (PRO) is located at
http://www.aboutye.com/local/genealogy.html
A unique site which should get better as it grows and warrant repeated visits is one
which allows you to search for a name across many ship and passenger lists.
http://ships.refined-search.com
A great site with links to many good genealogy sites throughout Australia is the South
Australian Genealogy site. It includes links to gazetteers, Jewish genealogy, phone books,
the Australian National Library, the National Archives, cemetery lists and numerous other
items useful to the genealogical researcher.
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~leadbeater/
Dedicated to Japanese-American Family History, this site offers advice on such topics
as obtaining WWII war relocation records, immigration records, etc. It is a work in
progress and could warrant return visits by those researching Japanese-American ancestry.
http://www.carolynbrady.com/jagenealogy.html
The Illinois State Archives offers an online index of marriages in Illinois for period
1763-1900. The list can be searched by groom and/or bride as well as by location.
http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/marriage.html
The Genealogy Division of the Indiana State Library offers several excellent on-line
search lists including a list of Indiana marriages through 1850 and a list of newspaper
references to WWII servicemen indexed by name.
http://www.statelib.lib.in.us/WWW/INDIANA/GENEALOGY/genmenu.HTML
Looking for vital record information in Kentucky? The University of Kentucky offers
searching of their Kentucky Death indexes (1911-1986) and Marriages/Divorces Indexes
(1973-1993) at
http://ukcc.uky.edu/~vitalrec/
You can now search the 1850 US census for Los Angeles on that city’s Genweb site
at
http://www.cagenweb.com/re/losangeles/index2.htm
If you need to search for a marriage, try this site specializing in links to searchable
marriage lists. It currently has links to sites in 48 states.
http://www.idreamof.com/marriage.html
If you have Shawnee Indian ancestry, you might want to check the Shawnee Bluejackets
Site which has a lineage list as well as a link to the Shawnee Tribal website. That site
has links to other Native American site such as those for the Cherokee and Miami Nations.
http://www.angelfire.com/my/shawneebluejackets/
Pier 21 is the official site of Halifax, Canada, a major port for immigration as well
as for the departure and return of troops in WWII. It has a "Wall of Honor"
project similar to that at Ellis Island. The names currently on the wall can be viewed
through a pull down window.
http://www.ednet.ns.ca/educ/heritage/pier21/index.html
If any of your ancestors were Evangelical Lutheran, you might be interested in the site
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Archives outlining their genealogical
services.
http://www.elca.org/os/archives/intro.html
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Things To File |
L-AGS Future Program Topics
Do you have an idea or research concern that could be a topic for a future L-AGS program?
Some ideas under consideration are: Danish or Jewish genealogical research, quilting and
genealogy, and adoption.
SSA Increases Fee for providing Copy of SSN Application
Beginning July 1, 2001, the Social Security Administration began charging $27 to provide a
copy of a Social Security Number Application, Form SS-5. To make a request for a SSN
Application; give as many details as possible, name, dates, location and Social Security
Number. The fee increases to $29 if you do not include the SSN. Mark both the envelope and
the request, "Freedom of Information Request." No return envelope is needed.
Address your request to:
Social Security Administration
OEO FOIA Workgroup
300 N. Green Street
P.O. Box 33022
Baltimore, Maryland 21290-3022
For more information see <www.ssa.gov/foia/foia_guide.htm>.
From Larry Renslow
The Overland Monthly
Published in San Francisco from 1868 to 1900 The Overland Monthly often carried short
stories by Bret Harte, poetry by Ina Coolbrith and articles by John Muir and others.
Genealogists may be interested in a "California Marriages and Deaths" section
that was carried in the editions from June to December 1872. An electronic version of the
"Overland Monthly" can be accessed at <http://moa.umdl.umich.edu>.
Click on browse Journals, and go to "Overland Monthly."
From Gary Drummond
Pleasanton Public Library Home Page
This web site has just recently been refurbished as a result of the library becoming
independent of the Alameda County Library system. Change your bookmark to <www.ci.Pleasanton.ca.us/library.html>.
Wash Day Twelve-Step Program
Wash days, often on Monday, meant hard work before the coming of electricity in rural
area. The following instructions, written to a new bride in the late 1880s, are reproduced
with their original spellings:
Bold a fire in back yard to heet kittle of rain water.
Set tubs so smoke won’t blow in eyes if wind is pert.
Shave one hole cake of lie soap in billin water.
Sort things in three piles, 1 whites, 1 collurds, 1 work britches.
Stur flour in cold water to smooth, then thin with billin water.
Scurb dirty spots on board, then bile.
Don’t bile cullord – just rench.
Take whites out of tub with broom stick then rench, blew, and starch.
Spred tee towels on grass.
Hang old rags on fence.
Scrub porch with hot sopey water.
Turn tubs upside down.
Go put on clean dress – brew cup of tee – set and rock a spell.
In later years, homes had a wash house in the back, an electric water pump, a washing
machine, and a hand-cranked or electric wringer. Crystal White or Proctor and Gamble
laundry soap was common.
Reprinted from "Musings and Gleanings from the World of History and Genealogy,"
July/August 2000, page 79. With permission of Heritage Quest Magazine, web site <www.heritagequest.com>, and the author Richard
L. Hooverson, web site <www.outofthepast.com>.
Battlefield Parks photography by Jan Faul
Those interested in Civil War history must see this information and photography site. The
gallery of photographs by Jan Faul are beautiful yet haunting.
<www.washingtonpost.com/wpsrv/photo/battlefieldparks/front_qt.htm>
From Gerald Bradley
Correction
In the February 2001 issue, a web site for Genealogy Fiction was incorrectly cited as part
of "Genealogists Serving Librarians." It is part of a personal site maintained
by Julie Kidd. We apologize for our error and any confusion it may have caused.
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Genealogy Group Meetings |
Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society has the following monthly meetings:
Family Tree Maker Focus Group: 1st Thursday, 7:30 p.m. at Livermore Adult Education Building, 543 Sonoma Avenue, Livermore. During the summer, meetings are held at the LDS Church, 950 Mocho Street, Livermore. For information call Dick Finn 925-447-9652, e-mail computer@l-ags.org.
General Meeting: 2nd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth Emek, corner of College Avenue and South M Street, Livermore. For information call Jon Bryan, 925-447-9407, e-mail program@l-ags.org.
The Master Genealogist Group: 2nd Thursday, 7:30 p.m. at the LDS Church, 950 Mocho Street, Livermore. For information call Kay Speaks, 925-455-9038, e-mail tvtmg@l-ags.org.
Study Group: 3rd Thursday, 7:30 p.m. at the LDS Church, 950 Mocho Street, Livermore. For information call Kay Speaks, 925-455-9038, e-mail study@l-ags.org.
Computer Interest Group: 4th Thursday (except November and December), 7:30 p.m. at Livermore Adult Education Building, 543 Sonoma Avenue, Livermore. During the summer, meetings are held at the LDS Church, 950 Mocho Street, Livermore. For information call Dick Finn, 925-447-9652, e-mail computer@l-ags.org.
Other Area Genealogy Societies General Meetings
California Genealogical Society:
2nd Saturday of January, March, May, July, September, and November from 1:30 to 3:00
p.m. at society headquarters, 1611 Telegraph Avenue, Suite 200, Oakland, CA. Web site <www.calgensoc.org>.
Contra Costa County Genealogical Society:
2nd Thursday of each month, 7:30 p.m. at the Concord/Walnut Creek Family
History Center, 3700 Concord Boulevard, Concord. Web site <www.geocities.com/heartland/plains/4335/cccgs/cccgs.html>
East Bay Genealogical Society:
2nd Wednesday of each month, 10 a.m. at the Dimond Branch of the Oakland
Library, 3565 Fruitvale Avenue, Oakland. For information, see their web site at <www.katpher.com/EBGS/EBGS.html>.
Hayward Area Genealogical Society:
4th Tuesday of each month, 6:30 p.m. in the San Lorenzo Library, 395 Paseo
Grande, San Lorenzo. For information call 510-483-8234 and leave a message.
Mt. Diablo Genealogical Society:
3rd Thursday of each month, 1:15 to 3 p.m. in the Community Room, CivicBank
of Commerce, 1940 Tice Valley Road, Walnut Creek.
San Joaquin Genealogical Society:
3rd Thursday of each month, 1:00 or 7:00 p.m. at Brookside LDS Church, 800
West Brookside Road, Stockton. For information call 209-478-0800. Web site <www.rootsweb.com/~sjgs>
San Mateo County Genealogical Society:
2nd Wednesday of each month, 7:30 p.m. in the Belmont Central School, 525
Middle Road, Belmont. For information call 650-572-2929. Web site <www.smcgs.org>
San Ramon Valley Genealogical Society:
3rd Tuesday of each month (except August and December), 10 a.m. at LDS
Danville Stake Center, Stone Valley Road at Smith Road, Alamo. For information, call
Barbara Byer, 925-820-9738.
Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society:
The meeting day and location is changing due to construction at the Santa Clara
Library. For details see the web site <www.katpher.com/SCCHGS>.
Solano County Genealogical Society:
4th Thursday of each month (except July, August, November and December) at
7:00 p.m. in the Fairfield Senior Center, 1200 Civic Center Drive, Fairfield. Web site
<www.scgsinc.org>
Sonoma County Genealogical Society:
4th Saturday of each month (except July, August, and December)at 1 p.m. in
Room 2009, Lark Hall, Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa. Web site <www.scgs.org>
Stanislaus County Genealogical Society:
3rd Tuesday of each month (except July and December) at 7:00 p.m. at Trinity
United Presbyterian Church, Covell Hall, 1600 Carver Road, Modesto. Web site <www.cagenweb.com/lr/stanislaus/gssc.html>
Tracy Area Genealogical Society:
4th Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the Lolly Hansen Senior Center, 375
9th Street, Tracy. Web site <www.rootsweb.com/~catags>
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Upcoming Seminars and Workshops |
September 9, Tracy, CA – A specially arranged TAGS meeting Sunday, September 9 at 2:00 p.m. for a special presentation from Willis Photo, a family owned business in Belmont, CA, on dating and identifying old photographs. Meeting location is the Lolly Hansen Senior Center, 375 9th Street, Tracy.
September 15, Modesto, CA – The Genealogical Society of Stanislaus County presents George Ott at the Modesto Centre Plaza. Topics will include Pre-Civil War Military Records, Civil War and Post-Civil War Military Records, Court Records, Searching Immigration Records at the FHL. Contact Don Wilson, 209-869-3966. More information can be found at their web site <www.cagenweb.com/lr/stanislaus/gssc.html>.
September 12-15, Quad Cities, IA and IL – Federation of Genealogical Societies Annual Conference –"Great River Bend Genealogy – A Heartland Gathering." Hosted by Blackhawk Genealogical Society of Rock Island and Mercer Counties, Illinois, and Scott County, Iowa Genealogical Society. Web site <www.fgs.org>, e-mail: fgs-office@fgs.org, or phone: 1-888-380-0500.
September 22, Concord, CA – Contra Costa County Genealogical Society seminar with Arlene Eakle at the Eastside Church of Christ Fellowship Hall, 1020 East Tregallas Road, Antioch, CA. Topics to be announced. Check their web site at <www.geocities.com/heartland/plains/4335/cccgs/seminar.html>.
October 27, San Francisco, CA – NGS Regional Conference, Crown Plaza, 1221 Chess Drive, Foster City, California, co-hosted by the California Genealogical Society. Speakers are Cyndi Howells of Cyndi’s List, and Curt Witcher,Manager of the Historical Genealogy Department of the Allen County Library in Fort Wayne, IN. Information at <www.ngsgenealogy.org/confSanFran.htm>.
October 20, Las Vegas, NV – Clark County Nevada Genealogical Society presents a seminar with Leland Meitzler of Heritage Quest. Topics include Armchair Genealogy, Finding Your Family When All You Know is the State, and Finding Women in Your Pedigree. For registration information see <www.lvrj.com/communitylink/ccngs>
October 20, Redwood City, CA – San Mateo County Genealogical Society presents an all-day seminar on How to Use The Master Genealogist, featuring Bob Velke, the developer of TMG and President of Wholly Genes Software, Inc. Sequoia Union High School District Tech Center, 480 James, Redwood City. For more detailed information, see <www.smcgs.org>.
2002
January 7-11, Salt Lake City, UT – Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy includes ten different courses for the beginning, intermediate or advanced genealogist. More information at <www.infouga.org>.
January 25-26, Boston, MA – GENTECH Conference "Family History at the Speed of Light." More details will be available soon on their web site at <www.gentech.org>.
March 23, Santa Rosa, CA – Sonoma County Genealogical Society presents James L. Hanson in an all-day seminar. Topics include: The Draper Manuscripts, Getting Around the Lost 1890 Census, Genealogy in Alphabetical Order, and What to Do When You Hit a Brick Wall. For reservations, contact Registrar Audrey Phillips, 96 Eastside Circle, Petaluma, CA 94954-3609 or 707-763-4492. Information is also on their web site at <www.scgs.org>.
May 9-11, Salt Lake City – Utah Genealogical Association presents "Untangling Your Roots" conference at the Salt Palace, one block from the Family History Library. Classes will be announced later. Check the web site at <www.infouga.org>.
August 7-10, Ontario, CA – Federation of Genealogical Societies Annual Conference, Ontario Convention Center, hosted by the California State Genealogical Alliance. For more information, see the web site at <www.fgs.org>.
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Livermore Roots Tracer Staff |
| Editors | Debbie Pizzato | Staff Contributors | |
| Vicki Renz | Livermore History | Gary Drummond | |
| G.R.O.W. | Frank Geasa | ||
| Proofreading | George Anderson | Things to File | David Oakley |
| Mildred Kirkwood | Life in the Past Lane | Mildred Kirkwood | |
| Cassie Wood | Family Tree Maker Group | Dick Finn | |
| Tri-Valley TMG User Group | Kay Speaks | ||
| Printing & Distribution | Mildred Kirkwood | Study Group | Kay Speaks |
| Joyce Siason | Computer Group | Dick Finn | |
| Library News | Judy Person | ||
| CD-ROM Updates | Jay Gilson | ||
| Past Programs | Jon Bryan |
The following pages are still open for adoption:
From the Attic
Meetings/Seminars
If you would like to be responsible for one of these pages, please contact Debbie
Pizzato for more information.
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Donations to L-AGS |
Some of our members have wished to donate books or other items to our group. We will be happy to receive such donations. The donor will receive a Thank You note to use for tax purposes, if desired.
Other members have wished to make a monetary donation on behalf of a loved one or friend. These donations will be used according to the donor’s wishes, or if none is expressed, we will purchase items for our Pleasanton and Family History Libraries.
We welcome such donations and our Corresponding Secretary will acknowledge the gift. If a memorial, an acknowledgment will be sent to the family.
Last modified 10may04.0547 gwa
