In Transition

The year of 2017 is a year of changes for the San Joaquin Genealogical Society. Our latest project: we've just launched our new website. Consider yourself invited to take a peek at sjgensoc.org.

Eventually, this blog will migrate to our new location. In the meantime, whether you are currently a member of SJGS or not, click on over and take a look. 

Featured Tonight: Your Ancestors' Military Records

Thursday, March 16, 2017

5:45 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

502 West Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton

Finding Your Ancestors in Military Records

Kathryn Miller Marshall, Ph.D.

Whether you are seeking information on family members who served during the second World War or are looking for ancestors' records from the Civil War or earlier, there is a wealth of details to be found in military records--as long as you know where to look.

For this month's membership meeting, we are pleased to announce the return of a favorite speaker. Kathryn Miller Marshall is no stranger to our members, having given several well-received presentations over the last few years. She most recently served as director of the Lodi Family History Center, a position which she held for sixteen years.

While her Ph.D. is in psychology from UC Berkeley where she taught for many years, Kathryn Miller Marshall has served as a senior research scientist in Bethesda, Maryland, evaluating the nation's substance abuse programs for congressional reports. Returning to California for her husband's last assignment as a military officer, Dr. Marshall designed curricula and began to specialize in the history of our state between the years of 1840 and 1865. She has had experience developing interpretive panels for museums, editing books for fellow historians, and writing books of her own on the Gold Rush era. Dr. Marshall is a member of the Advisory Board for the California Pioneer Heritage Foundation, which provides living history re-enactors at state parks and preserves historical sites in California.

Please consider yourself welcome to come early to this Thursday evening's meeting to enjoy refreshments and visit with fellow members. We look forward to seeing you then!

Featured This Week: Using DNA to Discover Your Roots

Thursday, February 16, 2017

5:45 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

502 West Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton

Using DNA to Discover Your Roots

Linda Parker Magellan

Where once genealogists agonized over "brick wall" problems keeping them from discovering more about their ancestors, we now have technology enabling us to leap over those proverbial research walls. At this Thursday evening's Society meeting, our speaker will introduce us to the possibilities accessible through the use of DNA testing, and examine what can be discovered, thanks now to genetic genealogy.

This Thursday evening's speaker is Linda Parker Magellan, an independent professional Genetic Genealogy consultant who has traveled internationally to assist individuals in discovering their ancestry through the use of DNA testing. Linda enjoys putting the pieces of the puzzle together to solve the mystery of one’s genetic inheritance.   

Linda ordered her first DNA test kit in 2003 and has been hooked ever since.  She now administers several surname projects and has experience with FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe, AncestryDNA, and The Genographic Project. 

As a founding member of the International Society for Genetic Genealogy, Linda has long regarded education a priority and continues to develop professionally through workshops, conferences, and continuing education coursework. Her area of expertise is in teaching others how to unravel the story in their DNA.

This meeting is open to members of the Society as well as to the public, and is free of charge. Please come early to insure a good parking place, select a seat for the presentation, and enjoy some refreshments during the networking time before the 5:45 start of our Thursday evening meeting. 

Featured Tonight: Family History for Family Holidays

Thursday, November 17, 2016

5:45 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

502 West Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton

Working Family History At Your Family Gatherings

Kim von Aspern-Parker

The holiday season is upon us! Dinners, parties, special gatherings will likely feature one constant: these are all events which will include family members. What a perfect opportunity to encourage interest in your family history research.

This month, we are pleased to  welcome Kim von Aspern-Parker back to Stockton as our guest speaker. A Sacramento area genealogist, Kim is a graduate of University of Nevada at Reno with a bachelor in journalism and public relations. Kim  speaks, teaches, coaches, and blogs about genealogy—and has done so for more than twenty five years, providing private genealogical investigation services out of her Sacramento office. In addition to this month’s topic, Kim specializes in research in both California and Louisiana, where she often conducts  research trips.

Join us in welcoming Kim von Aspern-Parker back to Stockton at our meeting tonight, Thursday, November 17, at the Margaret Troke Library in north Stockton. As always, plan on coming early to enjoy some refreshments and a social time with fellow Society members. Also, feel free to invite a friend to attend the meeting with you—the more, the merrier!

Featured This Week: Your Ancestors' Voter Records

Thursday, September 15, 2016

5:45 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

502 West Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton

Tracing Your Ancestors in Voter Records

Teresa Costa Fraser

Politics has certainly been in the news lately, with elections coming up. But have you ever thought about what you might be able to find out about your ancestors, based on their voting records?

There is a lot more to voter records than political party affiliations. Join us this Thursday as our speaker, Teresa Costa Fraser, delves into this useful research resource. She’ll give us an overview of which voter records can be used to complete pedigree charts and round out family history stories. In addition, she’ll discuss how to find those voter records online and at local and state collections, and will share what she has discovered about her own ancestors, using voter records.

We’ve enjoyed Teresa’s past presentations at our Society meetings. A fourth generation Californian, Teresa saw her interest in genealogy blossom sixteen years ago, upon locating her Swiss Italian immigrant great grandfather’s 1900 census entry at a Family History Center in San Diego. With that success, she has been tracking down her other ancestors ever since, now specializing in research in the Mid-South region for individual clients and research firms.

Please join us early this Thursday evening to enjoy refreshments and chat with fellow SJGS members before our meeting begins at 5:45. We look forward to seeing you back at the Troke Library for this Thursday’s meeting!

Featured Tonight: Brick Walls versus FAN Club

Thursday, April 21, 2016

5:45 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

502 West Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton

   
"Breaking Down Brick Walls:
An Introduction to the FAN Club"

Presenter: Susan Goss Johnston

While we may see “brick walls” in our genealogical research as impenetrable, it is possible to get around these impediments. But you have to know how to do this. This month’s speaker will share key hints on how your ancestors’ “FAN Club”— Friends, Associates and Neighbors—can lead you to just the clues you need.

This month’s speaker, Susan Goss Johnston, is a 2011 ProGen alumna, has completed the “Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis” course at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, and the National Archives' lecture and lab course, “Going to the Source,” and has attended the National Institute on Genealogical Research (now known as the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records). She is a co-editor of the recently published Source Templates for The Master Genealogist™ (available on Lulu.com). Her personal research focuses on families in New England and the Mid-Atlantic region, and she specializes in military records. 

Susan's life is now "in transition" as she and her husband are planning a move to New Mexico later this year. Barring any change of plans, this San Joaquin Genealogical Society event will be your golden opportunity to catch Susan’s last presentation before she leaves California.

We look forward to seeing you this Thursday evening.

Featured Tonight: Researching Your Irish Ancestors

Thursday, March 17, 2016

5:45 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

502 West Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton

   
"Irish Research:
Online and On the Ground"

Presenters:
Jacqi Stevens
Claire Stevens

Sure, you’ve always been told there’ve been Irish immigrants in your family history, but can you trace your way back to their homeland? Join us this month as SJGS members Jacqi and Claire Stevens present a case study on the winding path that led them from the family’s home in Chicago back to the very spot on Tountinna, the mount in northern County Tipperary, where Claire’s second great grandfather was born.

Researching “across the pond” presents many challenges not encountered by those whose families lived for centuries in North American locations. This presentation will guide you from the point of your most recent immigrant relatives’ residence to the region they once called home. Don’t think you have to travel to that spot to get your research done: with current digitization projects, many of the records helpful in your quest are now available online, and will be shared at this week’s meeting.

Please join us this Thursday evening, whether your ancestors were Irish or not. The steps taken and online resources used to find these Irish ancestors applies as well to researching ancestors from many European origins. Hope to see you then!