Beginners' Workshop at Troke Library is Today!

Saturday, November 7, 2015

11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

502 West Benjamin Holt Drive

Stockton, California

Our last workshop session for the Fall semester will be held today, discussing the topic of "How to Research Your Mexican Ancestry."

San Joaquin Genealogical Society member Sylvia Perez will discuss researching your Mexican, Central, or South American genealogy. She'll include her own example of finding relatives in Jalisco, Mexico, after ties were broken for more than a century. She will walk you through websites with resources to help you locate your own family's genealogy.

Join us at this free workshop, beginning at 11:00.

 

 

Tonight: SJGS Hosts Director of the International Society of Genetic Genealogy

Thursday, October 15, 2015

5:45 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

502 West Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton

   
"DNA Refresher and Genetic Genealogy Update"

Presenter: Katherine Hope Borges, Director
International Society of Genetic Genealogy

SJGS is pleased to announce our speaker for tonight’s meeting: Katherine Borges. Returning to Stockton after her well-received presentation here three years ago, Katherine will be bringing updates on developments in the use of DNA testing for genealogy, as well as reviewing the basic concepts behind DNA testing for those interested in exploring this tool for use in your own family history.

Katherine Borges is co-founder and current director of the International Society of Genetic Genealogy, the first society organized to promote the use of DNA testing in genealogy. Established in 2005, the non-profit ISOGG is currently eight thousand members strong and represents a membership spread across the world in more than seventy countries. With a mission to promote and educate members and the general public about the use of DNA testing for genealogical purposes, ISOGG has been active in presentations across the continents. Katherine, herself, has spoken not only at many events in the United States, but also in Canada, the U.K., and Ireland.

Join us this evening in the Community Room of the Margaret Troke Library as we welcome Katherine Borges back to Stockton.

This Week's Meeting: SJGS Hosts California Genealogical Society President

Thursday, September 17, 2015

5:45 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

502 West Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton

   
"The California Genealogical Society and Library:
Connecting People to Their Diverse Family Heritage"

Presenter: Linda Harms Okazaki, M.A.

As genealogists, we begin by researching our own roots, following our family back to origins in other states and perhaps even other countries whose ethnic customs we've celebrated all our life. But then, perhaps a marriage introduces an entirely new culture—and a different direction for our family history research. Enter a new learning curve as we start to familiarize ourselves with names and places not part of our own heritage.

No matter which countries of origin you've added to the patchwork quilt of your family heritage, you will be interested to hear the experience of this month's guest speaker at our monthly membership meeting.

With one speaker, we offer a double feature. Linda Okazaki, president of the California Genealogical Society and Library, will share with us the scope of services available through CGS and the holdings that can be found at the CGS Library in Oakland.

In addition, because of the diversity of the state of California and the fact that our ancestors came from so many different places, our speaker is passionate about encouraging people to avail themselves of the specialized resources of many different genealogical societies, and will share some of these other useful resources with us in her presentation this coming Thursday evening.

As an example of mounting that learning curve in researching family roots from unfamiliar regions, Linda will delve into her own family's experience—in particular, discussing how she researched her husband's Japanese roots.

Linda Okazaki is a fourth generation San Franciscan whose interest in genealogy began as a hobby but has since grown to a professional quest. Linda is a member of APG, the Genealogical Speakers Guild and DAR. A graduate of NIGR, ProGen and several other genealogical institutes, Linda is passionate about researching, documenting, teaching and sharing the stories of Japanese Americans. We are honored to have her as our guest speaker for this first meeting of our fall season.

Nationally Recognized Author Speaking in Stockton

The San Joaquin Genealogical Society is pleased to host our Summer Seminar next Tuesday, July 14, at the Cesar Chavez Library in downtown Stockton. The featured speaker, Gena Philibert-Ortega, will focus on two classes to provide genealogical researchers with online and newspaper resources.

This event, beginning at 10:30 a.m., is free to attend, but due to limited seating at the library's Stewart Hazelton room, requires pre-registration through our page at EventBrite.

OLLI Presents: SJGS!

The San Joaquin Genealogical Society is honored to partner this summer with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of the Pacific. We have been invited to present two series of beginning genealogy classes for OLLI. The classes are designed specifically with application in mind, and will include three hands-on lab sessions to walk participants through the beginning steps of completing their own pedigree chart and family group sheet.

Just this week, we began the first session with an energetic group of participants.

Each series will include six sessions.

There are still a few slots available for the second series, which begins on Monday, July 13. The ninety minute long morning classes begin at 10:00, and are held on Mondays and Wednesdays. To join OLLI and register for their classes, check out their website.

SJGS President on Panel for Wednesday's DearMYRTLE Broadcast

The topic slated for this week's "Wacky Wednesday" broadcast is DAR applications, and DearMYRTLE has invited a panel of experts to walk the audience through the process of completing the required research and preparation. If you ever wondered what is considered acceptable for DAR proof of lineage from a Patriot ancestor, this is your opportunity to tune in and find out.

Professional genealogist Sheri Fenley, who happens to be our Society's president, will don a different hat as Registrar with El Toyon, our local chapter of DAR, to participate in this panel discussion.

Follow this link here to access the live broadcast at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, 9:00 p.m. Eastern (UTC - 7).

Tonight: More Tools for Brick Wall Smashing

Thursday, May 21, 2015

5:45 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

502 West Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton

   
"Re-Branded Lives: Tracking Name Changes"

Presenter: Kathryn Miller Marshall, Ph.D.

Do you have mystery ancestors whose invisible trail through time has driven you to distraction? Every genealogist eventually runs across a Brick Wall case in which the ancestor seems to have literally disappeared. Research responses include the usual tactics: puzzling over name variants, typos, transcription errors, and mishearing of names by census enumerators.

But what if names have been changed intentionally? Your ancestor may have had one of many reasons for such action. Forbidden romance, adoption, debts, criminal records, avoiding military service, religious persecution, and national quotas have been common motives for selectively filtering or modifying information about oneself over time.

Returning for an encore following her February presentation, Dr. Marshall will show us techniques for tracking intentional name changers in these different scenarios during tonight's membership meeting. The principles she will describe are important to problem solving about elusive ancestors, resolving contradictory claims about family lines, and recognizing if a same-named individual is part of your family line or actually belongs to another's ancestry.

Please consider yourself invited to join us for this evening's presentation, and to invite a friend, as well. Come early to enjoy refreshments and an opportunity to socialize with fellow members before the beginning of our 5:45 p.m. business meeting.

Tonight’s meeting will be the last in our Society’s regular spring line-up. Next month is our annual potluck dinner. The meeting location will be sent to members in the monthly newsletter.

We will resume our evening meetings at the Troke Library after our summer break, with our first fall presentation scheduled for Thursday, September 17.

Beginners' Workshops Continue at Troke Library

Saturday, May 2, 2015

11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

502 West Benjamin Holt Drive

Stockton, California

 

Our Spring beginners' workshop series continues this Saturday with a session designed to help locate and use free Internet resources for genealogical research.

 

The Internet can serve as your portal to access online copies of documents and records for family history research. Although many people are aware of subscription services on the Internet such as Ancestry.com, there are numerous free resources that you can avail yourself of, as well.

 

This session is designed to acquaint you with top-rated online genealogical resources, and provide direction in how to find them and use them, both at your local library and from your own home.

 

  

Tonight's Meeting: Equipping You to Break Through Brick Walls

Thursday, April 16, 2015

5:45 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

 502 West Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton 

Elementary, My Dear Watson:
Solving Your Genealogy Puzzles With
Clues You Already Have

Presenter: James Baker, PhD, CG

Every researcher has run across them: those challenging situations where key data are missing or inadequate. How do you fill in the genealogical blanks without embarking on new research?

Dr. James Baker, CG, will provide us with the answer to that quandary as he returns to present this second part of his research series this evening, April 16, at our monthly membership meeting at the Troke Library in north Stockton.

The evening's presentation will provide case studies to show how thorough data analyses and the use of indirect evidence can be your effective approach in reviewing documents you've already compiled. He'll provide workable examples by examining naming patterns, witness signatures to birth or marriage documents, inheritance data, sibling data and family migration patterns, many of which details you may already have in documents you've previously obtained.

After the favorable reception to his presentation last October, we are pleased to welcome Jim Baker back to Stockton for this month's follow up session. Please come early to enjoy some refreshments and a social time with fellow members. Feel free to invite a friend to attend with you. 

Beginners' Workshop Series Continues in Lodi

San Joaquin Genealogical Society returns to the Lodi Public Library this Saturday with our next session on the beginners' genealogy series, "Grow Your Family Tree." The afternoon session, covering the basics of pursuing your own family history, will be held in the library's Community Room. In addition, the topic for this session will include how to find free resources online, and will introduce the Society's new program, First Families of San Joaquin.
 
Lodi Public Library is located at 201 West Locust Street in Lodi, California. Come join us this Saturday afternoon, from 2:00 to 4:00, and explore which resources will help you with your own family tree.
 
For more information, email the Lodi Public Library or call them at (209) 333-5503.

Got Irish Roots?

Thursday, March 19, 2015

5:45 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

 502 West Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton 

Researching Your Irish Roots

Presenter: Kim R. von Aspern-Parker

Whether you are among the 33 million Americans who in 2013 reported to the United States Census Bureau that they have Irish ancestry—or the additional three million haling from Scots-Irish roots—when it comes to the month in which we celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, everybody’s Irish. At least, everyone who is pursuing family history can benefit from the lessons learned in researching Irish roots.

This month, we welcome as our speaker Sacramento genealogist Kim von Aspern-Parker. Graduate of University of Nevada at Reno with a bachelor in journalism and public relations, Kim has often commented that she speaks, teaches, coaches, and blogs about genealogy—and this she has done for more than twenty five years, providing private genealogical investigation services out of her Sacramento office. In addition to this topic, Kim specializes in research in both California and Louisiana, where she recently completed a research trip.

 
Join us in welcoming Kim von Aspern-Parker on Thursday, March 19, at the Margaret Troke Library in north Stockton for our monthly membership meeting. Come early to enjoy some refreshments and a social time with fellow members. Feel free to invite a friend—the more, the merrier!

Tonight's Meeting Brings Pre-1850 Research Tips

Thursday, February 19, 2015

5:45 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

502 West Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton 

 

 The Quest for Pre-1850 Colonials

Presenter: Kathryn Miller Marshall, Ph.D.

At some point in the quest to find our ancestors, we need to be equpped to cross the great census divide and move our family history research back before 1850.

 

The challenge with that, of course, is the lack of itemization of names of anyone in each family, other than the head of household, in every U.S. census enumeration occurring before 1850. To trace family members before that landmark year, we need to employ other types of documentation.

 

We are delighted that our speaker for tonight's meeting is equipped to provide us numerous tips on how to proceed with our pre-1850 research. We welcome back Dr. Kathryn Miller Marshall, who has been enthusiastically received by our members in the past. A speaker at numerous genealogical seminars and conferences, Dr. Marshall served for sixteen years as Director of the Lodi California Family History Center.

 

Please join us tonight in welcoming Dr. Marshall back to Stockton, as we return to the Troke Library for our 2015 general membership meeting series.

Welcome to 2015!

We are delighted to kick off the New Year with our annual dinner meeting this evening at UJ's Restaurant. We are looking forward to hearing from our featured speaker, Mr. Bill Maxwell, Archives Manager of the extensive photograph collection at the Bank of Stockton. He will be sharing some of the exceptional photographs within that collection, especially focusing on those detailing the history of the Stockton area.

This event appears to be the largest annual dinner meeting held in our 60+ year history, as over fifty of our members will gather to socialize with fellow genealogy enthusiasts over a delicious meal. In addition, this event serves as our annual Installation of Officers, and will feature special recognition of notable members.

After the conclusion of this event, our meetings will return to their usual third Thursday time and location at the Margaret Troke Library on Benjamin Holt Drive in Stockton.