First Stockton All-Day Seminar a Success

One hundred thirty people from all over northern California assembled last Saturday at the University of the Pacific's well-appointed Biological Sciences building lecture hall for SJGS' first All-Day Genealogical Seminar.

The event featured four members of the California State Genealogical Alliance, presenting on a wide variety of topics of current interest in genealogical research.

Attendees joined us in this Stockton, California, event from the Sacramento area, the greater Bay Area, foothill region cities such as Jackson and San Andreas, our neighbors to the south in Modesto, and as far away as Santa Rosa. There were over forty registrants from the Stockton area alone, joined by those in other San Joaquin County cities: Lodi, Manteca, Tracy and Woodbridge.

We are grateful for the generosity of the Jacoby Center for Public Service and Civic Leadership for their support in hosting us at University of the Pacific.

All-Day Genealogical Seminar This Saturday in Stockton

Almost every seat in the house will be filled by the time of our upcoming all-day genealogical seminar this Saturday, February 22, at University of the Pacific. We are expecting participants from all over northern California.

Featured speakers from the California State Genealogical Alliance will present a variety of topics beginning at 9:00 a.m. until the close of the final session at 3:30 p.m. Doors will open at 8:00 a.m. for check-in and to receive speaker packets.

Linda Serna, a professional genealogist from southern California who is part of the research team for PBS' "Genealogy Roadshow" and who also serves as Vice President of Programs for the Orange County Genealogical Society, will present "Family Stories: Genealogy Beyond Just the Dates," guiding seminar participants in how to tell your family's stories.

President of the Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research, Letty Rodella, will conduct a session addressing resources and techniques for "Researching Your Mexican Ancestors." Letty has spent thirteen years pursuing her own Hispanic ancestry, including working with documents dating from the 1500s.

After ample time for participants to network with other seminar participants and enjoy lunch at local Stockton restaurants, Tim Cox, APG member and Education and Events Coordinator for the California Genealogical Society and Library, will focus on how to maximize use of available technology in genealogical research. His informative and entertaining session, "Fun Tools to Help Genealogists Work Smarter" draws on his expertise in technology and organization.

Wrapping up the afternoon, professional genealogist and journal editor Janice Sellers will share her experience, detailing a case study in her presentation, "Reconstructing Family Information When You Start With Almost Nothing."

Registration for the seminar is free, but is required to receive the package of seminar handouts--as well as free gifts included for each registered participant.

Seating is limited. We have almost reached capacity for this exciting event.

There are only a few seats still available. To be included in this event, hurry and register for this event online at https://sjgsseminar.eventbrite.com/ before all seats are taken!  

Speaking In Stockton January 16: Stephen Morse

San Joaquin Genealogical Society

Annual Dinner Meeting

Featuring: 

One-Step Webpages: A Potpourri of Genealogical Search Tools

by Dr. Stephen Morse

Stephen Morse is the creator of the One-Step Website. Many genealogical websites are not easy to use.  Dr. Morse created alternate ways of accessing most of these websites which you will find at the One-Step website. From his site you can search multiple websites at one time.  Sites like:  Ellis Island and Castle Garden passenger arrivals, the collections of Germans, Irish and Russians to America at NARA and census records.  In his other life, Stephen Morse is a computer professional with a doctorate in electrical engineering. He is best known as the architect of the Intel 8086 (the granddaddy of today's Pentium processor), which sparked the PC revolution 30 years ago.

Thursday   January 16, 2014

5:30 pm

UJ's Restaurant

7628 Pacific Avenue, Stockton

Pacific Avenue @ Hammer Lane

For more information on reserving your place for dinner,

email sjcogensoc (at) gmail (dot) com

before Friday, January 10, 2014

Put Your Family History on the Map!

Thursday, November 21, 2013

5:45 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

502 W. Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton

Using Maps

In Genealogy Research

Historical maps are fascinating to use in learning about places that existed in the past. They can be used to find the exact place your ancestors lived and to learn about the neighborhood or surrounding areas. Using historical maps with other sources such as vital records, censuses, city directories, tax lists, and land records can help you see your family’s history from a different perspective.

In our November meeting, we look forward to hearing historical researcher and lecturer Teresa Costa Fraser provide an overview of historical maps that can be used in genealogy research and discuss how to find them in libraries, archives and on the Internet. She will share examples of how she found historical maps of places her ancestors lived in the Azores, Virginia, Illinois, Mississippi and California.

Our speaker owns and operates Retracing the Past, a genealogical research services firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and publishes a blog by the same name. She and her husband, Barry, currently reside in Dublin.

As always, it’s a good idea to come early to the meeting—not only to secure a good parking space, but to greet fellow Society members. We look forward to seeing you at this last meeting of 2013!

Join Us For SJGS's Last Workshop of the Year

Saturday, November 16, 2013

11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Margaret Troke Library

502 W. Benjamin Holt Drive, Stockton

San Joaquin Genealogical Society announces its last Beginners' Workshop for 2013.

On Saturday, November 16, member Sylvia Perez will speak on "How to Research Your Mexican Ancestry" and will share her observations on her recent research and travel. She will describe how she located her Mexican ancestors and some of their descendants living right here in Northern California. In addition to advice on how to start your own family history research, Sylvia will review ideas on how to collaborate with these distant cousins, once you meet them, to achieve further research goals.

After the presentation, Society volunteers will be available for your genealogy research questions, so bring whatever data you already have: birth, marriage, death dates of ancestors and where they lived. To access the wi-fi made available for this workshop session, you may either bring your own laptop, or use one of the library's laptops.