San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society

Social Security and Original Records

2012-03-05T13:35:00.002-08:00

Thanks to Barbara McCallum and Cheryl Storton for theirpresentations at the Genealogy Society General Meeting on Saturday, March 3.

Barbara talked about the Social Security Death Index andrelated records. If you’ve never gotten a copy of your parents’ or grandparents’application for Social Security, perhaps you are now motivated to try.Here are a couple of good links:

Online requests for Social Security Applications of DeceasedPersons http://www.ssa.gov/foia/html/foia_guide.htm
Does that Social Security number begin with 700-728? If yes, don't overlook the Railroad Retirement Board Records http://www.rrb.gov/mep/genealogy.asp

Cheryl’s presentation entertainingly demonstrated thedifference between original and derivative sources and the importance of obtainingthe original record (or the earliest derivative, in the absence of theoriginal), even when you have a reliable transcription. The image accompanying this article (from Cheryl's presentation) shows a California Mission original record, an 1897 baptism, with a "bonus" in the left column, a notation about the individual's marriage almost 50 years later in 1946.

It makes me wonder. Do we have all the original sources associated with our parents' and grandparents? Or are we relying on family tradition? Sometimes in our haste to get to that Mayflower ancestor, we casually skip over recent, important original documents which could change everything -- including the ease with which we eventually identify that Mayflower ancestor.

Cool associated websites Cheryl recommended include:

FamilySearch Catalog Search https://familysearch.org/#form=catalog
Linkpendium http://www.linkpendium.com

March Meeting: Get Original!

2012-02-26T15:18:00.001-08:00

Saturday, March 3, 2012
Research Class: 12:30 PM
Main Program: 1:45 PM

Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Hall
520 Dana Street
San Luis Obispo, California

This month's main program will be presented by Cheryl Storton, Get Original: Are Your Sources Solid and as Good as Possible? Cheryl learned long ago the value of finding original records and not relying on someone else's research or transcription of a record!

Before the main meeting, be sure to come to the research class on Social Security, presented by Barbara McCallum.

After the research class will be a brief business meeting at 1:00 PM, followed by some tasty snacks and time for chatting with other members. Don't miss the drawings for some excellent prizes!

* * *

Cheryl Storton is a long-time member of the San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society, past President and current Program Chair. She has been doing her own family research since 1980, and has been working as a professional researcher for three years. She is co-owner of Bridge to Yesterday, a company that combines genealogy research services with book publication – "We do the research and we make it beautiful." Cheryl is a member of the DAR, Association of Professional Genealogists, and the National Genealogical Society.

Great Feedback from "Genealogy NOW" Seminar Attendees!

2012-02-05T15:04:00.000-08:00

Wonderful day -- the Genealogy NOW Seminar, February 4.

Comments from the evaluation forms:

"Great seminar -- staff did a super job."
"Good handouts; great refreshements."
"Love the projects displays.
"Thank you! This was a very valuable seminar."
"Everyone real friendly and helpful."
"Good job -- great choice of speakers; no dull topics."
"Great organization."
"Learned a lot."
"This was my first SLOCGS experience --loved it!"
"Loved Pedigree Analysis and Finding European Ancestors because they got my brain going with strategies to solve some of my problems."
"Liked Tracing Common Surnames -- Jones rocks."
"Tom Jones is an excellent instructor. Some speakers are great genealogists who can't teach; he is an excellent genealogist who CAN teach. . . "
"Apryl Cox was brilliant and is a great teacher."

Topics participants would like to see in the future:

Review of genealogy websites.
Scandavanian research
Putting together family books
Land records
California records, pre-statehood
Scottish research
German research
Eastern European research
Dating Photographs

It's Not Too Late for Genealogy NOW!

2012-01-30T09:48:00.000-08:00

Just because you can't get to Salt Lake City for RootsTech this week doesn't mean you can't enjoy a fantastic genealogical learning experience!

Head over to San Luis Obispo on Saturday, February 4 for Genealogy NOW! Growing Your Family Tree, featuring nationally acclaimed author and speaker Dr. Thomas W. Jones!

This full day of presentations is designed to enhance your genealogical sleuthing skills, and add a few branches to your family tree. Included in the event will be vendors, project displays, refreshments, a freebie table, and drawings for some really fantastic genealogy prizes and gift certificates.

For the complete schedule, registration information, or more about this event, please visit http://www.slocgs.org/.

* * *

Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGL, FASG

Thomas Jones has co-edited the National Genealogical Society Quarterly since 2002. He serves the Board for Certification of Genealogists as trustee and is a past president. He is the 2011 recipient of the Association of Professional Genealogists' Professional Achievement Award, 2004 recipient of its Grahame T. Smallwood Jr. Award of Merit, and 1997 and 2002 winner of the National Genealogical Society Award for Excellence for articles in the NGS Quarterly. He has been certified since 1994. A professor emeritus at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., he is a genealogical educator who speaks and writes frequently on genealogical evidence, proof, and problem solving. Personal and professional genealogical research since 1964 has taken Jones to records of all states east of the Mississippi plus Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas.

His experience includes on-site research in courthouses, libraries, and archives in most of those states, the Family History Library, and other major genealogical repositories. He also has conducted research in records of France, Germany, and Ireland, and on-site research in Ireland. His specialties, however, are Georgia, Ireland, and Virginia.

Ron Arons

Ron worked for many years as a marketer at many high-tech companies, including Texas Instruments, Ashton-Tate, and Sybase, before deciding to work full time on The Jews of Sing Sing. Ron became interested in understanding his roots after he lost both his parents to cancer 16-18 years ago. In the process of researching his criminal ancestors' past, Ron has traced his roots to England, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania. In 2005 Ron won a Hackman Research Residency Award from the New York State Archives to continue his research of New York Jewish criminals. In January, 2008, Ron appeared on the PBS television series, "The Jewish Americans," as the acknowledged expert on Jewish criminals of New York's Lower East Side. Arons tours the country giving educational and entertaining presentations on Jewish criminals and Jewish genealogy. Ron earned a B.S. in Engineering from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Apryl Cox

Apryl Cox, BA, MBA, AG®, is a professional researcher and lecturer who has been researching and teaching family history for more than 20 years. She is an Accredited Genealogist® in English research through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists, internationally recognized as ICAPGenSM. She is also a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Apryl currently conducts client research and consultation; teaches genealogy courses at Brigham Young University; and lectures at national, state and local conferences. She serves as an ICAPGen commissioner and as the co-chair of the ICAPGen Testing Committee. Her geographic areas of expertise include England and the United States. Subjects of particular interest for her include methodology, evidence analysis, probate research, and lesser-used records of England – topics on which she frequently lectures.

The ICAPGenSM service mark and the Accredited Genealogist® and AG® are registered marks of the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists.

January 2012 Meeting Rewind

2012-01-25T10:20:00.000-08:00

If you missed our first meeting of 2012, you missed a couple of great presentations by 1940 census expert Joel Weintraub!

Mr. Weintraub chats with members before the meeting begins.

First up, Mr. Weintraub led the Research Class in What's in the 1940 Census? which looked at what we can expect to find when the 1940 census is finally released in April 2012.

This blogger was thrilled to learn that one of the questions on the 1940 census was, "Where were you in 1935?" According to Mr. Weintraub, so many people were in transition in 1940 due to WWII and the "Dust Bowl" in the midwest, that many people had moved since the 1930 census. This question was to help track those migrations. Almost as good as having a 5-year census!

Be sure to get your tickets for some great drawing prizes!

After a short business meeting and some tasty snacks, it was time for the main program. Mr. Weintraub's talk was titled Here Comes the 1940 Census and We ARE Ready!! and he spoke to a packed house - over 100 people showed up to hear his talk!

The house was packed - over 100 people!

Some interesting tidbits about the 1940 census:

The 1940 census has 40 entry lines. 100% of respondents were asked all 40 questions; about 5% of respondents (about 2 people per page) were asked additional questions.

Infants born after 12:01 a.m. on 1 April 1940 were not to be counted.

Informants from outside the family were supposed to be noted. For example, "Information from John Brown, neighbor."

Mr. Weintraub discussed various search tools designed to help you navigate the unindexed 1940 census when it is released. You will definitely want to check these out at http://stevemorse.org - scroll down to the folder "US Census and Soundex (1790-1940)."

You can find more information about Mr. Weintraub, his talks, and the 1940 census on his web site at https://sites.google.com/site/census1940. Volunteer to help index, if you have some free time!

Note: If you missed this talk, you can catch Mr. Weintraub on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society.

* * *

Have you registered for our seminar, Genealogy NOW! Growing Your Family Tree, featuring nationally acclaimed author and speaker Dr. Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGL yet? You will NOT want to miss this fabulous event - hurry and register, or you can register at the door!

Ozarks Research Website Recommendation

2012-01-01T09:01:00.000-08:00

Community & Conflict: The Impact of the Civil War in the Ozarks

http://www.ozarkscivilwar.org/

A Website Review by Sharon G. Whitney

The home page of this website aptly describes the focus:

“This collection offers a portrait of life in the Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma between the years of 1850 and 1875. It includes photographs, letters, journals and other artifacts that relay the difficulty of conducting everyday matters amid the destruction of the American Civil War. The accounts in this collection offer first hand perspectives on this conflict from a variety of sources: soldiers and civilians, merchants and farmers, men and women.

Community and Conflict: the Impact of the Civil War in the Ozarks collects primary source documents from museums, libraries, archives and private individuals from across the Midwest. Together, these contributing institutions offer their collections as an indispensable resource for researchers. This site examines not only the military history of the American Civil War, but demonstrates the lasting repercussions of the War for citizens, soldiers, slaves, women and children. This project is part of the Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative funded by a Federal Library Services and Technology Act grant administered by the Missouri State Library.”[1]

I found the site user-friendly. I love its homepage. Its audio-visual immediately immerses you into the feel of a live-action social history experience. It allows you to do an advanced “keyword” search or to browse by their collections. Their collections are by “County,” “Theme,” or “Battles.”

I started my browsing by “County.” Browsing by county takes you to a map of southwestern Missouri, eastern Kansas, northern Arkansas, and Indian Territory. From there you can select any county within the map. My own county of interest is Barry, Missouri, just across the border from Benton and Carroll counties, Arkansas, and not far from “Indian Territory.”

Clicking on Barry County took me to a county map with wrap-around text giving the year it was formed (1835), its total population in 1860 (7,748), its slave population in 1860 (257), and Civil War battles (one notable skirmish at Keetsville now called Washburn, February 25, 1862).

Thereafter follows a brief narrative about its agriculture, early settlers, and impact of the Civil War. Such textual material helped me build historical context for my family of interest.

Of course historical context is important. Just as important are tidbits that lead to additional original sources. What I found most relevant for my own Confederate Hedrick ancestors in Barry County—particularly with respect to records that might have been kept at the county courthouse in Cassville—is the following information: “The Battle of Pea Ridge, in Benton County, Arkansas, in March of 1862 put Barry County in Union control. The Union army used the county courthouse as their headquarters, suspending county government for the duration of the war.”

The above paragraph helped me to explain why a marriage that occurred in 1862 could not be filed until 1868 because, as certified by the justice of the peace “the county court clerk’s office was vacant in 1862.” Indeed, during the Civil War, most businesses had shut down and over half of the population had fled the area. Eventually, the county sued the federal government for funds to repair damage the Union army had caused to the courthouse when it was used as Union headquarters; the federal government granted this reparation.

The Barry County page at the Community and Conflict site also provides a link to the resources for Barry County, including family collections of Civil War letters, lawsuits, and proceedings of the short-lived Confederate government in Missouri.

Theme Browsing covers: Agriculture, Economics, Guerilla Warfare, Home Front, Refugees, Medicine, Military Life, Minorities, Politics and Government, Reconstruction, Slavery and Urbanization. The “Home Front” theme gave me insight into what “Aunt Pliney” (my great grandfather’s surrogate mother after his mother died) went through while her husband soldiered for General Price to recapture Missouri for the Confederates.
Battle-Browsing features the following battles: Carthage (1861), Dug Springs (1861), Wilson’s Creek (1861), Zagonyi’s Charge (Springfield, 1861), Pea Ridge (1862), Newtonia (1862), Prairie Grove (1862), Springfield (1863), Hartville (1863), Mine Creek (1864), Newtonia (1864) and Price’s Missouri Expedition (1864).

For any family historian wanting an immediate sense of time and place and impact of the Civil War in the Ozarks, this website is a must. Browsing themes enables you to immerse yourself in the community and conflict. Better yet: the site offers images of original sources for genealogical research. Highly recommended and happy hunting!

[1]Springfield-Greene County (Missouri) Library District, “Community andConflict,” article, Community &Conflict: The Impact of the Civil War in the Ozarks (http://www.ozarkscivilwar.org: accessed 30 December 2011).

Don't Miss the SLOCGS Seminar: Genealogy NOW! Growing Your Family Tree

2011-12-29T10:26:00.000-08:00

"Genealogy NOW! Growing Your Family Tree"

February 4, 2012

8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Veterans Hall

801 Grand Avenue

San Luis Obispo, California

Mark your calendars for Genealogy NOW! Growing Your Family Tree, featuring nationally acclaimed author and speaker Dr. Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGL!

This full day of outstanding presentations is designed to enhance your genealogical sleuthing skills, and add a few branches to your family tree. Genealogy NOW! also features the always-entertaining Ron Arons, author of Wanted! U.S. Criminal Records and The Jews of Sing-Sing, as well as English research expert Apryl Cox, AG.

Included in the event will be vendors, project displays, refreshments, a freebie table, and drawings for dozens of genealogy prizes and gift certificates. For schedule, registration information, or more about this event, please visit http://www.slocgs.org/.

January Meeting: Here Comes the 1940 Census!

2011-12-27T12:37:00.000-08:00

Saturday, January 7, 2012
Research Class: 12:30 PM
Main Program: 1:45 PM

Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Hall
520 Dana Street
San Luis Obispo, California

Here Comes the 1940 Census and We ARE Ready!! Don't miss this excellent talk by Joel Weintraub. Joel has been working on finder aids for the 1940 census since 2005, and has been giving talks on the soon-to-be released census for the past five years. Let him help you prepare to find your family in the 1940 census when it comes out on 2 April 2012. Joel also explains why the United States Censuses are not released for public view until 72 years have gone by. The reasons may surprise you!

Before the main meeting, be sure to come to the research class, What's in the 1940 Census? also presented by Joel Weintraub.

After the research class will be a brief business meeting at 1:00 PM, followed by some tasty snacks and time for chatting with other members. Don't miss the drawings for some excellent prizes!

* * *

Joel Weintraub was born and raised in Manhattan. An emeritus Biology Professor at California State University, Fullerton, he has won awards for his science teaching. He volunteered for 9 years at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in southern California. He, David Kehs and Stephen Morse have produced a number of online census searching utilities for both the federal and the New York State censuses on the Morse One-Step Website.

Poster for 1940 Census courtesy of the United States Census Bureau.

SLOCGS to be Featured on FGS Radio!

2011-12-02T08:51:00.001-08:00

The San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society will be featured in the "Society Spotlight" segment of this week's FGS Radio program, My Society!

The program will air at 11:00 AM PST. This week's topic is "Insider's Guide to Genealogy," and features special guest Kathryn Doyle, Communications Director for the California Genealogical Society and Library in Oakland, California.

The Society Spotlight segment will air towards the end of the show, around 11:45 AM. Be sure to tune in to hear the interview with our own Cafi Cohen!

You can read more about this upcoming program on the FGS Voice blog.

To listen to the show, click the link below, or visit My Society Online Radio.

Listen to internet radio with mysociety on Blog Talk Radio

* * *

Don't forget to register for the SLOCGS 2012 Seminar - it's going to be great!

Volunteer Opportunity: SLO Cemeteries/Headstones Database

2011-11-22T11:06:00.001-08:00

Help is needed with updating the SLO Cemeteries/Headstones Database for Arroyo Grande District Cemetery.

The cemetery has already been photographed, but the existing database needs to be updated with the information from the headstones. This process is extremely tedious and requires the ability to focus on both the images and the parameters within the database.

Step-by-step instructions will be given, and it is important to understand the reasons behind them.

Please note that you will need to have a computer with photo-editing software, Microsoft Excel spreadsheeting software, and a DVD drive.

To volunteer or for more information, please contact Martha Graham.

The SLOCGS Bulletin, November 2011

2011-11-17T09:19:00.001-08:00

The November 2011 issue of the SLOCGS Bulletin, Vol. 44, No. 2, has arrived in members' mailboxes. It is another terrific issue, and kudos go to editor Tim Tryon.

Here is Tim's "From the Editor" message:

This issue of the SLOCGS Bulletin comes at at time of change for our society. We are losing our current president and longstanding member Julia George. She is moving to Texas to be nearer kids and grandkids. She will be greatly missed. Also leaving is Dave Dowell who has been our resident expert for genealogical DNA. Oddly, he is also moving to Texas to be near family. At the same time SLOCGS is moving forward into a whole new world of technology and social media. Elizabeth O'Neal has stepped up to offer her knowledge of the many new possibilities of Facebook, Twitter and a SLOCGS Blog. She and Cafi Cohen have done a lot of work toward moving SLOCGS into the 21st century. If you look to the page to the left at the bottom of the column on the right side you wll see not only the address for our website, but, also the addresses for our various social media pages. Take a few minutes to check them out if you haven't already.

In this issue I have finally managed to get a surname index completed. The index is for both issues of Volume 44 of the SLOCGS Bulletin. I intend to include an index for each volume in the November issue from now on.

Once again I am asking for submissions for our next Bulletin. I know each and every one of you have stories to tell, so get cracking and put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Articles can be about some ancestor that you have researched or about your own quest of discovery and how you went about finding out about your family's story. Almost every article in every issue is written by you the members of our society. It doesn't take a professional writer to tell a good story. Just someone who cares about the story itself.

Thanks for reading.

Table of Contents

Ham and Eggs for Five Thousand by Ed Adler

The Hospital Bill by Janet Solverson Thatcher

Riding into Independence by Sharon G. Whitney

Finding Your Ancestor's Original Records Without Traveling by Janelle Pond Richardson

Rocco Manuto and Coming to America by John and Linda Shorb

J. M. Bonilla: An Early SLO County Resident transcribed by Martha A. Crosley Graham

SLO Civil Case Abstracting Project by Martha A. Crosley Graham

Surname Index for SLOCGS Bulletin Volume 44

Genealogy NOW! (information and registration form)

Upcoming SLOCGS General Meetings

SLOCGS Genealogy Classes

* * *

The SLOCGS Bulletin is the magazine of the San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society, and is published twice a year. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the society. Please submit items for publication to Editor Tim Tryon. To join the SLOCGS, please see our membership page.

General Meeting 5 November "Family Skeletons" Program

2011-11-07T09:32:00.000-08:00

Ourmain program on Saturday, November 5, 2011, consisted of members’ accounts ofresearching family skeletons. Thanks to Ginger Goodell for putting together thevery-professional-looking Power Point and contributing thefollowing recap of the individual presentations.

John W. Davis

CherylStortondescribed how she discovered the truth about a family tradition claiming hergrandfather, John W. Davis (see photo), went to prison for making moonshine, but walked away and never wentback when he tired of being there.

Martha CrosleyGrahamread a family story her grandmother wrote, describing Martha’s Danish great-grandfather’scolorful background and death. Martha’sresearch separated “truth from fiction.”

Greg Pisaño described hisdiscovery of a family skeleton while going through newspaper microfilm inArizona’s Sedona/Prescott-area public libraries. His grandfather’s nameappeared in headlines as having murdered his wife’s brother at the door ofa local saloon. Greg demonstrated howadditional research led to more details about this family secret.

Jan Cannon told howshe’d asked her grandmother about her great-grandmother, only to be told she’ddied young and that her grandmother had no memory of her. After Jan enlistedthe help of a professional researcher and another family member doinggenealogical research, she learned her great-grandmother’s name and that she’ddied in an “insane asylum,” having lived there the last 45 years of herlife. Jan described her visit to theinstitution where she was able to view her great-grandmother’s file, see the grave(a numbered brick), and arrange to have a proper grave marker installed.

Carole AnnDavis began seeking clues about when and how her grandfather came from Germany to theU.S. and eventually won medals for his Spanish-American War participation. Using both Ancestry.com and the LDS Family History Centerin Utah, she documented his military service, but was taken aback to discoverhim on the 1900 US census as an inmate at San Quentin. From there, she trackeddown his offense--burglary--and even found his mug shots.

JuliaGeorge’s researchinto collateral ancestors led to a family skeleton who appeared to be anadulterer and a counterfeiter. Lookingat censuses and several cities’ newspapers fleshed out more information on thisblack sheep’s criminal activities.

Lynn Storrs stumbled across news of her father’s previous marriage when her aunt sharedwith her a prized possession, Lynn’s great-grandfather’s Bible. In it Lynn reada strange woman’s name, a name not found in the family Bible. After talkingover her discovery with her mother, Lynn made peace with this upsetting bit offamily history, as most of us have likely learned to do with the familyskeletons we’ve stumbled across.

Janet Grummit shared the bookletshe recently ordered from the Mason City,Illinois Area and Family Historical Society. In it she found a three-and-a-half-pagearticle on a great-uncle charged as an accessory to armed robbery. This was thefirst she’d heard of this family skeleton. She’s doing further research to learn what became of him.

November Meeting: Family Skeletons - Things Your Mother Never Told You

2011-10-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday, November 5, 2011
Research Class: 12:30 PM
Main Program: 1:45 PM

Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Hall
520 Dana Street
San Luis Obispo, California

Family Skeletons: Every family has one - a skeleton in the closet that no one talked about. Come hear our society members describe the family secrets they've uncovered along the way!

Before the main meeting, be sure to come to the research class, Online Map Resources for Your Family History, presented by Cafi Cohen. Extend your family tree by finding your ancestors and their neighbors on historic land-ownership, military, and urban fire-insurance maps. This presentation will include a demonstration of creating an historic map overlay onto Google Earth.

After the research class will be a brief business meeting at 1:00 PM, followed by some tasty snacks and time for chatting with other members. Don't miss the drawings for some excellent prizes!

* * *

Cafi Cohen is a professional genealogy researcher, as well as the current Seminar Chair and past Education Chair of the San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society. Since 1997, she has presented many sessions on research techniques both locally and at regional conferences. As co-owner of Bridge to Yesterday, she combines genealogy research services with book publication – "We do the research and we make it beautiful." She is a member of the National Genealogical Society and the Association of Professional Genealogists.

Volunteer Opportunity: California Digital Newspaper Collection

2011-10-23T16:35:00.000-07:00

Here's another volunteer opportunity for those of you who like to work from home in your pajamas: the California Digital Newspaper Collection (CDNC) is looking for a bit of assistance. Please see the following notice to find out how you can help with this worthwhile project.

You just never know what you might find for your personal research while you're working!

* * *

The California Digital Newspaper Collection (CDNC) is pleased to announce the implementation of User Text Correction in its archive.

The CDNC is the largest, freely-accessible archive of California newspapers. The collection contains nearly 475,000 pages - and growing - ranging from 1846 to the present. It is available for searching at http://cdnc.ucr.edu. The project is managed and hosted by the Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research (CBSR) at the University of California, Riverside.

User Text Correction (UTC) allows individual users of the CDNC to correct computer-generated text. When newspapers are processed from microfilm or paper originals, optical character recognition (OCR) software is used to generate searchable text. This OCR text, however, is often not perfect, particularly for older newspapers. By correcting this OCR text, users improve the CDNC by making more of the text searchable for other users. The CDNC is the first digital newspaper archive in the US that we are aware of to offer user text correction. To learn more, see the help section of the CDNC.

The CDNC is over six years old and has been supported in part both by the National Digital Newspaper Program, a joint effort by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress, and by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian. The CDNC has also worked with local institutions around the state to digitize their newspapers, and has started a project to collect current PDFs from California publishers. Please contact us at cbsrinfo@ucr.edu for more information on both projects.

The User Text Correction tool is part of the Veridian software used to host the CDNC. Veridian is developed by DL Consulting and is used by a number of prominent libraries around the world, including the National Library of New Zealand, the Singapore National Library, Princeton, and Cornell. The CDNC is the first archive to make UTC available and has worked closely with DL Consulting on its development, including beta testing by a number of CDNC users.

CDNC users have already corrected thousands of lines of text. Help us make the CDNC a better archive for all, and experience for yourself how fun - and addictive - correcting OCR text can be.

October 2011 Meeting Rewind

2011-10-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

If you missed our October meeting, you missed a couple of great presentations by Jean Wilcox Hibben, PhD, MA, CGsm!

First up, Jean lead the Research Class in Two Sides of Interviewing, which looked at interviewing from different angles: fields of speech communication (in which Jean holds a BA and MA) and folklore (in which she holds a doctorate). Besides learning oral history gathering techniques, members also learned how to be a good interviewee - it's not as easy as you might think!

After a short business meeting and some tasty snacks, it was time for the main program. This time, Jean focused on Using German Records and Applying Similar Techniques to Research of Other Locations. Many of us trace our roots to the first immigrants to this country... and then stop. Jean discussed how we can find those ancestors who came from Germany - and other locales - and continue the research with the applicable records. She also addressed the basics of what clues can be found in various locations, and the resources available at FamilySearch.org, and Ancestry.com, among others.

Jean Wilcox Hibben is an engaging and entertaining speaker who has done family research for over 30 years. A member of many professional genealogical organizations, she also volunteers at the Riverside (California) location for the Pacific Region National Archives, and was recently named the new director of the Family History Center in Corona, California. She is a nationally-known speaker on family history and folklore.

To learn more about Jean, please visit her web site.

* * *

Don't miss our November 5, 2011 meeting, featuring Family Skeletons: Things Your Mother Never Told You. Spooky!

Vital Records Class

2011-10-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Cheryl Storton and Cafi Cohen presented a session on Vital Records on the Internet at the Paso Robles Historical Society building. We demonstrated navigation and insider's tricks for finding vital records at:

Ancestry.com
FamilySearch
DeathIndexes.com
Linkpendium
USGenWeb

Remember the situation just 10 years ago? If you could not locate the record on LDS microfilm, getting a vital record out of many counties and states was either impossible or constrained by long waiting periods. That's still true in some cases. Fortunately, however, many counties and states are now making documnent images available instantly for free or nominal costs. Examples? Check out:

Ohio Death Certificates, 1908-1953 at FamilySearch (be certain to register and login each time you use FamilySearch)
Historical Cook County, Illinois Vital Records

Stump Dr. D With Your DNA Questions!

2011-10-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

Our resident genetic genealogy expert, Dave Dowell - also known as "Dr. D" - will be heading to Houston, Texas, next month for the 7th Genetic Genealogy Conference for Family Tree DNA Group Administrators, November 5-6, 2011.

If you have questions about genetic genealogy, or how to apply DNA results to your genealogical research, now is your chance to "Stump Dr. D!"

Dr. D will answer all the questions he can during the month of October. However, if you mange to "stump" him, he will take your question directly to the experts in Houston next month to get an official answer for you.

Please send your genetic genealogy questions to Dr. D at InfoDoc@DDowell.com.

Volunteer Opportunity: Civil Cases Project

2011-10-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

The San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society is recruiting volunteers for the Civil Cases Project.

This very interesting project is one that can be done at home in your pajamas during your "spare time." There is no specific time frame for completion, but the abstracting process goes quickly, so it does not take a huge block of time to complete a roll of film.

How it Works:

Files for abstracting will be sent to you as PDFs via Dropbox. Use of Dropbox requires a quick download and installation of the free software.

Pertinent data is abstracted and put into either an Excel spreadsheet or a Microsoft Word table. You will use a split or tiled screen so that you are reading the pages and entering the data at the same time using two separate programs.

Please consider joining this group of dedicated folks who wish to help preserve local data for researchers world-wide!

For more information, or to volunteer, please contact Projects Chairman Martha Graham.

Introducing the SLOCoGenealogy Blog!

2011-10-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the brand-new blog of the San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society!

In the weeks and months ahead, we plan to share information about our meetings, events, and other exciting projects. We hope you will become a regular visitor!

For more information about the society, please visit our web site, and perhaps consider joining or attending our meetings on the first Saturday of each month. We also offer skill-building classes and special interest groups for everyone from beginners to experienced researchers.

Many thanks to the members of the SLOCGS Board for their support, and to the SLOCGS Social Media Committee for stepping up to help with this endeavor!

We hope that you will enjoy reading the SLOCoGenealogy blog. If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave a comment below or send an email to slocogenealogy@gmail.com.