June Meeting: Detective Work with Linda Serna

Saturday, June 2, 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




The June research class How Do You Know That...? will be presented by genealogist Linda Serna. You may not have noticed all the great information in census records, especially the earliest ones. How Do You Know That...? describes how to find that information, and where to go from there.

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!

Ms. Serna will then present the main program, Genealogy as Detective Work. This presentation highlights the skills used by both detectives and genealogists to solve mysteries. It explores how to reason through a genealogical challenge by using a detective's tools and indirect evidence. Specific examples and case studies will illustrate how to find and analyze information that can solve your difficult family mysteries and brick walls.

Don't miss these great presentations by Linda Serna!

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Linda Serna is a professional genealogist who has been researching for 30 years. She is the Vice President of Programs for the Orange County California Genealogical Society (OCCGS), and also speaks regularly to her own group and others in Southern California and New Mexico. She is a member of Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), the Genealogical Speakers Guild (GSG), the Polish Genealogical Society (PGS-CA), and the Genealogical Society of Hispanic America (GSHA-CA).

Copyright by © San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society

The SLOCGS Bulletin, May 2012

The May 2012 issue of the SLOCGS Bulletin, Vol. 45, No. 1, has arrived in members' mailboxes. It is another awesome issue, and many thanks go to editor Tim Tryon.

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

Welcome to the 1940's edition of The SLOCGS Bulletin. In honor of the release of the 1940 census images, most of the articles included are in some way related to the 1940's. I certainly enjoyed reading all the stories you will find here and I hope you do too. On a related note, our September regular meeting will be a 1940 Census release party. I hope you will consider joining us for the festivities. It should be a lot of fun, with folks in '40s attire and displays of photos and anything else from that era that anyone would like to show off. Keep an eye on the SLOCGS website for updated information about the meeting.

Once again I want to thank all the writers who submitted the stories for this edition of the Bulletin. You make my job both easy and interesting.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Going to War in a Troopship, December 1944 by Wes Conner

The 1930s to the 1940s - A Time of Immense Changes for Most Americans, Tony and Dovie Hoffman Included by Ginger Goodell

The Swinging '40s in San Luis Obispo by Mary Adler Hansen

A Historic Day Preserved submitted by Lynnette Lewarton Storrs

It Was Over - Remembrances of the End of WWII by Janelle Richardson

John Pinckney Andrews transcribed by Martha Crosley Graham

Your Guide to Finding Ancestors in 1940 Census Images from Ancestry.com

Community & Conflict: The Impact of the Civil War in the Ozarks - A Website Review by Sharon G. Whitney (See Sharon's online review here)

P C How to... by Martha Crosley Graham

Upcoming SLOCGS General Meetings

SLOCGS Genealogy Classes

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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.

Copyright by © San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society

May 2012 Meeting Rewind: Google Gems with Lisa Louise Cooke

If you missed our meeting earlier this month, you missed a couple of great presentations by Google expert Lisa Louise Cooke!

In Lisa's Research Class Google Earth for Genealogy, she discussed identifying old photos, plotting, and virtually visiting an ancestor's homestead, and incorporating historic maps and videos. Google Earth has the power to geographically document your ancestors' lives, and lends itself very well to collaboration with other researchers. And best of all, it's FREE!

Lisa Louise Cooke discusses the genealogy gems found in Google.

Lisa's main program was titled Google: A Goldmine of Genealogy Gems, in which she covered the basics of getting a free Google account, creating your own "Genealogy Dashboard" with iGoogle, adding gadgets, and the using the Tabs feature for better organization.

This blogger was already using iGoogle as her homepage, but learned so much from Lisa about how to make it more useful! Setting up tabs for special projects - even short-term projects - is a terrific idea, and one that I was not using. Also, there are so many genealogy gadgets out there; visit the Gadgets Directory and search "genealogy" to find them for your iGoogle homepage. And don't forget to add the San Luis Obispo County Genealogy Society Blog to iGoogle so you can keep up with the latest SLOCGS news!

More information about Lisa Louise Cooke can be found on her web site at http://genealogygems.tv. You can also catch Lisa in person next month at the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree in Burbank.

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Congratulations to the following officers who were elected at the May business meeting: President, Leslyn Keith; Vice President, Administration & Development, Barbara McCallum; Education Chairman, Sheila Davis; and Recording Secretary, Anne Brown. Many thanks to our outgoing officers for their exceptional service, particularly President Bob Christian, who was unexpectedly called on to "step up to the plate." Thanks to all of you for your commitment to SLOCGS!

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Copyright by © San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society

1940 US Census

San Luis Obispo County is finally downloading for the 1940 US census indexing volunteers. I've been watching the counties come up in roughly alphabetical order, and we finally made it through most of Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Francisco (California is now roughly 55% indexed; the US about 40% indexed). Attached are images from an SLO batch (page) I indexed this morning. The lower part of the page includes two members of the Dallidet family (see line 37) - I wonder if they were associated with the Dallidet Adobe? Looks like they lived in the vicinity of Buchon and Pacific Streets.

If you want to join the San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society group indexing the 1940 US census, please visit https://www.familysearch.org/volunteer/indexing to download the free software.

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Copyright by © San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society

Thank You, Outgoing Officers!

President Bob Christian and Recording Secretary Sharon Whitney

Outgoing San Luis Obispo County Genealogy Society officers, President Bob Christian and Recording Secretary Sharon Whitney, chairing the May, 2012, genealogy society board meeting.

Both have been active members of the society for several years. Bob has served as Bulletin Editor, First Vice President, and actively assists with several library projects. Sharon participates in the writing and intermediate genealogy special interest groups. We all join in thanking you for your commitment to the society.

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Copyright by © San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society