SLOCGS Member Ginger Goodell Named Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr. Prize Recipient

Congratulations to SLOCGS member Ginger Goodell! Ginger joined the society in 2005 and has served as the Assistant Programs Chairman ever since. She is a facilitator for the Genealogical Writing Special Interest Groups, and a member of the "Implementing Professional Standards" group. SLOCGS is so proud of Ginger!

Elizabeth Shown Mills (left) with Ginger Goodell

Ginger Goodell of San Luis Obispo, California, has been named the 2012 recipient of the Walter Lee Sheppard Jr. Prize, bestowed annually upon genealogists who demonstrate sound practices and exceptional potential. Candidates for the award are drawn from the Advanced Research Methodology and Evidence Analysis track at Samford University's Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research. The stipend awarded to each recipient covers the preliminary and final application fees for pursuing certification by the Board for Certification of Genealogists.

Past recipients of the prize include Judy Russell, CG, of Avenel, New Jersey; David Ouimette, AG, CG, of Highland Utah; Phil Burnett Adderly, CG, of Shreveport, Louisiana; and Teri Tillman, CG, of Natchez, Mississippi.

The Samford University IGHR and the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) were both founded in 1964 by a cadre of genealogical educators seeking to advance quality and professionalism within the field. Across the decades, BCG has co-sponsored the IGHR; and a significant number of Board-certified genealogists have been its course coordinators and instructors.

The prize itself memorializes the late Walter Lee Sheppard Jr., one of the twentieth-century's leading genealogical scholars whose example strongly promoted sound reasoning and careful analysis in all genealogical specialties. As a mentor, his discerning eye could be counted upon to identify a missed source or clue in family reconstructions, thereby strengthening a colleague's conclusions. A founder and president of BCG, Lee was also a fellow and president of the American Society of Genealogists, the National Genealogical Society, the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, and other bodies. In 2007, he was elected to the National Genealogy Hall of Fame.

The Sheppard Prize is privately funded by an IGHR Track 4 graduate, for whom Lee acted as mentor and patron. The prize has no affiliation with the Board for Certification of Genealogists itself.

Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG
Course Coordinator, Track 4
Advanced Research Methodology & Evidence Analysis
Samford University Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research

Members of the 2012 Course 4 Class at IGHR

Copyright by © San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society

Pine Mountain Cemetery Project Completed!

Martha Graham and Shanda Grunkemeyer-Gibbs get ready to start "shooting."

We are pleased to announce the completion of the Pine Mountain (Atascadero) Cemetery Project.

A few statistics:

5,232 interments were indexed, 573 of which were new burials.
A total of 4,171 images were shot, including headstones and sections for identification.

L to R: Martha Graham, Dianna Curtis, Barbara Baranek, Jan Canigiula, Ingrid Penman, 

and Janet Grummitt get their assignments.

The Photographers: 

Dianna G Curtis, Barbara Baranek, Jan Canigiula, Barbara Castillo, Janet Grummitt, Shanda Grunkemeyer-Gibbs, Martha A Crosley Graham, Ingrid Penman, and Don Woodward.

The Database Crew:

Lorrie Akley, Claudia Collier, Dianna G Curtis, Tom Gorham, Martha A Crosley Graham, and Rich Miller

These great SLOCGS volunteers did an outstanding job. In just 3 months, the photos were shot, the index updated, and the "back work" of renaming the images, proofing the database, and updating the website was accomplished. The headstone images are being uploaded as this is published. 

Here is the updated website: http://www.slocgs.org/slocem/p.mountain/

At the same time that Pine Mountain was being done, the Paso Robles Cemetery database was updated and completed.

We have one more large cemetery to complete: Arroyo Grande District Cemetery. With over 12,000 burials recorded in 1999, this one is by far the largest in the county.

Cayucos-Morro Bay Cemetery was photographed last spring. Rich Miller and Martha Graham are working on the update to the database - a little over 4,000 burials there.

My deepest thanks to all of the great volunteers in our genealogical society. You are the best!

Martha A Crosley Graham
Projects & Publications Chairman

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For information about this project, please visit the Pine Mountain Cemetery web page, or contact Martha Graham directly. For a list of online resources provided by the SLOCGS, please visit our County Resources page.

Photos by Don Woodworth.

Copyright by © San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society

June 2012 General Meeting Rewind

Officers

Our newly elected officers began their duties as of the June 2012 General Meeting.

President Leslyn Keith has a private practice occupational therapy clinic in San Luis Obispo. She has been researching since 2004; her surnames of interest include Robinson in Connecticut via Riga, Latvia; Kiefer in Michigan via Canada and Germany; and Hyslop in Scotland. Previous she has served the genealogicy society as Publicity Chair Assistant.

Vice President Barbara McCallum is a retired attorney who lives in San Luis Obispo. She has been researching 10 years, particularly in Tennessee, Iowa, and Maryland, focusing on military and land records and old legal documents. Following a successful term as Education Chair, Barbara, as VP, will be re-working our bylaws, a long-overdue task.

Recording Secretary Anne Brown lives in Avila Beach and previously resided in Shell Beach and San Luis Obispo. Her surnames of interest include McGovney, Brown, and Benedick. Anne previously has served as Publicity Chair Assistant. In honor of the 1940 census release year, Anne contributed the accompanying image of her high school ID card.

Thanks to all of our new officers for your commitment of time, talents, and energy.  

Tips from Linda Serna’s Presentation Linda Serna spoke on two topics. Here are a few gleanings from the first presentation, “Did You Know?: Clues in Census Records That Are Often Overlooked”

Check these US census years for bread crumbs leading to the additional records!·   1820: includes a column for number of persons not naturalized. This provides hints about when a family might have come to the US. Correlate with passenger lists. ·   1850: a column shows if a couple was wed in the previous year. Correlate with marriage records. ·   1870: a column indicates birth month for individuals born within the year. For many people, this may be the most specific birth record available.·   1900: a column shows number of years married. Follow up with a marriage record search.·   1910: a column shows if a person was a Civil War veteran or widow of a veteran. Check at Fold3 and NARA for those military service and military pension files.·   1940: residence in 1935 is noted for individuals over 4 years old. Search additional locality records when the family has moved between 1935 and 1940.

We had a record attendance for our June meeting -- about 25% higher than normal. Our next regular meeting will be our 1940 Census Release Party in September. Visit the webiste for details about special classes and interest groups this summer while our general meetings are on hiatus: http://slogen.org .