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 .