Not the blog you’re looking for.

(3/19/2022)

You’ve stumbled onto the CGS development site, used by the CGS Web team for testing the website code before deploying it to production. The CGS blog is here.

CGS Library to reopen at end of June

(6/4/2021)

We are delighted to announce that the CGS library will be reopening on June 30!

We will share more details in the coming weeks, but here are the basics: On Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays there will be two daily sessions for research, morning and afternoon. The first session will be from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm and the second from 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm. Sessions are limited to five patrons each and advance reservations are required. Reservations will open up one week ahead, so the first day you can reserve a session will be June 23.

At this point, a patron may reserve no more than one session per week. Non-CGS members will be charged $5 per session. We will for now require masking and social distancing at the library due to our demographic risk, even if Alameda County drops such restrictions.

Registration will open on our website by June 23.

Questions? Contact us at visit@californiaancestors.org.

Thank you for your support throughout these difficult months!
“Strategic Searching” series begins June 2

(5/25/2021)

An exciting series of classes this June will give you insight into four different online platforms, each one invaluable to genealogists. The classes are held on Tuesdays (with the exception of the first class on Wednesday, June 2) as follows:

Jen Baldwin photo


Wed, Jun 2 – FindMyPast

Jen Baldwin of FindMyPast discusses best practices, different ways to search, and utilizing the site to your greatest advantage.

 

Tue, Jun 8 – Fold3

Anne Gillespie Mitchell of Ancestry.com offers tips on how to effectively search for the veterans in your tree using Fold3.com. She will also cover how to browse Fold3’s collections and cover some of the lesser known collections, including photos and FBI files.

 

Tue, Jun 15 – National Archives

Claire Kluskens of the National Archives and Records Administration offers a guide to navigating this vast collection of U.S. documents with holdings dating back to the American Revolution.

 

Tue, Jun 22 – FamilySearch

Oakland FamilySearch Library director Ralph Severson talks about the growth of digitized images, a lesser known feature and hidden treasure of this amazing and popular genealogy resource.

 

You can register for any or all of the classes through EventBrite.