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Online genealogy, week of February 15-21
(2/13/2021)
Our weekly roundup of upcoming genealogy events. Numerous associations offer online genealogy classes every week. Most are free. To register for one of the events below, click on the name of the host organization.
February 20: “Family Tree Maker and Newspapers” by Keith Montgomery
February 18: “Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History” by Richard Thompson Ford
February 10: “Determining Places of Origin of German Immigrant Ancestors” by Larry Jenson
February 16 & 17: “A Family for Suzanne” by Ruth Randall
February 17: “Shoot Like a Pro: How to Record Quality Videos Using Your Mobile Device” by Elizabeth M. O’Neal
February 19: “How to locate an ancestor in Ontario, Canada West or Upper Canada (when you don’t know where they lived” by Janice Nickerson
Southern California Genealogical Society
February 17: “10 Things a Genealogist Should Do Before Leaving a Library or Archives” by Melissa Barker
The San Francisco Bay Area Genealogy Calendar lists a wealth of Bay Area events and exhibits. This week:
February 16:
“Researching War of 1812 Ancestors” by Kathryn Miller (San Ramon Valley Genealogical Society)
“Persistence: The Rewards It Can Bring to the Researcher of Local History” by Tom Calarco (Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society)
February 17: SF Chinatown Neon Tour (Chinese Historical Society of America)
February 19: “Internet Archive and the Wayback Machine” with Kathryn Marshall (Mt. Diablo Genealogical Societ)
February 20:
“DNA: Finding My Grandfather” by David Brunzel (San Mateo County Genealogical Society)
“African American Resources for Genealogy” (San Francisco African American Historical and Cultural Society)
“African Americans of San Francisco” by Jan Batiste Adkins
“Telling Their Story: Adding Character to Your Genealogical Narrative” by Michael D. Lacopo (Sonoma County Genealogical Society)
Conference Keeper has a large calendar of classes (too many to list) from beginning to advanced, hosted by various genealogical organizations. Lots to explore, and new events are added often, so be sure to check the calendar. Here’s a sampling of the coming week’s offerings:
February 15: “They’re Alive: Searching for Living People” with Thomas MacEntee (ELA Public Library)
February 16: “Reclaiming Our African Roots: FamilySearch’s Efforts to Preserve Oral Genealogies in Africa” (Allen County Public Library)
February 17: “10 Things a Genealogist Should Do Before Leaving a Library or Archives” by Melissa Barker
February 18: “Researching African American Ancestors: Funeral Programs and Photo Archives” with Diane L. Richard (Florida State Genealogical Society)
February 19: “They Put Down Roots: African American Freedom Seekers and Their Niagara Descendants” (Ontario Ancestors Niagara Peninsula Branch)
February 20: “Searching for Your African-American Homesteaders” (Los Angeles Public Library)
February 21: “Jewish Genealogy in the Germanies” with Roger Lustig (Heinz History Center & the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh
See our post “Genealogy Learning in the Time of Coronavirus” for links to classes archived online at Ancestry, FamilySearch, RootsTech, and more. Be well, stay safe, and happy learning!
Copyright © 2021 by California Genealogical Society
A Wee Book In The Griffin Collection of our Library
(2/12/2021)
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| A tiny book from the Griffin Collection |
By Chris Pattillo
Yesterday I picked up boxes 10 through 13 of the Griffin Collection from our manuscripts room and delivered them to Stewart Traiman in Alameda, who has been scanning and indexing the material in the collection. This is part of our ongoing project to digitize our collections and make them available online. When I arrived at Stewart’s we exchanged the new boxes for the ones that he had finished scanning. While I was there Stewart showed me one of the many items contained in the collection – the little book pictured above. You can see how tiny it is–about two inches by four inches. It has a black leather cover and only a few pages. The text on the first page says, “Genealogical Records of the Griffith Family copied from an old Bible belonging to Philip Griffith of Clarksburg Maryland.”
This item is just one of hundreds in the collection, which includes photographs, an assortment of family trees, official documents and myriad other family records. This is the second set of records that Stewart has scanned and indexed. Previously he scanned the John Ellis Hale Collection which has been uploaded to our website. You can find it on the Research page under Online Resources. The photo on that pagewas taken inside the manuscripts room. Each time we meet to exchange material Stewart makes a point of sharing one of the special items he has found. For me, these exchanges feel like my reward for doing my part, and now I am sharing it with you.
Copyright © 2021 by California Genealogical Society
A big win for access to immigration records
(2/10/2021)
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| Alien Registration File for Raymond Hiroshi Hirai. Courtesy of Rina Hirai. |
A hard-fought battle to keep records affordable has resulted in victory. The U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) has backed off a proposed “astronomical increase” in fees for copies of records essential to immigration research.
In late 2019, genealogists and other research advocates sounded the alarm about a proposed increase of fees for USCIS records. Rich Venezia, founder of Records Not Revenue, spearheaded the campaign to protest the fee increases, spurring nearly 40,000 individuals to post comments on the agency’s website. We wrote about the issue at the time, detailing the ways in which increased fees would effectively put this unique resource for immigration records out of reach for many researchers. CGS members Grant Din and Linda Okazaki were among those active in spreading the word, and the California Genealogical Society board wrote a letter opposing the fee change, along with hundreds of other genealogical societies, historical organizations, and genealogists around the country.
The proposed fee increases also would have applied to visa and immigration filing fees, increasing hardship for current immigrants, as well as hobbling their access to their A-Files to defend against removal, apply for immigration benefits, and naturalize. A recent article on the website Immigration Access details the judge’s ruling in December 2020 which ordered USCIS to make those records available in a timely fashion. On February 2, President Biden issued an Executive Order directing that agencies should promote access to the legal immigration system and specifically calling out the proposed fee increase.
The work continues for access to immigration records. Genealogist Judy Russell points out that there may still be a fee increase in the future. Many people have asserted that these are public records that should be available through the National Archives. Records Not Revenue is working on strategies to push USCIS to get these records to NARA. The story continues. Meanwhile, congratulations to Grant and Linda and everyone who lent their name to this effort!
Copyright © 2021 by California Genealogical Society