CHULA VISTA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

NEWSLETTER P.O. Box 3024

Chula Vista CA 91909-3024 Editor: Randy Seaver (619) 422-3397, r andy.seaver@gmail.com

CVGS Web Site: http://www.CVGenealogy.org CVGS Blog: http://CVGenCafe.blogspot.com

Volume 26, Issue 1 Providing Genealogy Educaton in South San Diego County January 2016

WEDNESDAY, January 27 th GENERAL MEETINGfrom 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

At Bonita-Sunnyside Library (4375 Bonita Road) in Community Roomwith Gena Philibert-Ortega

“Remember the Ladies: Finding Your Female Ancestors”

Learn some sure fire ways to research your female ancestors includingmethodology and resources. Use my 5 step process for researching (andfinding) female ancestors.

Gena Philibert-Ortega holds a Master’s degree in InterdisciplinaryStudies (Psychology and Women’s Studies) and a Master’s degree inReligion. Presenting on various subjects involving genealogy, women’sstudies and social history, Gena has spoken to groups throughout the UnitedStates and Canada as well as virtually to audiences worldwide. She is theauthor of hundreds of articles published in genealogy newsletters andmagazines including FGS Forum,APG Quarterly, Internet Genealogy, and Family Tree Magazine. Her writings can also be found on her blogs, Gena’sGenealogy and Food.Family.Ephemera. She is the author of three booksincluding her latest, From The Family Kitchen (F + W Media, 2012).

Gena was a researcher for the first season of the PBS show GenealogyRoadshow (2013). She is the editor of the Utah Genealogical Association’s journal Crossroads, and serves as past-president for the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Hercurrent research interests include women’s social history, and researching women’s lives using material artifacts

Table of Contents

January 27th Program Meeting …...................... 1President’s Message …....….….......…............... 2Register for Meetings on CVGS Website …..... 2Holiday Luncheon Review …............................ 3Next Computer Group Meeting ........................ 4Lemon Grove Research Group News …........... 4Next Saturday Workshop .................................. 4Legacy Family Tree Webinars …...................... 4Fall Seminar Photographs …............................. 5

December 9th Research Group Review …........... 6GenGophers Website …....................................... 6Ancestry Announced Retirement of FTM …..... 7Who's Due to Pay Dues? ….................................. 8 Program Meeting Schedule Changes ….............. 8Finding Your Roots on PBS …............................. 6CVGS Society Information ..…..…….…............. 9San Diego Genealogy Events .…...……..…......... 9Genealogy Days in Chula Vista ……........….… 10

Volume 26, Number 1 Chula Vista Genealogical Society Newsletter January 2016 Page 2

President’s Message – by Virginia Taylor

Happy New Year everyone. I hope all of you had a great holiday season with family and friends. I hope everyone made many new memories to think back on in the future.

Now it is time to get back to our genealogy research. Maybe this will be the year to break down all the brick walls that have been frustrating all of usfor many years. I know I have several brick walls I need to work on this year. I know our ancestors are very elusive at times. Several years ago I was attending a conference in Indianapolis and several of us started talking about our brick walls. One of the people commented that he can see his ancestors sitting on a bench up in heaven looking down and laughing. Then they start talking and decide which one of them is ready to let themselves be found. I have kept that picture in my mind since then and keep telling all my ancestors to hurry up and decide it is time to be found. I don’t want to

wait until I get up there to meet them to get the information that I have been looking for over the years.

This is going to be an exciting year for your society. Jane has speakers for almost all of the monthly meetings. She has some very interesting people scheduled starting with Gena Philibert-Ortega in January talking about our female ancestors. Our January meeting will again be at Bonita-Sunnyside Library.

We will be back at the Chula Vista Civic Center Branch Library in February. One change we have made for this year is that our summer picnic will be in July rather than June. Hopefully we will be able toavoid all of the end of school activities that many of our members are involved with. We will again party at the Brock home.

At the monthly workshop at Bonita-Sunnyside Library, Susi will be trying to cover more of the topics you have requested. Keep checking the newsletter and website for the topics and please come out for as many of the workshops as possible. They are the first Saturday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m. There will be more exciting activities during the year. We will keep you posted as they are firmed up.

Please Register for Meetings on the CVGS Website

Please register for the Program Meetings, the Saturday Workshops, the Research Group and the Computer Group on the CVGS website – www.CVGenealogy.org. Log in with your member ID, then click on Events and the Register button for each event, and follow directions. This will help with meeting planning and speaker handouts. Soon, members will be able to download speaker handouts to their computer and print them out. You will receive an email reminder for the events from CVGS based on your registration.

Stay up-to-date on CVGS Activities

Visit the CVGS Website: http:// www.CVGenealogy.org Visit the Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe blog: http://CVGenCafe.blogspot.com

The Board Meeting and Program Meeting minutes are now posted on the CVGSwebsite. Check them out at http://www.CVGenealogy.org on the “Members” tab.

Volume 26, Number 1 Chula Vista Genealogical Society Newsletter January 2016 Page 3

CVGS Holiday Luncheon Review, by Karen Yarger

In lieu of our monthly General Meeting, the Societyheld its annual Holiday Luncheon at the Chula VistaSouth Branch Library, from 11:30 a.m. To 3 p.m. Therewas no call to order nor Officer or Committee reports.

Thirty members and five guests attended and broughta delicious selection of salads, side dishes, condimentsand desserts. The Society provided the baked turkey andham and beverages (thank you Jo Ann Bonner and AnaCastro!). Members were also asked to bring cannedgoods and an unwrapped toy for the Salvation Armydrive, and the overflowing boxes were a testament to ourmembers’ generosity.

President Virginia Taylor welcomed the attendees andthen asked for a moment of silence for our five memberswho have passed away in the last year: Nina Schultheis,Dorothy Alvord, Geni Powell, Kitty Edwards, and DavidMcCracken. She also recognized two people who havebeen CVGS members for more than 20 years – HelenSauer and Randy Seaver.

Gary Brock hosted a fun guessing game with thetheme “Honoring Those Who Got Us Here.” As heshowed a series of old family photos, members tried toguess their identities. The first was Randy Seaver (cutebaby!), who has held several offices in CVGS, includingPresident. Other members whose pictures we had funidentifying were Jo Ann Bonner, Wanda Brock, SusanZimmer (in her Daughter of the Union costume), ShirleyBecker (bright red lipstick!), Gary Brock (a mafiaBogart), Karen Smith, Karen Yarger (as a platinumblonde with bunny friend), Ana Castro, and VirginiaTaylor (the Squirrel Hunter).

Door prize and raffle drawings were next – a Santafigure, a pretty wreath and the twelve poinsettia plants,which had decorated the tables, went to the winners.

The day’s final activity was the optional gift exchange.Those who wished to participate brought a wrapped gift,with a value of no more than $10. The lovely andpractical gifts caused smiles all around.

Finally, there were a few announcements: The Research Group will meet on Wednesday, January 13th,and the Computer Group will meet on the 20th. The January 27th general meeting will feature Gena Philibert-Ortega and her “Remember the Ladies – Finding Your Female Ancestors”. Note the location: the Bonita-Sunnyside Library. President Virginia Taylor ended the meeting at 2:15 p.m.

V olu me 26, Number 1 Chula Vista Genealogical Society Newsletter January 2016 Page 4

Next Computer Group Meeting – 20 January 2016

The next Computer Group meeting will be on Wednesday, 20 January 2016 in the Computer Lab at theChula Vista Civic Center Branch Library (365 F Street in downtown Chula Vista, Calif.), from 12 noon to2 p.m.. Shirley Becker will lead this group and will visit some free genealogical resources.

Lemon Grove Research Group News

The Lemon Grove Research Group now meets once a month at the Lemon Grove Branch Library ( location is 3001 School Lane in Lemon Grove) from 6 p.m. to 7:50 p.m. Contact Susi Pentico (619-690-1188, SusiCP@cox.net) for more details. All are invited to attend. Beginners are welcome! Upcoming programs include:

* Wednesday, January 20, 6 to 8 p.m.: There will not be a meeting this month.

CVGS Saturday Workshop – 6 February 2016

The February 6th Saturday Workshop will be from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. In the Community Room at the Bonita-Sunnyside Library (4375 Bonita Road). Gary Brock and other CVGS members will lead the discussion on “Scanning.” This is a continuation of the January workshop. The types of scanning devicesand software programs will be discussed, and help will be provided to help attendees learn how to scan items into their computer.

Watch Legacy Family Tree Webinars for More Genealogy Education

Family Tree Webinars site continues to provide interesting and informative genealogy webinar presentations by notable speakers on a near weekly basis. The complete list of upcoming webinars can befound at http://familytreewebinars.com/. For January and early February, the scheduled webinars are:

• Wednesday, 13 January 2016: Technology and Techniques for differentiating Two People With theSame Name, by Geoff Rasmussen

• Friday, 15 January 2016: Snagit Software for Genealogists, by Michael Brophy• Wednesday, 20 January 2016: The Basics of Virginia Research, by Shannon Combs-Bennett• Wednesday, 27 January 2016: The Paperless Genealogist, by Denise May Levenick• Friday, 29 January 2016: 7 Unique Technologies for Genealogy discoveries at MyHeritage, by

Mike Mansfield• Wednesday, 10 February 2016: The Scots-Irish in America, by Peggy Clemens Lauritzen• Wednesday, 17 February 2016: Getting Started with Microsoft Word, by Thomas MacEntee

These 90-minute webinars are FREE to watch live at 11 a.m. Pacific time and for seven days after the live presentation on the website. After seven days, they are added to the Webinar Archive behind the Family Tree Webinars pay wall ($49.95 for a one year subscription). There are over 270 webinars available in the Archive now. Most of them have an accompanying handout available only to subscribers.This is one of the best genealogy education bargains around.

2016 CVGS Budget Available on Website

The 2016 Budget for CVGS is available in the “Members” section on the CVGS website – www.cvgenealogy.org.

Volume 26, Number 1 Chula Vista Genealogical Society Newsletter January 2016 Page 5

CVGS Holiday Luncheon Photographs (all taken by Patricia Diane Godinez)

The Crowd at one table The Crowd at another table

Shirley Becker, Helen Thompson and Bobbie Lane Myrna Goodwin and Susan Zimmer

Ken and Sharon Robison Karen Smith and Wanda Brock

Volume 26, Number 1 Chula Vista Genealogical Society Newsletter January 2016 Page 6

Research Group Meeting Review – 9 December 2015, by Karen Yarger

The December 9 meeting of the CVGS Research Group washeld in the CVPL conference room and had twelve in attendance.Our leader Randy Seaver was unable to attend, but had sent some important announcements to be discussed:

* The most important, and controversial, was that Ancestry hadjust announced the retirement of Family Tree Maker. They will stopselling FTM as of December 31, 2015, but will continue to supportFTM owners at least through January 1, 2017. A lively discussionfollowed. See more information on Randy’s blog, where he hassome important tips on handling the change: http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/12/ancestrycom-announces-retirement-of.html. If you are a user of Family Tree Maker, be sure to read also Randy’s followup update: http://www.geneamusings.com/2015/12/what-do-family-tree-maker-users-do-now.html. * MyHeritage has released over 150,000 family history books – FREE to access. That’s tens of thousands of digitized historical books, spanning the last four centuries. See the free collection at: https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-90100/compilation-of-published-sources. * The “Old” Ancestry goes away as of 15 December. The "New" Ancestry has a different look and feel, and some Ancestry Member Tree features have changed. All of this is to enable syncing of the website with the mobile app.

In the second hour, the attendees discussed their research problems and successes:

Gary B. discussed the resources at Wiki Tree ( http://www.wikitree.com/ ) and encouraged the group to sign up for this free site to take advantage of the expertise and research of over 285.000 genealogists from around the world.

The group found Gary’s talk, “What is a GEDCOM?” (an acronym for Genealogical Data Communication) very informative, but all agreed more instruction is needed. A Saturday workshop is planned for early next year. A GEDCOM is used for exchanging genealogical data between different genealogy software.

Karen S. discovered a family Bible entry of the 1802 marriage of her second great grandparents in Edgefield County, SC. The Bible noted that they were "married by Honorable S Marsh.” An archivist confirmed it was accurate because there was a Reverend Samuel Marsh who was a founding member of the Horn’s Creek Baptist Church (in Edgefield, SC) and preached in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

Diane G. found old family group photos on Ancestry.com from 1901 and 1921 in the Longhurst Photo Study. By comparing the faces with some she and other family members had already identified, she was able to put names to others. She is still working on some of the unidentified children.

Gary B. and Karen Y. both suggested signing up for the free newsletter at http://genealogy.about.com/ for good genealogy tips and resources.

GenGophers Website has 80,000 Genealogy Books for FREE

The Genealogy Gophers website (www.gengophers.com) has over 80,000 genealogy books available for FREE to search and download as a PDF to your computer.

Volume 26, Number 1 Chula Vista Genealogical Society Newsletter January 2016 Page 7

Ancestry.com Announced Retirement of Family Tree Maker Software On Tuesday, 8 December 2015, Ancestry.com sent out this stunning announcement:

Ancestry is proud to have made a significant investment this year to bring valuable new content and records to the Ancestry site. In 2015, we’ve made 220 million searchable historical records from Mexico available, more than 170 million pages from the largest collection of U.S. will and probate records, among others. We’ve also introduced new features such as Ancestry Academy and major advancements for AncestryDNA.

We remain dedicated to helping people gain new levels of understanding about their lives, and who andwhat led to them, harnessing the information found in family trees, historical records and genetics. As a company, we’re also continually evaluating ways to focus our efforts to provide the most impact and best product experience for our users through our core offerings. True to this focus, we’ve taken a hard look at the declining desktop software market and the impact this has on being able to continue to provide product enhancements and support that our users need. With that, we’ve made the decision to stop selling Family Tree Maker as of December 31, 2015.

Our subscription business and website, on the other hand, continue to grow and we are doubling down our efforts to make that experience even better for our Ancestry community.

Ancestry will continue to support current owners of Family Tree Maker at least through January 1, 2017. During this time, all features of the software, including TreeSync™, will continue to work, and Member Services will be available to assist with user questions. We will also address major software bugs that may occur, as well as compatibility updates.

These changes are never easy, but by focusing our efforts, we can concentrate on continuing to build great products for our loyal Ancestry community.

If you have inquiries regarding Family Tree Maker, please reach out to our Member Services team. We’ll also provide updates on our blog as needed leading up to January 1, 2017.

I wrote several blog posts concerning this announcement, including:

• Ancestry.com Announces Retirement of Family Tree Maker Software (8 December 2015)• What Do Family Tree Maker Users Do Now? (9 December 2015)

• R eader Comments About Ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker Retirement - Post 1 (14 December 2015)

• Russ Worthington Short Videos on Family Tree Maker and Ancestry (15 December 2015)

• Use Family Tree Maker 2014 to Save Your Ancestry Member Tree with Media (29 December 2015)

All versions of Family Tree Maker will continue to work until your computer fails or your operating system won't run it any longer. If you don't have an installation disk, then you run the risk of not being able to run it on a new computer. If you do have an installation disk, then it may not work on a new computer with a different operating system. Note that your Family Tree Maker 2012 and 2014 will continue to synchronize with your Ancestry Member Tree until 1 January 2017. You will need to synchronize your FTM 2012 or 2014 before then with your Ancestry Member Tree in order to save all of the attached media files in your Ancestry Member Tree to your FTM database on your computer.

Volume 26, Number 1 Chula Vista Genealogical Society Newsletter Janua ry 2016 Page 8

Who’s Due to Pay Dues? – by Karen Smith

Now that we are using the Wild Apricot service for our website, the program will keep track of our due renewal dates automatically. For example, if you paid your 2015 dues on February 12, 2015, you will get an email about 21 days before February 12, 2016, and also 7 days before, reminding you to pay your dues. Be on the lookout for these reminders. If you are curious about when your dues will be due, just fire an email to Karen Smith at freelady72000@me.com and she will give you the date. Members can pay their dues three ways:1. You can mail your check/payment to our Post Office Box (see front page).2. Payment can be made on Wild Apricot by Paypal or credit card.3. You can give your check to Karen Smith or Gary Brock at a meeting.

Program Meeting Schedule Changes, by Karen Yarger

In an effort to make our general meetings more efficient and less time consuming, and considering courtesy to our speakers, the Board has suggested the following program flow for general meetings:

a) Welcome remarks and recognition of guests and new members by the Presidentb) Brief announcements of upcoming eventsc) The speaker’s presentationd) The rafflee) A shortened business meeting, noting that most items are on the website and in the newsletterf) Adjournment

The new format will be instituted at the January 27th meeting.

Finding Your Roots Started on PBS 5 January 2016

The third season of Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s "Finding Your Roots" series on PBS started on Tuesday, 5 January 2016, at 8 p.m. (Channel 11 on Cox Cable in San Diego). The celebrities researched were Ty Burrell, Kara Walker and Donna Brazile. You can watch previous episodes at http://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/. The upcoming dates and celebrities are:

Tuesday, 12 January 2016:

* Bill O'Reilly* Soledad O'Brien* Bill Maher

Tuesday, 19 January 2016

* Shonda Rhimes* Maya Rudolph* Keenen Ivory Wayans

Tuesday, 26 January 2016:

* Norman Lear* Bill Hader* Jimmy Kimmel

Volume 26, Number 1 Chula Vista Genealogical Society Newsletter January 2016 Page 9

CVGS Society OfficersPresident: Virginia TaylorFirst Vice-President, Programs Jane StrawnSecond Vice-President, Membership Karen Smith Treasurer Gary BrockSecretary Karen Yarger

Committee ChairsComputer Group Shirley BeckerEducation Susi PenticoHistorian Susan ZimmerHospitality Jo Ann Bonner/Ana CastroLibrarian Wanda BrockNewsletter Editor Randy SeaverResearch Group/Queries Randy SeaverSeminars Susi PenticoWays and Means Bethel WilliamsWebmaster Gary Brock

Meeting Host Volunteers

January 27th: Virginia Taylor and Susi PenticoFebruary 24th:

Contact Jo Ann Bonner to sign up!(619) 421-3628

San Diego Genealogy Events

Saturday, January 9th, 9 a.m.

SAN DIEGO GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY Speaker: John Colletta on

“US Passenger Arrival Records”“Erie Canal Genealogy”

“Discovering the REAL Stories of YourAncestors”

“How to Prepare for Successful Researchin European Records”

at Captain's Room, Marina Village, (1936 Quivira Way, San Diego CA 92109)

contact: 858-279-7347

Tuesday, January 12 th , 9 a.m.

NORTH SAN DIEGO COUNTY GEN.SOCIETY COGG

Speaker: Mary Anne Vincent on “Civil War Widow's Pensions”

at Carlsbad City Council Chamberscontact: Pam Boyle ( boylepam@gmail.com )

Tuesday, January 26 th , 9 a.m.

NORTH SAN DIEGO COUNTY GEN. SOC.Speaker: Jean Wilcox Hibben on

“Hints for a Successful Research Trip to Salt Lake City”

at Carlsbad City Council Chamberscontact: Jean Tempke

( jtempke@roadrunner.com )

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

CONFERENCES

SCGS 2016 GENEALOGY JAMBOREE

June 2-6, 2016Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel,

2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA. 91505Info: http://genealogyjamboree.com/

Welcome New Members

Current Membership (as of 1/1): 97

Heather GoebelGlennalie Coleman

Telephone Tree Volunteers

Page 1 – Ana Castro – 619-781-8441Page 2 – Jacquie Goodman – 619-482-0350Page 3 – Pam Buchan – pbuchan@cox.net Page 4 – Diane Godinez – 619-429-8880

Karyn's Caring Corner

Cards were sent to:

Volume 26, Number 1 Chula Vista Genealogical Society Newsletter January 2016 Page 10

• Wednesday, January 6, 12 noon – CVGS Board Meeting, at CVCCB Library Conf. Room• Wednesday, January 13, 12 noon – Research Group Meeting, at CVCCB Library Conf. Room • Wednesday, January 20, 12 noon – Computer Group Meeting, at CVCCB Library Comp. Lab• Wednesday, January 27, 12:30 p.m. – Program Meeting: Gena Philibert Ortega: “Remember

the Ladies: Finding Your Female Ancestors” at Bonita-Sunnyside Library (4375 Bonita Road)• Wednesday, February 3, 12 noon – CVGS Board Meeting, at CVCCB Library Conf. Room• Saturday, February 6, 1 p.m. – Saturday Workshop: Gary Brock: “Scanning” at Bonita-

Sunnyside Library (4375 Bonita Road)• Wednesday, February 10, 12 noon – Research Group Meeting, at CVCCB Library Conf. Room• Wednesday, February 17, 12 noon – Computer Group Meeting, at CVCCB Library Comp. Lab• Wednesday, February 24, 12:30 – Program Meeting: Shirley Becker: “New York Research” at

CVCCB Auditorium

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oAll CVGS Program Meetings are held, unless otherwise noted, at the

Chula Vista Civic Center Branch (CVCCB) Library, 365 F Street, Chula Vista Contact Jane Strawn (jstrawn2@cox.net) for program details.

Visit our Web Site – http://www.CVGenealogy.orgVisit the Chula Vista Genealogy Café blog – http://CVGenCafe.blogspot.com

Chula Vista Genealogical SocietyP.O. Box 3024Chula Vista CA 91909-3024

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