Welcome to the CCCGS blog.

The purpose of this blog is to promote the Contra Costa County Genealogical Society by announcing upcoming events and reporting on past events. In doing so, I hope it will encourage all who are interested to attend any of our events and meetings, and share in our enthusiasm of genealogical research.


February 28, 2014

Follow Friday: Ancestry.com Blog "4 Things to Do Before You Donate Your Genealogy"

It is tough to decide what you will do with all of your wonderful research.  Sometimes no one in your family is interested. Are you afraid they will just toss it out?

Well, there are steps you can take to ensure your research will not be tossed out by your family or executors. Amy Johnson Crow at the Ancestry.com blog has some good ideas here.

I think one of the best ways to ensure your ancestor's story continues for your family is to create something that is lasting--something your children will WANT to keep.  This can be as simple as writing short vignettes and saving photos and documents in sheet protectors which you then put into well-labeled binders. Family is less likely to toss binders with stories and pictures than file drawers full of file folders.  Also you could photocopy the pages and have a printer/copy place spiral bind them.  Create an attractive cover that is enticing.

Hope the article gives you some food for thought!

Copyright © 2014 by Contra Costa County Genealogical Society.

February 21, 2014

Follow Friday: Genealogy Problem Solving: 6 Strategies That Helped Me

I have a presentation on tips to break down brick walls and love reading articles with hints to solve all kinds of problems.  Here's one by Diane Haddad who writes as the "Genealogy Insider" for Family Tree Magazine. Her article "Genealogy Problem Solving: 6 Strategies That Helped Me" is a great resource for finding tough problems.

The article is primarily promoting one of their webinars to be given by Gena Philibert Ortega on Feb. 27 and information is given on the blog post if you are interested in learning more. However, her 6 tips are great ones and you can read all about them here.

Copyright © 2014 by Contra Costa County Genealogical Society.

February 15, 2014

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun!

I really enjoy reading Randy Seaver's blog, Genea-Musings. He writes about a lot of different subjects from what's news in genealogy, how to use Ancestry.com or one of the genealogy software products such as Legacy or Rootsmagic, to writing about his own family research.

On Saturdays, he has a special meme called "Saturday Night Genealogy Fun" and today's question to write about is:
a) What was your first illness as a child?
b) What was the first funeral you attended?
c) What was your favorite book as a child?
d) What was your favorite class in elementary school?
e) What was your favorite toy as a child?
f) Did you learn how to swim, and where did you learn?
These were the questions asked by Judy G. Russell during her key-note speech at RootsTech last week. You can hear her presentation here.

I have decided to answer the questions here and challenge you to record your answers either in the comments below, in your genealogy database, or in a Word document.  This way you'll have something for your future descendants to find about you!

Lisa Hork Gorrell's Memories
A. My first illness that I know about was having scarlet fever. Our house was quarantined and I remember the doctor making a house call.  I hated the tongue depressor he used to look in my throat. I always thought I was going to choke.
B.  The first funeral I attended was my grandfather, Tom J. Johnston's funeral in 1973.  I was 19 years old and we rode from the funeral home after the service to the cemetery in a limousine.  The coffin was open at the funeral home and my grandmother was not too happy about it.  But he looked pretty good--just looked like he was happily asleep. My youngest sisters were not allowed to go to the funeral. I didn't agree about that and took my daughters to funerals at all ages.
C. My favorite book as a young child was Little Bear with the beautiful drawings of Maurice Sendak.  Later my favorite books were the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I was also very fond of mysteries: Happy Hollisters, Trixie Beldon, and Nancy Drew.
 D. My favorite class in elementary school was Spelling.  I often got 100's by writing over and over the spelling words. I also liked making up stories using the spelling words.
E.  My favorite toy was anything to do with cowboys. I had a cowboy hat, vest, and pistol in a holster.
F.  I didn't learn how to swim until I was in the 6th grade. I could get around okay in the pool using some sort of dog paddle.  My mother put me into real lessons one summer and I learned how to swim really fast--my class was full of six-year-olds. I quickly got moved up to a class with older kids (though none my age). Funny how embarrassment can help you learn something fast!
So what are your memories!


Copyright © 2014 by Contra Costa County Genealogical Society.