San Mateo County Genealogical Society

Discovering Our Family History Together

Public Events

Upcoming events

    • 25 Mar 2023
    • 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
    • 875 Quince Ave, Santa Clara
    Register

    Registration is now closed for lunch orders and syllabi.  

    You may still walk in.


    The silent auction is now ready to go!

    We have memberships from major genealogy companies, Great Migration books, beautiful charts and a DNA kit. You can see all of the items at the auction site. You'll be able to follow the easy instructions to register to bid.

    Researching England’s Records: All Ancestors Great and Small How to Discover Genealogical Gems in Underutilized Treasure Troves.

    The San Mateo County Genealogical Society, the Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society, and the Silicon Valley Computer Genealogy Group are co-sponsoring a hybrid seminar oMarch 25 from 10AM to 3PM.  Bill Cole will speak on Researching England’s Records: All Ancestors Great and Small. How to Discover Genealogical Gems in Underutilized Treasure Troves.

    There is no charge for attending this seminar, but please register so we know how many are expected.  There IS a charge if you want lunch or a printed syllabus.  

    The in-person venue will be 875 Quince Ave, Santa Clara.

    Lunch will be available at a charge to preregistered attendees.

    Wearing of masks may be required for this event.

    Registration is also available via Zoom

    There is no charge for Zoom attendance.

    • 22 Apr 2023
    • 10:30 AM

    Putting the Flesh on the Bones: Most family historians initially take the route of trying to find the name, dates, and locations of various relatives to grow a family tree. Due to unusual circumstances, covered in this talk, Ron took a different path - to explore one individual in as much depth as possible. This turned out to be a wild journey taking Ron to places (physically and emotionally) he never imagined. Doing ‘individual-focused’ genealogy is a journey like no other and there are bound to be unexpected (read positive) surprises. Doing so allowed Ron to go way beyond the questions of Who? When? And Where? to explore the far more interesting questions: Why (did my ancestor act the way he did)? and How (did my ancestor have an impact on my life)?

    Over the past 20+ years, Ron has traced his roots to England, Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Belarus, and Ukraine. He has given more than 500 presentations in the U.S. and internationally on the topics of criminal ancestors, technology, and research methodology. He is the author of three books: The Jews of Sing Sing, WANTED! U.S. Criminal Records, and Mind Maps for Genealogy. Ron is currently the Secretary for IAJGS (the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies) and works behind the scenes, helping to organize and run the IAJGS annual conference. Ron won a NY State Archives research grant in 2006. That same year he appeared on the PBS television series The Jewish Americans, talking about Jewish criminals on NY’s Lower East Side. Ron earned a B.S. in Engineering from Princeton and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

    Register

Past events

18 Mar 2023 The Best of Rootstech
25 Feb 2023 Work Your Way to Ireland Using American Records
21 Feb 2023 No More Excuses: Ten Family History Writing Tips for Procrastinators” SCCGS event
28 Jan 2023 The Great Estates of the Peninsula
25 Dec 2022 🎄 Christmas
24 Nov 2022 🌽 Thanksgiving
19 Nov 2022 Genealogy Round Table
31 Oct 2022 🎃 HALLOWEEN
29 Oct 2022 Using Maps for Genealogy - NEW DATE!
24 Sep 2022 National Register of Historic Places
12 Aug 2022 🛠 CANCELLED
29 Jul 2022 Field Trip
25 Jun 2022 Farming families
21 May 2022 Genealogy Resources at the San Francisco Public Library
23 Apr 2022 Mining for Treasures in the Internet Archive
26 Mar 2022 🎤Highlights from RootsTech 2022
26 Feb 2022 🎤 House histories
22 Jan 2022 🎤 The 1890 Census, by Margaret Melaney
20 Nov 2021 🎤 All-Hands Membership Meeting plus Sharing Stories
6 Nov 2021 🎟Fall Seminar - Making Sense of Your DNA Matches, with Diahan Southard
23 Oct 2021 🎤 A Tour of the New SMCGS Website, by Mike Davis
25 Sep 2021 🎤 1950 Census: Are You Ready?, by Thomas MacEntee
28 Aug 2021 Union Cemetery Field Trip
24 Jul 2021 🎤 Using Maps to Tell Stories, by Sue Long
26 Jun 2021 📣 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
22 May 2021 🎤 The Importance of On-Location Research in a Digital World, by Craig Siulinski
24 Apr 2021 🎤 Sisters Unite! Two Hundred Years of Women's Suffrage, by Lisa Oberg
10 Apr 2021 🛠 Workshop - Using Photos in Microsoft Word, with Maggie Melaney
27 Mar 2021 🎤 Angel Island, by Grant Din
20 Feb 2021 🎤 DNA: Finding My Grandfather, by David Brunzel
23 Jan 2021 🎤 Children Left Behind, by Judy Fambrough Billingsley
26 Dec 2020 🎤 NO General Meeting in December
21 Nov 2020 🎤 Preserving Family Photos, Stories, and Documents, by Carolyn Williams
7 Nov 2020 🎟 Fall Seminar - Gems for Genealogical Research, with Lisa Louise Cooke
24 Oct 2020 🎤 Creative Hypothesis Development for Brick Walls, by Jan Joyce
26 Sep 2020 🎤 The Mystery Aussie, by Pam Wong
22 Aug 2020 🎤 NO General Meeting in August
25 Jul 2020 🎤 Orphan Train and Home Children, by Chris Green
27 Jun 2020 🎤 Northern California Genealogy, by Sean Conley
30 May 2020 🎤 10 Reasons Why You Can't Find Your Ancestors, by Gena Philibert-Ortega
2 May 2020 🎟 Spring Seminar (CANCELED) - Gems for Genealogical Research, with Lisa Louise Cooke
25 Apr 2020 🎤 (CANCELED) - Orphan Train and Home Children, by Christine Bell Green
28 Mar 2020 🎤 (CANCELED) - Preserving Family Photos, Photo Stories, Documents, by Carolyn Williams
22 Feb 2020 🎤 Titanic Connections: Exploring the Legend & Genealogy, by Sheryl Rinkol
13 Feb 2020 🛠 Workshop - US Land Records in Public Land States, with Martha Wallace
25 Jan 2020 🎤 Researching Off-line: Using Archives, Libraries, & Courthouses, by Lisa Gorrell
28 Dec 2019 🎤 NO General Meeting in December
23 Nov 2019 🎤 Brick Wall Busters: Techniques for Genealogical Success, by Sharon Hoyt
2 Nov 2019 🎟 Fall Seminar - The Law, GPS Evidence, and DNA Ethics, with Judy Russell
19 Oct 2019 🎤 Researching Ancestors in Historical Events: A Salem Witch Trials Case Study, by Melinda Kashuba
28 Sep 2019 🎤 What You Don't Know about Ancestry.com, by Crista Cowen
24 Aug 2019 🎤 Indexing Work Day
27 Jul 2019 🎤 Round Table Discussions
22 Jun 2019 🎤 Sharing Stories: Readings and Potluck
18 May 2019 🎤 Mayflower Families, by Bob Trapp
4 May 2019 🎟 Spring Seminar - Your Genealogy: Research, Organize, & Solve, with Michael John Neill
27 Apr 2019 🎤 The Power of Digital Photography and Family History, by Ron Madson
11 Apr 2019 🛠 Workshop - Finding Power in Your Family's Story: A Writing Workshop, by Regina Mason
30 Mar 2019 🛠 Workshop - Writing Family Stories, by Craig Siulinski
23 Mar 2019 🎤 Gen Mtg - Lies, Lies & More Lies: Can DNA Solve My Parental Lineage?, by Jeff Valiant
23 Feb 2019 🎤 City Directories: A Window into your Ancestors' Lives, by Pamela Brigham
14 Feb 2019 🛠 Workshop - Hispanic Genealogy: Spanish Records, by Lucy Jennings Sweeney
26 Jan 2019 🎤 Blogging for Sharing Family History Stories, by Craig Siulinski
17 Nov 2018 🎤 Prohibition, by Ray Cosyn
3 Nov 2018 🎟 Fall Seminar - Exploring DNA, with CeCe Moore
20 Oct 2018 🎤 A Year in Salem: The Witchcraft Crisis of 1692, by Gay Scott
22 Sep 2018 🎤 Researching Civil War Ancestors, by Mary Boyle
28 Jul 2018 🎤 Round Table Discussions
19 May 2018 🎤 The Streets of Menlo Park, by Bo Crane
5 May 2018 🎟 Spring Seminar - Forensic Genealogy plus California Research: Missions to Present, with Sheila Benedict
21 Apr 2018 🎤 English Probate and Death Duty Records, by Chris Green
24 Mar 2018 🎤 Making A Family Video to Share, by Dr. Jan Joyce Aherns
24 Feb 2018 🎤 Who's in Your Neighborhood? Meeting the Diverse Research Needs of Your Community, by Linda Harms Okazaki
27 Jan 2018 🎤 The Slave Narrative that Freed Me, by Regina Mason
4 Nov 2017 🎟 Fall Seminar - Federal Records plus Mapping the West, with Pamela and Rick Sayre
3 May 2017 🎟 Spring Seminar - Not Your Usual Records, with Amy Johnson Crow
22 Oct 2016 🎟 Fall Seminar - Research Rewards, with Paula Stuart-Warren
18 Jun 2016 🎤 Ancestry Day by the Bay
7 May 2016 🎟 Spring Seminar - Successful Searching, with Thomas MacEntee
2 May 2015 🎟 Spring Seminar - Immigration and Ancestral Customs, with Warren Bittner CG
1 Nov 2014 🎟 Fall Seminar - How Knowing the Law Makes Us Better Genealogists, with Judy Russell

San Mateo County Genealogical Society

     SMCGS is a 501(c)(3) organization

PO Box 5569
Redwood City, CA 94063-5569
https://smcgs.org

 

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