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Monday, January 31, 2022

Lunch and Learn via GoToMeeting Sat., Feb 12, 2022 1-2:00pm PST "In the Beginning, All America was Virginia:Research in the Old Dominion"

GSHA-SC is working with Southern California Genealogical Society in advertising their Lunch and Learn courses being taught in the library and also via the internet. To take advantage of genealogy courses being taught via the internet you will need to register for April 9 in advance at the url shown below. Please double click the URL: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/251597266732442381

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.


 

Thursday, January 27, 2022

How to use a DNA test to find distant relatives

To read the article, hit here.

DNA expert Debbie Kennett explains how DNA tests identify your distant relatives - and whether the results are reliable

Which DNA test should you use to find your distant relatives?

You can find your distant relatives with autosomal DNA tests from AncestryDNA, 23andMe, FamilyTreeDNA and MyHeritage DNA and Living DNA (also sold by Findmypast).

There are pros and cons to each DNA test, but they can all be used to help you find your distant relatives.

The number of matches you get with distant relatives will vary from company to company. Each company has its own proprietary database, and you will find some cousins in one database who have not tested elsewhere.

Although the size of the database determines the number of distant relatives you get to some extent, each company also uses different algorithms and sets different thresholds for what it considers to be a match.

How do DNA tests find your distant relatives?

The amount of DNA shared between you and your distant relatives is measured in units known as centiMorgans (or cM). Current tests are run on microarrays or chips that cover about 700,000 markers scattered across the genome.

However, this represents a fraction of the total variation in our genomes, and there are some regions that have very poor coverage on the chips. This introduces the possibility of errors when inferring matches.

Some of the companies use a technique known as phasing to sort the DNA letters – all those As, Cs, Ts and Gs – onto the maternal and paternal sides.

If phasing is not done then the algorithms will zigzag between letters on the paternal and maternal chromosomes to produce false matches with distant relatives.

The companies that use phasing are able to set a lower threshold for finding distant relatives, because they feel more confident that the matches are real.

How accurate are DNA tests in finding your distant relatives?

The companies try to get the balance right, so that they are reporting a reasonable number of matches without too many false ones.

While matches with close relatives sharing large amounts of DNA can be called with confidence, many matches with more distant relatives are likely to be false.

I’ve been able to test both of my parents and I’ve found that 26–36 per cent of my matches at the different companies don’t match either of my parents.

It is mostly the distant relatives that are affected, particularly when matches share 15 cM or less.

Some firms assign confidence levels to matches. For instance, at AncestryDNA matches sharing 6–16 cM are rated as “moderate” with only a 15–50 per cent likelihood of sharing a single recent common ancestor, while MyHeritage has “moderate” or “low” confidence in matches under about 30 cM, stating, “This match may be a distant relative, but there is also a small chance that it is not related to you.” 

Friday, January 21, 2022

What’s Endogamy?

What’s Endogamy? 

Endogamy is when our ancestral communities intermarried a LOT over time. Maybe they were geographically isolated, such as an island community.  Maybe they just stuck together due to culture by religion, marrying within the faith.

If you descend from such a community, you’ll likely have DNA matches who aren’t the “real” cousins they appear to be. They just share DNA from your common ancestral group. 

Examples of endogamous groups include Jews, Polynesians, Low German Mennonites, the Amish, Acadians or Cajuns (French settlers in what is now Nova Scotia, Canada), French Canadians, people from many Arab countries, people from Newfoundland and people from many islands. Endogamy is also a problem in early Colonial American populations.

The interpretation of DNA results from endogamous populations can be particularly challenging because such people will typically have large numbers of matches in the DNA databases.

The interpretation of autosomal DNA matches can be particularly difficult, especially in the case of endogamous populations where the pedigrees cannot be traced back beyond the 1800s. The relationships will often be more distant than predicted.


Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Old Spanish Trail Meeting Zoom Event January 26th and/or 29th

 


The Old Spanish Trail Association Descendants and Travelers of the Trail Chapter will be kicking off the new year with two Zoom presentations. Deborah R. Trujillo Terracino, Descendants and Travelers of the Trail Chapter President, will be hosting the meeting.


Cecelia Peña is a 5th generation Peña, descended from the original settlers who came to Vacaville via The Old Spanish Trail from New Mexico with the Rowland-Workman Party in 1841.  She is a board member of the Peña Adobe Historical Society and the Old Spanish Trail Association Descendants Chapter Vice President.  She will present a 20-minute PowerPoint about the Peña Adobe.  Following her presentation will be a question-and-answer session.  The presentation will be available on two dates in January 2022.
SAVE THE DATES -- COME TO EITHER ONE (OR BOTH) FREE ONLINE ZOOM EVENTS!
 
Wednesday evening-January 26, 2022, 6-7pm PST
and...
Saturday afternoon-January 29, 2022, 1-2 pm PST
 THE PEÑA ADOBE: 1842 - NOW (180 YEARS OF HISTORY)
Presented by Cecelia Peña with the Descendants Chapter, Old Spanish Trail Association
 
Cecelia will email the Zoom link to you a few days before the online event. Please RSVP using the email address: DESCENDANTSRSVPS@GMAIL.COM

Sunday, January 16, 2022

GSHA-SC Writers' Workshop


 FREE for GSHA-SC members; If you are not a member, go to https://gsha-sc.org/membership/html

RSVP to kscordova@aol.com for the Zoom link

YOU CAN WRITE.  YOU CAN WRITE.  YOU CAN WRITE.

Your descendants will thank you. GSHA SoCalifornia is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.


Saturday, January 15, 2022

12 ways to share your family tree

 Even though the holidays are over, this article has 12 ways to share your family tree to your family and extended family. My wife and I received two photographs books from our daughter which comprised our first grandson's first year of life and the other family photographs of the year. It is amazing that digital cameras gave us the ability to take great photos, but alas they mostly reside on a storage disk. To read the entire article, hit here


Don't let all your family history research go to waste. Chris Paton explains how to share the stories you uncover with your family this Christmas.

Christmas is a wonderful time of year for family historians to share their family tree with others so we have compiled 12 things you can do over the holidays to share the stories you have added to your family tree over the past year and perhaps get some new stories from other family members so that you can share an even bigger and better family tree next year!

1. Record oral history

The FamilySearch Memories app makes it easy to record family memories which you can then use to share your family tree. Simply create a scrapbook of documents and images on the app and then invite a relative to talk about their thoughts and reactions to what you show them, for up to five minutes per image.

2. Animate photographs

The ‘Photos’ section of MyHeritage offers a variety of tools to repair old pictures, enhance blurred faces, and colourise monochrome images, creating wonderfully vivid versions which you can then host online. The website also allows you to animate old photographs with its tool Deep Nostalgia, giving the illusion of bringing departed ancestors back to life as they smile, nod, blink and turn their heads. While this form of digital sorcery can be a little unnerving it’s a great way to stimulate conversations about long-past ancestors and is an alternative way to share your family tree.

3. Create a report

If you have family tree software that allows you to create reports, why not print one off to share with your family this Christmas. There’s no point waiting until your family tree is finished (when will that ever be?). If your tree is hosted on Ancestry you can order a professional family history book produced by MyCanvas, with charts and photos based on your family tree information. It’s a lovely way to share your family tree.

4. Give a presentation

If you have found an unusual or exciting story from your research, why not create a short PowerPoint presentation and tell it to your family over the Christmas break?

5. Start a blog

An exciting way to share your family tree and publish your research as an ongoing project is to create a family history-themed blog. The holiday period is an ideal time to experiment with free platforms such as Blogger or WordPress to get your started. You can get ideas and tips from the Geneabloggers.

6. Share your DNA test results

If you have taken a DNA test, you can use a Christmas get-together to show your family what you have discovered (f not, read our guide on which is the best DNA test to take for you). They may even be interested in taking a DNA test themselves.

7. Host a virtual family reunion

Lots of people will be meeting up online over Christmas and it can be a great opportunity to share your family tree. Share stories and photographs you have uncovered and you can include a family history quiz. If you haven’t got to grips with Zoom and all the things you can do with it, then our friends at Vivid-Pix have put together some useful tutorials.

8. Create a Christmas card or photobook

Share your favourite family photographs as e-Christmas cards or get them printed out as cards using companies like Moonpig. You can also spend the Christmas break compiling photobooks to share. Try Snapfish or Photobox.

9. Give a memory book

In a quiet moment this Christmas, why not take the opportunity to sit down with one of your older relatives and ask them to tell you a little about themselves? Memory books ask questions such as ‘Can you remember your first day of school?’ or ‘Did you belong to any youth groups?’ and give you space to record them. From You To Me sells a nice range of memory books.

10. Tell your own story

Take the opportunity this Christmas to tell the greatest story that you will ever have – your very own. Start with the basics: where were you born, what were your earliest memories, where did you go to school? Add stories as you remember them. It’s also never too late to start a diary. Think how grateful your future descendants will be.

11. Share your family tree on Facebook

Facebook includes a great bite-sized way to share your family tree research. Create a ‘Family’ category list from your contacts (see ‘About’, then ‘Family and Relationships’) so that you can post messages to relatives only. You can also create a dedicated private Facebook group this Christmas on a family history theme. Encourage family members to share anything they may have in their family archive. You can also use family history software such as TreeView to create a tree using your Facebook contacts, and to invite your relatives to view your tree online. Find out more on TheGenealogist.

12. Compile a newsletter

Finally, try the old-fashioned simple option of putting together a newsletter about your family or your research to send out to family members this Christmas. Even sharing this small part of your family tree will help preserve your family story.

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Mexican Catholic Parish Records, Part I: Baptisms, Confirmations & Burials by Colleen Greene on Jan 21, 2022 at 11am PST

 Listen for free on Spanish colonial and Mexican Catholic parish registers are rich in genealogical information. This session will discuss the laws, customs, and significance of these particular Catholic records that essentially “bookend” the life of your ancestors; as well as where to find and how to analyze them. To register to listen, please hit here




An Additional 50 Websites Every Genealogist Should Know by Gena Philibert-Ortega January 19, 2022 11:00am PST

 Gena comes back with an additional 50 websites you should know for your genealogy. She will explore websites with genealogy databases, technology how-to, images, finding aids, and more. No matter where your genealogy takes you, you’ll hear about a website that can be helpful. And don’t forget about the handout. The handout is a compilation of all the websites Gena’s previously talked about in her 50 Websites presentations. To register for this event, hit here

Gena Philibert-Ortega, besides being a member of GSHA-SC, she is an author, researcher, and instructor whose focus is genealogy, social and women's history. She holds a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (Psychology and Women's Studies) and a Master’s degree in Religion. Her published works include two books, numerous articles published in magazines and online, as well as four editions of the Tracing Your Ancestors series from Morsehead Publishing. She is the editor of the Utah Genealogical Association’s magazine, Crossroads. Her writings can be found on her blogs, Gena’s Genealogy and Food.Family.Ephemera as well as the GenealogyBank and Legacy Webinars blogs. She is a course instructor for The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. She has presented to diverse groups worldwide including the Legacy Family Tree Webinar series. Her current research includes women's repatriation and citizenship in the 20th century, foodways and community in fundraising cookbooks, and women's material culture.

Monday, January 10, 2022

How to start a family tree: Next steps- for baptisms, marriages and death/burials in parish registers

Catholic Church records are some of the most complete sources of information for Hispanic genealogical research in Latin America. In 1563 the Council of Trent formalized record-keeping practices that were already being followed in much of the Catholic world. Separate record books were to be maintained for baptisms, marriages, and deaths/burials.

There are three commonly used parish record types used for research in Latin America. They are:

Baptisms – Bautismos 

Marriages - Matrimonios

Deaths/Burials – Defunciones/Entierros

Depending on the parish records and who recorded the information, the wealth of data can vary. Information found in the records should have the following data.

Baptisms/Christenings

A child’s baptism in the Catholic Church could happen any time between the first few minutes after birth to several days or months later. Generally, most baptisms were performed within a few days because there was a fear that the child might not live. Whether or not a date of birth was given will vary, depending on the priest and time period. Every baptismal record will state in some manner whether the child is a legitimate or natural born (illegitimate). The most common information found in baptismal records are:

 Name of the child

 Birth date

 Baptism date and place

 Names and surnames of the parents (if only a mother is listed, the child was natural born

or illegitimate). Sometimes their origin and/or residence

 Sometimes the names and surnames of the grandparents

 Names of the godparents

Marriages

The Catholic Church marriage imposes four requirements:

1. The couple is free to marry

2. They freely exchange their consent

3. They have the intention to marry for life

4. Their consent is given in presence of two witnesses and before the properly authorized

Catholic Church priest.

In these records we can find valuable information. We can find if the groom and/or bride is a widower/widow, and the name of the deceased former spouse. In Latin America, marriages usually took place in the bride’s parish. It is important to carefully look at the names of the godparents and witnesses, because sometimes they are related to the couple. The most common information found in the marriage record is:

 Marriage date and place

 Names of the groom and the bride; you may find their ages, place of origin, and place of residence

 Previous marital status

 Names of the parents, if they are still living, place of residence, etc.

 Names of the godparents and witnesses

Deaths/Burials

The Catholic Church death registers are recorded in the parish where the person died. They are usually the least used of any parish records. They vary in format and length depending on the age and status of the deceased, as well as the discretion of the priest. In most death records, the women are recorded by their maiden name. In some records, if the woman had a surviving spouse, the spouse was named. If the deceased person was a widow, the deceased spouse may have been named. At times the priest noted if the person died testate, meaning he or she recorded a will. The most common information found in the death record is:

 Name of the deceased, date, and cause of death

 Date and place of the burial

 Sometimes age, place of residence, and marital status

 Names of the parents (if single or a child)

 Name of the spouse (if married)

 Names of surviving children

Catholic Church records are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog under the city or town where the parish is located. A parish is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction where a Catholic priest serves and keeps records. Because the majority of the records were kept by the parish priest, these records are known as Registros Parroquiales (parish registers).

This information was gathered from the Familysearch.org. To gather more material from them, hit here

Saturday, January 8, 2022

Genealogy Garage: Finding Your Polish Ancestors Online Through The Polish State Archives-- Saturday, January 15, 2022 11:00am PST

In the past, our organization has helped with the promotion of webinars that the Los Angeles Public Library's Genealogy Garage puts on for the general public. Even though we are a Hispanic genealogy group, we promote the education and knowledge that one may obtain from these presentations. Who knows if your ancestors may have some connection to these areas. Since the presentations are free online via YouTube or Facebook, we are letting our members know that these courses are available to you if you sign in to YouTube or Facebook. Information to see the streaming live are below. 



 To watch the presentation, please go to Facebook or YouTube and cut and paste the following: lapl.org/whats-on/events/genealogygarage-finding-your-polishancestors-online-throughpolish-state-archives

How to start a family tree: Census records

Family history expert Laura Berry shares her tips on how to continue with starting a family tree. To read the entire article hit here 

Once you’ve started a family tree with the family members you know, you can search for their other sources such as census records (this article was written for a British audience). It is being paraphrase to a North American audience.

The next major tool for starting a family tree is census records. A census of the  (US’s population is carried out every ten years and census records from 1790 to 1940's. 1950's will be available after April 1st this year and will be available online from all the major genealogy websites as well as FamilySearch. Mexico started counting their population in 1895. This census was considered the first federal or national census. Beginning in 1900, censuses were conducted every 10 years. The 1930 census was conducted on May 15 and was the first census in which returns were processed centrally. Because of this, most of the sheets still exist). They are an essential tool for family historians because they record families at home, giving details of both relationships and occupations (The early censuses were not as detail-only giving head of household and ages variation. After the 1850's on more detail of the household members were given). Often the census is the only record that will tell you how your ancestors (occupation, education and other details).

Once you know when and where your ancestor were born (state or country), you can search for people with a matching name and date and place of birth to see where they were living every ten years. Alternatively, you can try to build backwards from census records to find your ancestor’s birth record. You can discover more about the best places to search for your family on the census as well as what information was provided in each decade in our guide to census records.

Thursday, January 6, 2022

How to start a family tree: Birth, marriage and death certificates

Family history expert Laura Berry shares her tips on how to continue with starting a family tree. To read the entire article hit here 

Once you’ve started a family tree with the family members you know, you can search for their birth, marriage and death records via where they may be held, such as State, County or Town records depending on the time period of when they started collecting and being the keeper of the records. (this article was written for a British audience) It is being paraphrase to a North American audience.

Certificates are vitally important for building your family tree and proving the connections between each person... Birth certificate (may) include the mother’s maiden name...which makes it easier to pinpoint the right birth

If you’ve found a marriage certificate (which will confirm the ages of the bride and groom and names of their fathers), the next step is to look for birth certificates for the happy couple...

death certificates are not as informative as birth and marriage certificates but can still be helpful, particularly for researching older generations...

A death certificate confirms the deceased’s age, and from 1969 exact dates of birth are given. The informant was usually a relative and their details can be useful for confirming suspected links in your tree. Death certificates will also detail the cause of death, which might be of interest.

Birth, marriage and death certificates also provide home addresses, which might help to locate your family in other records 

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

How to start a family tree-First Steps

 Laura Berry shares her tips on how to start a family tree. To read the article, hit here

How to start a family tree: First steps

1 – Write down what you know already. Take a pencil and blank sheet of paper and write down what you know about your relatives in a family tree diagram. Write your name and date of birth at the bottom of the page, with your siblings either side and a branch up to your parents’ names, adding any significant dates. Continue back as far as you can. This way you’ll be able to see where the gaps are.

2 – Track down the family archive. Gather any family documents, letters and old photographs you have lying around the house as these often provide precise dates and places for births, marriages and deaths, and can help you to start filling in some of those blanks.

3 – Make a plan. While you’re drawing up your tree start to think about what you would like to find out. This is a really important question that we ask all of the celebrities, because it will form a framework around which we can plan our research. The next step is to talk to as many relations as possible to try to fill in some of the gaps. The Who Do You Think You Are? team does this for every celebrity. Older relations are particularly helpful, since they may remember people who were alive as long as 100 years ago.

4 – Contact family members. Extended family can alert you to additional mysteries that need resolving, and have documents and photographs you’ve never seen before. Keep notes of all your conversations. As you progress in your research you might pick up on something significant in your initial notes that you didn’t think was very important at the time.

5 – Collaborate with others. See if you can collaborate with another family history addict in the family. Two pairs of eyes are often better than one. It’s also helpful if you can divide the cost of purchasing document copies and joining subscription websites. Some family history websites allow members to save their family trees online and get in touch with other tree owners who share an ancestor. We often use this method of tracing people for Who Do You Think You Are? Remember, online and even printed family trees can contain errors, so be sure to verify the facts with as many sources as possible.

6 – Get organized! You’ll need to keep well-organized notes. Archive-quality storage boxes are useful for paper copies gathered. Regularly updated records of each step you’ve taken will save you duplicating searches. There are lots of family history software packages designed to input your ancestors’ details and build trees including Legacy, Family Tree Maker and Family Historian. Many family history websites offer similar services. At Who Do You Think You Are? we also compile a Word report for each celebrity, giving an overview of the records found for each ancestor, with transcriptions of all the documents we’ve located.

Monday, January 3, 2022

From Spain to New Mexico, Part 2 January 8, 2022 10am PST Zoom Presentation

 


Please join Gary DeLeon give his part two presentation at 10am PST on January 8, 2022. To Register in advance for this meeting, please hit here After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.


Sunday, January 2, 2022

Finding Your Roots Season 8 starts January 4, 2021

 A new season of Finding Your Roots premieres January 4, 2022! Tune in for all-new episodes as Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores fascinating ancestries and family mysteries for an array of notable guests. To watch the preview, hit here

Saturday, January 1, 2022

"The Diversity of the Chumash" by John Schmal SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 2022 AT 1 PM PST


 This presentation explores the Chumash tribes that inhabited the coastal region of the Santa Barbara area when the Spaniards arrived there in 1769. Speaking eight distinct languages – most of which were mutually unintelligible – the Chumash lived and thrived in an area where five Catholic missions were founded between 1772 and 1804. Their history, customs and present status with regards to federal recognition will be explored. To join the discussion presentation, hit here 

Autosomal DNA, Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA tests: what’s the difference?

Researching the information on what's the difference is explained by Debbie Kennett. This article explains the difference between autosomal, Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA tests to help with your family history research. To read the entire article, hit here