Genealogy Research Tips and
Sahyun Library Updates

If there is a veteran anywhere in your family tree, bookmark the VA’s free Nationwide Gravesite Locator. It searches burial records for veterans and their family members in VA national cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, other military and Department of the Interior cemeteries, and even private cemeteries where the grave carries a government-furnished marker. Highlights from

Judy Thompson and Robin McCarthy are starting a new AI for Genealogy Special Interest Group (SIG) in January 2027.  AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot can help genealogists read difficult handwriting, summarize records, organize research notes, and draft family stories. Our new SIG will show you how to put these tools to

Navigating federal veterans and military-service records can be confusing. Records may be held by different agencies or NARA offices depending on the type and age of the record, and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is not always the appropriate or easiest way to obtain them. The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the

Some of the most useful collections on Ancestry will never appear as a hint or in your search results. Not because they aren’t valuable, but because most of them aren’t indexed by name. If you want to use them, you have to go looking for them in the Card Catalog. Maps, Atlases, and Gazetteers Place

If you’ve been missing our Genealogy 101 class, The Essential Skills for New Genealogists webinar series offered through Legacy Family Tree Webinars may be just what you’re looking for! Dr. David Mc Donald offers a foundational roadmap for anyone looking to grow from a casual collector of names into a disciplined and effective family historian. This

Our 2025–2026 Year in Review Is Here! We’re proud to share our annual Year in Review report, now available on our website’s homepage. It highlights everything our society accomplished from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, and it was quite a year! Take a few minutes to read it. You may be surprised by

The October issue of the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society Tree Tips newsletter has been posted on our website for your reading pleasure. Here are some of the highlights. The October Monthly Meeting on October 17th features David Flint, a British Isles research specialist. David will provide tips about English research records. This is a live-in-person

If you’ve been missing our Genealogy 101 class, The Essential Skills for New Genealogists webinar series offered through Legacy Family Tree Webinars may be just what you’re looking for! Dr. David Mc Donald offers a foundational roadmap for anyone looking to grow from a casual collector of names into a disciplined and effective family historian. This

The Fall issue of the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society’s quarterly journal has been posted on our website for your reading enjoyment. Here are some of the highlights. Questions About Grandfather’s Coat By Kathryn Field Anneke Jans: A Change in Fashion By Kate Lima American History Hiding in My Closet By Cathy Jordan Our Patriot

Are you interested in learning more ways to use AI in your genealogy research? If so, then check out these three Legacy Family Tree Webinars that are free to watch until September 30th. Using AI to Answer the Big Three: What, Where, and Why of Ancestor Locations by Diana Elder, AG, ACL This presentation demonstrates how

You can read all about Learning Paths in the Legacy Family Tree Webinars blog here, watch the quick intro video here, and browse all the Learning Paths here, or build your own custom path from any webinars in the catalog. Enrolling, creating custom paths, tracking progress, and earning completion certificates are all free — and

If you’ve been missing our Genealogy 101 class, The Essential Skills for New Genealogists webinar series offered through Legacy Family Tree Webinars may be just what you’re looking for! Dr. David Mc Donald offers a foundational roadmap for anyone looking to grow from a casual collector of names into a disciplined and effective family historian. This

You can now have your own private tree at FamilySearch that other people can’t change, unless you give them access and permission, just like your Ancestry tree. Join James Tanner from the BYU Family History Library to learn how You Can Have Your Own Family Tree on FamilySearch. The webinar is free to attend. No

The Summer issue of the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society’s quarterly journal has been posted on our website for your reading pleasure. Here are some of the highlights. A Vermont Rogue: The Curious Case of Newell Ordway By Christine Ordway Klukkert We Can’t Choose Our Ancestors By Cathy McDuffie Jordan Lydia, A Woman Worthy By

The June issue of the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society Tree Tips newsletter has been posted on our website for your reading pleasure. Here are some of the highlights. The Annual Meeting on June 20th features Nancy Loe, a professional genealogist and archivist, and author of many ebooks on research methods and practical skills. This

If you’ve been missing our Genealogy 101 class, The Essential Skills for New Genealogists webinar series offered through Legacy Family Tree Webinars may be just what you’re looking for! Dr. David Mc Donald offers a foundational roadmap for anyone looking to grow from a casual collector of names into a disciplined and effective family historian. This

Did you miss our recent private tour of the Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library? If so, there’s good news. The Archive-Library is hosting a free Open House on the first Saturday of each month, where you can see several artifacts, books, and artwork from their collection, and learn more from knowledgeable folks about the Archive-Library.  The

With our next monthly meeting coming up, we wanted to take a moment to remind everyone about our Zoom attendance policy. When registering and joining any of our Zoom events, please use an identifiable name — preferably your full name. This applies to all public meetings and classes. Why does this matter? Two reasons: Security.

Join American Ancestors on May 18th to hear from acclaimed historian W. Fitzhugh Brundage as he discusses his book, A Fate Worse than Hell, his harrowing new history of Civil War prisoner-of-war camps, North and South. The most comprehensive work to date on the lives of America’s prisoners during the Civil War is based on