Subscribe to the blog!
Genealogy Research Tips and
Sahyun Library Updates
NGS Recognizes Elizabeth Swanay O’Neal, CG
“The National Genealogical Society (NGS) presented awards to those whose work highlights excellence in genealogy scholarship and service at a plenary session on Saturday morning, 24 May, during its Family History Conference, Tales & Trails, at the Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky.” Awards Committee Chair Judy Nimer Muhn presented the Award of Merit to Elizabeth. “The Award
Downloading Your Ancestry Tree *AND* Records
“Ancestry does allow users to download their family trees, but you won’t get everything you hoped for. The included backup works by converting the tree into a GEDCOM and – while GEDCOMs include all of the data, text and source citations from a family tree – the format doesn’t support media, such as digital records
Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library
This is a blog post by the Society of American Archivists that could be helpful to genealogists with Scottish roots: In celebration of our 50th anniversary year, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library is pleased to announce the launch of the Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives’ first publicly available archives catalog. The Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives
Events Calendar: Do You Know?
Do you know that you can filter our events calendar to view specific categories of events? For instance, highlight Classes, SIGs, L&L from the Show dropdown list to display only those events. After logging into the website, members can also filter the calendar to display Classroom and Woodward room reservations for non-society events, Business Meetings,
Family Tree Maker 2024 Released (revised)
If you have a previous version of FTM installed, before you do anything, please read this handout, graciously provided by Dick Humphrey, moderator of the FTM User Group at the Southern California Genealogical Society. Dick will likely discuss the new version at his July FTMUG meeting on July 13th at 4 p.m. Dick’s class will
In Memoriam—Edie Wells
Long-time SBCGS member Edie Wells passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 3, 2025, surrounded by her loving family. You may recognize Edie as one of the people greeting guests at the entrance to our monthly meetings at First Presbyterian Church. She was passionate about genealogy, spending countless hours tracing family history and preserving connections across
Pretending You Were Paying for Help
Courtesy of Michael John Neill’s Tip of the Day post “Pretending You Were Paying for Help” dated 9-May-2025. Even if you are not inclined to have a professional researcher help you with your genealogy problem, pretend that you were. What would you ask them? What would you share with them? Think about: What is your specific problem?
Celebrate DNA Day with Free FamilySearch Presentations
DNA Day, observed annually on April 25th, marks the anniversary of two major milestones in genetics: the discovery of the DNA double helix structure in 1953, and the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003. This day celebrates the incredible progress made in our understanding of genetics and how DNA can unlock the secrets
Discover Your Civil War Ancestors for FREE!
Enjoy free access to 96 million+ Civil War records. Explore Service Records, Unit Histories, Photographs, Maps, POW Records, Pension Files, Military Letters, Special Orders, Soldiers Homes Records, and much more here! Access to the records in the featured collections will be free until 14 Apr 2025 at 10:59 p.m. PDT. A free registration account is required.
Ancestors West is Hot Off the Press
The Spring edition of Ancestors West has been published and is available for your enjoyment on the Society Publications page of our website. Read memories about the 1925 Santa Barbara Earthquake and survival stories shared by our members in this issue. The themes for all 2025 Ancestors West issues, along with the submission deadlines for
Australian newspapers and many other added to Newspapers.com!
As you know one of our premium subscription sites available to members at the Sahyun Genealogical Library is Newspapers.com Here’s a blog post by them, they have added 500+ new papers to their collection including Australian newspapers. posted by SBCGS Webmaster – Rosa Avolio
Roots Tech 2025!
RootsTech is a family history and technology conference and trade show held annually in the Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. It first debuted in 2011 having been created from the ground up by a team at FamilySearch. You don’t have to go to Salt Lake City to participate, you may attend online
Saving A Nation’s Stories: The US National Archives and Why Advocacy Matters
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) preserves American history, protects the records that underpin our profession, and makes them accessible for our research now, and in the future. Funding decisions in Congress directly impact NARA’s ability to function. Join the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) for a panel discussion featuring Rebecca Koford, the Director
Griffith’s Valuation – What it is and how to search it
Today I learned about Griffith’s valuation: Griffith’s Valuation was a boundary and land valuation survey of Ireland completed in 1868 The valuation records offer detailed insights into 19th-century Irish property, occupiers and local changes, providing valuable data for family history, economic studies, and understanding historical social structures. Tithe and valuation records are some of the
Be A Super Sleuth: Accessing Images at FamilySearch
Do you know that over 95% of the online records of FamilySearch are not accessible by a surname search. Newly digitized records are being put in Images and not in the Card Catalog. In this presentation at St. Mary’s County Genealogical Society of Maryland, Jill Morelli will tell us how to find these records and
New Experiment at Family Search
Many of us have discussed the “Tree” on FamilySearch.org and the fact that it’s available to anyone to add to or edit. Well, here’s some news about that, if you go to the home page of FamilySearch.org and scroll down to Family Search Labs and “View Experiments” on the right side of the page. Then
Extra! Extra! Free Access at Newspapers.com
Access to Publisher Extra® papers on Newspapers.com will be free until 10:59 pm PST on February 17th. Access over 1 BILLION pages in the largest online newspaper archive! A free account is required. Submitted by Robin McCarthy
Genealogy Tech Talk News
Time is running out to view the Genealogy Tech Talk class recording. On February 10th it will be moved to the Tips & Tools section of the Webinar Archive for members only. We have a great slate of topics for upcoming meetings. Judy Thompson will cover the recent enhancements to Full-Text Search at FamilySearch and
Discover the New Full-Text Search Feature at FamilySearch.org
FamilySearch.org has introduced an enhancement to its full-text search results. Now, the initial results include a list of names mentioned within the document itself. This powerful tool, made possible through advanced artificial intelligence, is designed to make your genealogical research even more intuitive and efficient. Dive in and discover connections you might have missed before.
New Genealogy Tech Talk Class at SBCGS
Join Robin McCarthy and Judy Thompson to learn how technology can enhance and improve your genealogy work. The class will explore a range of tools including artificial intelligence (AI), the Online Repository Assistant (ORA), WikiTree, Goldie May, various browser extensions, and more. Each monthly two-hour hybrid workshop will discuss a tool during the first hour.
