Join Me in Surf City!

**Gena's Note:  A new genealogy conference is being sponsored by the Orange County California Genealogical Society in March. Join me for a day of genealogy in Huntington Beach.

The Orange County California Genealogical Society (OCCGS), celebrating their 50th Anniversary, will be hosting the inaugural “Genealogy BASH and Book Faire” on Saturday, March 2, 2013 at the Huntington Beach Central Library.

Ten of Southern California’s best family history speakers will give talks on subjects ranging from how the Internet is changing genealogical research to DNA testing for genealogy. Speakers include Barbara Renick, Randy Seaver, Jean Wilcox Hibben, CeCe Moore, Norma Storrs Keating, Dawn Thurston, Linda Serna, Brian Speckart, Richard S. McFarlane, and Gena Philibert-Ortega. There will be 20 lectures in four sessions from which to choose. There is a wide range of subjects that will be of interest to anyone who is researching their family roots. Seating is guaranteed if pre-registered on their website, www.occgs.com. There is a fee to attend the lectures. Parking is free in the large library lot.

Those just beginning their quest for their family’s history will have the opportunity to learn from professionals in free classes also held throughout the day. Free sign-ups are on the organization’s website, www.occgs.com.

There are two title sponsors for the event, Findmypast and FamilySearch. Both will have company representatives available to discuss their products. There will also be additional exhibitors in attendance and the exhibit hall is open to the public.

OCCGS manages the 20,000 volume Genealogy collection at the Huntington Beach Central Library. The public is invited to visit the collection and have a guided tour.

There will be a Book Faire for people who want to add to their personal genealogical library. Prices for the books and other genealogical materials at the Book Faire are at bargain basement prices. The Book Faire is free and open to the public.

The Huntington Beach Central Library is located at 7111 Talbert Ave., Huntington Beach, CA 92648. Doors open at 8:00 AM and the first session starts at 9:15 AM. See the OCCGS website,
www.occgs.com, and click on the BASH button for full details and registration information.

Contact Information:
Hal Horrocks
Phone: 714-296-6114
Email: president@occgs.com
Website: www.occgs.com

Church Record Sunday: Christ Church Philadelphia

In some cases church websites can provide great information for family historians. While today's example is a more famous and historic church, don't let that get in the way of your searching for the website for the church/es your ancestors attended.

I've been thinking about various types of cemeteries lately and came across these great web pages for Christ Church  Philadelphia. Look here for a history, map, and information on preservation at the Christ Church burial ground.

This website has even more for genealogists. Collections and Genealogy includes information about their archives, church records, and their online catalog.

The Family Curator Visits Food.Family.Ephemera Tomorrow!

I'm excited to be part of the Family Curator's blog book tour. Please check out my other blog, Food.Family.Ephemera tomorrow when she explains  How to Preserve Vintage Cookbooks, an excerpt from her new book,  How to Archive Family Keepsakes (Family Tree Books, 2012).

Church Record Sunday: Presbyterian Historical Society

The website for the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia states that  "Our mission is to collect, preserve, and share the story of the American Presbyterian experience with Presbyterians, the scholarly community, and the general public."

You can search their collections from their website. They also have a separate page entitled Genealogy that has some specific links for Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Maryland.

The Family Curator's Blog Book Tour Stops at Food.Family.Ephemera

**As some of my readers know, I have a few blogs. My blog Food.Family.Ephemera is where I write about food and family history. The following post is from Food.Family.Ephemera. I'm posting it here as well so that all of my readers can benefit from Denise's Blog Book Tour. Please visit  on Thursday, January 22 when Denise's book tour makes a stop at Food.Family.Ephemera.**

I love BOOKS! And I am so grateful to be able to showcase authors who have written great books that help preserve our family and food history. So I'm proud to announce that I am one of the bloggers hosting Denise Levenick's , a.k.a. The Family Curator, Book Tour for her new book, How to Archive Family Keepsakes.

A family's food history can include a variety of heirlooms, kitchen tools, cookbooks, recipe cards, ephemera,  table cloths, sliver, and china . Have heirlooms? The Family Curator can help you preserve, archive and hand down those items.

I love that all proceeds from sales from the book during this tour benefit the grant program Denise set up; the  2013 Student Genealogy Grant founded in 2010 in honor of Denise’s mother, Suzanne Winsor Freeman.

Please read below for more information and for the book tour schedule. Check back here on Thursday, January 22nd for Denise's Book Tour stop  on Food.Family.Ephmera.

Organize your family history heirlooms and research in 2013 -- 

Family Curator Blog Book Tour for How to Archive Family Keepsakes by Denise Levenick – On Tour from January 10-26^th, 2013.

How to Archive Family Keepsakes: Learn to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia & Genealogy Records will be featured in a new Blog Book Tour January 10-26, 2013. With top reviews from leading genealogy bloggers and 5-Star Ratings on Amazon.com, this new resource by Denise Levenick, The Family Curator, will help you organize and preserve your family history heirlooms and research in 2013.

Visit 14 popular genealogy blogs and websites featuring Denise and How to Archive Family Keepsakes for book excerpts, interviews, special guest posts, free downloads, and giveaways.  View the schedule below and at the Blog Book Tour Page .

Thursday, January 10 – Welcome to the Blog Book Tour! at The Family Curator

Friday, January 11 – Meet and Greet Tour Schedule at GeneaBloggers

Saturday, January 12 – Book Excerpt & Podcast Interview at Genealogy Gems Podcast Blog

Sunday, January 13 – Guest Post & Review at Moultrie Creek

Monday, January 14 – Book Excerpt at 4 Your Family Story

Tuesday, January 15 – Guest Post at Olive Tree Genealogy

Wednesday, January 16 – Author Q and A at The Armchair Genealogist

Thursday, January 17 – Shades of the Departed

Friday, January 18 – Guest Post at Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories

Saturday, January 19 – Week 1 Giveaway Winners at The Family Curator

Sunday, January 20 – Book Excerpt at the Practical Archivist

Monday, January 21 – Guest Post at The In-Depth Genealogist

Tuesday, January 22 – Book Excerpt at Food. Family. Ephemera

Wednesday, January 23 – Review & Podcast Interview at Dear Myrtle

Thursday, January 24 – Book Excerpt at AnceStories

Saturday, January 26 – WrapUp and Week 2 Giveaway Winners at The Family Curator

How to Archive Family Keepsakes offers practical guidance for family historians:

•     Helping a parent or loved one downsize to a smaller home

•     Needing a simple, effective filing system for genealogy research

•     Interested in scanning and making digital copies of genealogy records

•     Looking for a way to preserve your family history and heirlooms for future generations

Proceeds from the sale of How to Archive Family Keepsakes during the Book Tour will help fund the 2013 Student Genealogy Grant founded in 2010 in honor of Denise’s mother, Suzanne Winsor Freeman.

About the Author

Denise Levenick lives in Southern California and inherited her love of family history along with a trunk filled with family treasures from her maternal grandmother. She is now the caretaker of several family collections and has adapted professional archival techniques to organize and preserve family keepsakes for a home situation. She is a frequent contributor to Family Tree Magazine and speaks to genealogy societies and service groups about preserving family treasures. Denise created The Family Curator blog in 2007 where she continues to write about her own family history research and preserving family keepsakes.

Join the Blog Book Tour for How to Archive Family Keepsakes January 10-26 for author interviews, book excerpts, giveaways, and more. Visit the Blog Book Tour Page at The Family Curator website for the complete schedule.

Need Ideas for Researching Female Ancestors?

I'm proud to announce that Tracing Your Female Ancestors, a special issue of Internet Genealogy Magazine  is now available!

I wrote these articles to help researchers explore  new ideas for researching their female ancestors. Researching women is different and these unique sources, including websites and brick and mortar repositories, provide family historians with new ways to approach their research. An added plus is an article by Maureen Taylor on researching women in photographs.



Articles include:

Finding Your Pre-1850 Female Ancestor

25 Online Sources

Women's Clubs

Tracing Your African American Female Ancestors

Jane S. Chatham Case Study

Women & Divorce

Women's Work

Secret Lives of Women

Manuscript Collections

University Library Sources

Women in Photos (by Maureen Taylor)

Women and the Vote

Women in the Civil War

Grandma Was An Alien?

Writing Their Story

This issue is available from booksellers or can be ordered online from Internet Genealogy's bookstore. (Also available as a PDF from Internet Genealogy)

Have You Seen These Posts?

I have the honor of being able to write posts that show up in other places besides my blogs. Here are some posts I did for 2012 for the GenealogyBank blog:

How to Find Your Ancestor's Divorce Records in Newspapers

Women During World War II: Knitting and Sewing on the Home Front

Newspaper Recipe Contests: Was Your Ancestor a Contest Winner?

Ephemera: A Surprisingly Fertile Genealogical Resource

The 1876 Centennial Exhibition Celebrated 100 Years of American Freedom

The Polygamist's Wife: The Story of my Favorite Ancestor Mary Ann


You can read my other posts on the GenealogyBank blog by searching the archives.