Event Calendar

March Meeting Postponed!

Due to the memorial service for our fallen police officers, the March 7th meeting  has been canceled.

NEW SCHEDULE FOR MARCH MEETING & LECTURE:

March Lecture

For genealogists, brick walls are difficult problems for which sufficient evidence has not yet been found to reach a conclusion meeting the genealogical proof standard. Many, perhaps most, brick-wall problems can be successfully resolved. However, doing so usually requires a disciplined research process and the use of many sources of information. The conclusion many times comes from the use of correlated indirect evidence; after all, if there were direct records simply establishing the relationships, the problem would be less likely to have been classified as a brick wall.

This presentation focuses on some of the research principles, methodologies, and sourcing that can be applied to resolve brick walls. Illustrative examples are taken from a case study researched and written by the presenter and recently published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly.

The problem solved in this case was the identification of the father of a child born in 1809 to an unwed mother. The father’s surname, his given name, and his location (Kentucky or Virginia) were not known at the outset of the search – even the child’s mother was in question. His mother left no records for the year the child was born and there only two records of his father’s entire life – the father’s birth and death dates in a family Bible and one tax record. The solution required genetic testing and back-tracking a young single woman across four counties in two states in the late seventeen hundreds and early eighteen hundreds.

Biography

Warren C. Pratt was born in southeastern Kentucky and spent his early years among relatives and friends in a small town of 800 residents. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Kentucky and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, all in electrical engineering. Dr. Pratt spent his career of about 30 years in the computer industry working in Colorado, Toronto, and California.

Dr. Pratt had a passing interest in genealogy while working; however, it was upon his 2006 retirement that it became a priority. The quest to spend a “little time” putting together a family history for his children developed into a thirst to resolve questions that others had abandoned as unsolvable. Warren has been very fortunate to receive excellent mentoring along the way and he enjoys attempting to repay that debt when he has the opportunity to help others.

What is the Roots Tech Genealogy Conference? 

What’s Roots Tech Like? Check out this video! (Be sure to scroll down once you click on this link in order to see the video!)

RootsTech is an opportunity unlike any other to discover the latest family history tools and techniques, connect with experts to help you in your research, and be inspired in the pursuit of your ancestors. It is a conference with a unique emphasis on helping individuals learn and use the latest technology to get started or accelerate their efforts to find, organize, preserve, and share their family’s connections and history. Attendees will learn key skills from hands-on workshops and interactive presentations at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced level.

Who Should Attend?

The 3rd annual RootsTech conference has something for everyone, whether you are an avid genealogist, just beginning, or simply want to discover the latest technologies and solutions to better connect with your family. You will learn things like how and where to start with your family history and how to use the latest technology to solve real research problems. With world-class content from speakers all over the country, an exciting exhibitor hall, and great keynote speakers, RootsTech is being re-tooled for young and old alike, regardless of expertise. Come join the fun!

What You’ll Experience

If You Are New to Family History

Attend a new, full track of over 30 Getting Started classes and labs to:

• Learn the basics of starting your family history
• Discover 10 activities you can do to get started
• Get hands-on experience with family history tools
• Additional classes will be offered for LDS Church members where they can learn the importance of family history, the basics to build their family tree and all the great resources to begin

If You Want To Preserve and Share Family Stories

Discover the power of stories and storytelling with classes presented by Story@Home:

• Preserve living memories
• Research family stories and traditions
• Unite families through shared stories

If You Are Experienced in Genealogy

Attend hands-on workshops and interactive classes to:

• Expand your skills and knowledge to accelerate your research
• Help influence the future of genealogy
• Learn and share new ways to adapt technologies to genealogy
• Help leading-edge technology providers better understand your needs
• Participate in panels, product demos and many networking opportunities

If You Are a Developer

Attend the Developer Day on Friday wth sessions specifically designed to help you:

• Explore the latest concepts and techniques to influence your app building, including:
  • Crowdsourcing
  • Genealogy Workflow
  • Javascript apps
  • FamilySearch Platform and API’s
• Discover available resources and software development trends from industry leaders and pioneers
• Understand and discuss difficult problems in a rapidly-growing market segment
• Access sponsors, vendors, and exhibitors that provide tools and services to enable innovations

RootsTech 2012 by the Numbers

• Over 4,000 registered attendees from 46 U.S. states, six Canadian provinces and 23 additional countries
• Over 50,000 views of live streaming sessions
• More than 90 key bloggers attended from Australia, Canada, Israel, the U.K. and the U.S.
• 20 official sponsors: Archives.com, Microsoft, Ancestry.com, brightsolid, NGS, Dell, NEHGS, FGS, APG, BYU, Avanade, Lenovo, Lexmark, vmware, IIMI, Savvis, Sprint, HP, and ViaWest
• 93% of attendees reported they were very satisfied or satisfied with the value of the information received at RootsTech, and 2013 promises to be even better!

Click Here to See the Schedule

For more information including classes and pricing: Roots Tech 2013 Homepage: Click Here

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Co-Sponsored with Friends of
the Santa Cruz Public Libraries!

Speaker’s books will be for sale! All proceeds will help fund programs for the library like the ones listed here! (Click on the link to see what the purchase of a book can do for our community and our libraries!)

Titles of books for sale below! Just scroll to bottom of page!

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m

Speaker:

Christine Rose,  CG, CGL, FASG

Lecture Topic:

Leaping to Erroneous Conclusions: What do the Records REALLY Say?

So often we look at a document and quickly determine what we think it means without giving further study to every part of the record and its interpretation. How often have we been led astray by not gleaning the correct clues? This lecture will take us back for another look. For example, are we interpreting the censuses right? The deeds? The dowers? The relationships? The estates? The tombstones? The newspapers? Are we misleading others? These topics are just a few of the many areas in which genealogists commonly jump to erroneous conclusions.

Come and see if YOU have been leaping to conclusions!

Christine Rose, CG, CGL, FASG is a Board-certified genealogist and a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists with many years of experience in the field of genealogy. She has authored a number of genealogy-related books to assist others. Her books have received top reviews for their content, clarity, and ease of reading. (Note: Fortunately for us, these books will be available for purchase at the lecture!) Christine has delivered hundreds of lectures in a variety of locations including national, regional, and local conferences such as the National Genealogical Society, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, GenTech, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and the North Carolina, California, Southern California, San Diego, Sonoma County, Montana State, Kentucky, and Kansas State Genealogical Societies. She also was on the faculty of the National Institute of Genealogical Research in Washington, D.C. For many years she has been an instruction and coordinator for Alabama’s Samford University in its Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research.

Books written by Christine Rose which will be available for purchase at the meeting!

• Nicknames: Past & Present, 5th ed.
• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Genealogy, 2 ed.
• Genealogical Proof Standard, 3d ed.
• Courthouse Research for Family Historians
• Courthouse Indexes Illustrated
• Military Bounty Land  (1776-1855)