Event Calendar

Thursday, May 2, 2013

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Santa Cruz Public Library, Central Location
(2nd floor meeting room)
224 Church Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

For more information, please call (831) 419-7244; Email: GenSocBlog@me.com

Speaker:

Christine Bell Green, PhD, PLCGS

Lecture Topic:

Researching Probate Records and Death Duties in the UK

As genealogists we are constantly challenged in determining family relationships with certainty. And the further back in time we go, the more complex the task. Our ancestors were surprisingly mobile, even in “the old country,” frequently making it difficult to find the parents of an adult child. Wills, when available, and, during the 19^th century, “death duty” records can be instrumental in providing primary information about these family relationships. But where can these records be found and what information can one obtain from them?

When and where your ancestor died are the keys determining where to begin your search. England and Wales used one series of courts, Ireland another, and Scotland yet a third set. Prior to the middle of the 19^th century, Ecclesiastical courts in England, Wales, and Ireland had jurisdiction. The wills might be found in the records of Prerogative Courts (the highest level), Diocesan courts, or “Peculiar” courts. Fortunately modern wills are a little easier to find. The inheritance laws in Scotland are different again. There’s a lot to learn! And yes, it can feel like one is wandering through a maze at times. But the rewards are frequently spectacular.

Chris Green is a professional genealogist who has been researching her British roots for over 10 years. She has a Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies (PLCGS) from Toronto University, Canada, where she specialized in English and American records and is an alumna of ProGen. She is a member of the National Genealogical Society (NGS), the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), and numerous other genealogical societies in the US and UK.

Chris lives in Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County, and is current president of the San Mateo County Genealogy Society and a former SMCGS VP of Programs. Chris is passionate about genealogical education. She teaches and lectures on a variety of genealogical topics in the Bay Area and is a member of the SMCGS team that runs two highly-successful seminars a year with nationally-known speakers. When not immersed in genealogy, Chris likes to travel with her husband to visit their family who live in England, Germany, New Zealand, as well as in the US. In her other life, Chris runs a marketing research company.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Santa Cruz Public Library, Central Location
(2nd floor meeting room)
224 Church Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

For more information, please call (831) 427-7707, ext. 5794; Email: IVCLB@comcast.net

Speaker:

Pamela Erickson

Lecture Topic:

Planning a Successful Research Trip

When you discover that your family moved to a location you have never seen, do you want to visit the area and learn what resources are available? Or, have you wanted to go to Salt Lake City and use the vast collection available at the Family History Library? Remember, too, that the tips we cover also apply to visiting your local library.

With the cost of airline tickets or gas for our vehicles, we need to make sure we’re prepared before setting off. We’ll spend time together to determine what you should do before you leave, what you should pack, and what arrangements you should make. Each visit will require slightly different preparation, so we will go over what’s necessary and what’s optional according to where you go, how long you will be gone, and what places you plan to visit.

Carolyn Barkely said in an article last February,
“First, remember that research is a cycle of work with several important steps: planning, collection, organization, analysis, reporting, and then planning once again. Each research trip builds upon the work accomplished in previous trips and sets the stage for work to be accomplished in future ones.” Bring your ideas to share, too. Let’s work together to plan a successful research trip.

Pamela Erickson teaches genealogy and creative/memoir writing to adults in San Jose, California and surrounding cities and has done so for over 20 years. She has helped her students research their families in the United States and around the world and leads a group of interested people to Salt Lake City, Utah every spring for a week of genealogy research at the LDS Family History Library.

Her personal family research started as a child and has taken her to the Southern states, Canada, and across the pond to Great Britain, Sweden, France, and the Czech Republic. Pamela has researched and written over 250 articles for newspapers, magazines, and educational books and has been employed as a journalist, technical writer, and editor. She has taught at genealogy conferences around California and at writing conferences in California and Florida.