2013

General Meetings and Free Seminars

General Meetings

Our evening general meetings are on the Third Tuesday of the month in the Cedar Room at the Santa Clara City Public Library located on Homestead Road. For directions please see the map.

Please help brighten up our general meetings by providing your suggestions for Speakers or Topics that you would like to see in the future. Please provide a brief description of the topic, the Speaker's name, their e-mail address, mailing address or Telephone number (if known). Send suggestions to Program Chair

JUNE

General Meeting: DNA Beyond the Y Chromosome--Autosomes Exposed. Tuesday, June 18, 6pm, presented by Stephen Morse.
Classical genetic genealogy deals with the Y chromosome and the mitochondrial DNA. The Y Chromosome test is for males only and traces the direct male lineage. The mitochondrial DNA test is for everybody and traces the direct female lineage. Recent advances in genetic genealogy make it possible to trace all lineages by testing the autosomes. Although the autosomes can be used to find ethnic mixes as well as recent cousins, it has some limitations.

JULY

General Meeting: Mapping Madness. Tuesday, July 16, 6pm, presented by Ron Aarons.
In his talk, Ron will discuss a variety of websites for finding historical maps. He will then discuss the basics of Microsoft Maps (www.bing.com/maps) and Google Maps (maps.google.com). After then discussing intermediate and advanced features of these two systems, Ron will give side-by-side comparisons to show which is better, if either. He will also talk about other exciting online mapping tools, including Microsoft's MaCruncher facility, IBM's Many Eyes, Muckety.com, and more.

SEPTEMBER

General Meeting: Territorial Lands and Records: Where Are They? Part One. Tuesday, September 17, 6pm, presented by Vern Dale & Martha Wallace.
As the United States grew, territories were created to organize and manage new land acquisitions. Settlers could live in the same place and be part of several territories. This talk will help you determine which territories your ancestors lived in and introduce the records that the US government has kept.

OCTOBER

General Meeting: Territorial Lands and Records: Where Are They? Part Two. Tuesday, October 15, 6pm, presented by Vern Dale & Martha Wallace.
During the expansion of the US, settlers could be part of several territories without moving. In addition to federal records, other entities kept records which today are found in state archives, county courthouses, and local historical/genealogical societies. This talk focuses on locating those other records using library and internet resources.

NOVEMBER

General Meeting: The Erie Canal and the Civil War. Tuesday, November 19, 6pm, presented by John Gleed.
The states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois were initially settled from across the Ohio River. Many of their early settlers had sympathy for southern slavery. Settlers flooded into these new states traveling west on the Erie Canal. They came from New England and Europe where opinions on slavery were negative. Slowly, elected officials in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois became abolitionist. Southerners lost control of the US Senate. The Erie Canal was a catalyst leading to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Free Seminars

MARCH

Seminar: Beginner’s Seminar: Part 2: Organization & Choosing Genealogy Software. Thursday, March 14, 1:00-4:30 p.m. Seminars are held in the Central Park Library Redwood Room, unless otherwise noted. RSVP requested for the Beginner’s Seminar series, leave name, phone or email on Genealogy Society’s message line at 1-408-615-2986.
This class will explore how to document and organize your genealogy materials. You also will learn what to look for if you want to select a genealogy program for your computer.

APRIL

Seminar: Beginner’s Seminar, Part 3: Census Records & the Internet. Saturday, April 20, 1:00-4:30 p.m. Seminars are held in the Central Park Library Redwood Room, unless otherwise noted. RSVP requested for the Beginner’s Seminar series, leave name, phone or email on Genealogy Society’s message line at 1-408-615-2986.
Learn the importance of using the U.S. Census to follow your ancestors. The session will also explore the different genealogy websites, including Rootsweb, Ancestry, Family Search, and others.

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