Promoting the study of history and genealogy since 1957
Located within the Central Park branch of the Santa Clara Library
Classes, seminars, and consultations are available: See our event calendar for more information
View our large collection of genealogy & local history materials
Welcome to SCCHGS
SCCHGS is proud to provide frequent classes, seminars and speakers on both local history and genealogy topics. Our volunteers offer free consulting and low-cost research services and continue to index local genealogical records not available elsewhere. Please explore this site to see all of these great resources and more.
Our general meetings are held on the third Tuesday of the month. Check below for time, Zoom Meeting particulars, and registration requirements for specific events.
Born Ute Schaab in Friedberg, Germany, shortly after World War II, Judy was the daughter of a white German woman and a black American soldier, whose mixed race led to her becoming one of many unwanted “Brown Babies” abandoned by their mother. Her powerful and riveting memoir describes the transformation she experienced in her quest to find both birth parents. From childhood in Germany shortly after the war to adulthood in America, her published work Too Brown to Keep: A Search for Love, Forgiveness, and Healing recounts the inspirational odyssey, as the search for her birth parents leads to discovery of the good, the bad, and the ugly family secrets that she had struggled to unearth for decades. Her journey of self-discovery results in a thought-provoking chapter on forgiveness and healing and concludes with a guide to researching your own ancestry or finding a family member or friend who has been missing from your life.
Join SCCHGS genealogy consultants for a Genealogy Basics Special Interest Group (SIG). If you are new to genealogy, returning to genealogy or simply want to review the basics, this group is for you. The group will meet monthly and will start with a short presentation or demonstration on a topic of importance to beginner genealogists. Following that, the facilitator will open the session for questions, comments and discussion.
Aug
No General Meeting in August
15 Sep
General Meeting: “Germania San José: The Early German Heritage of Silicon Valley” by April Halberstadt
Tuesday, September 15, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Online meeting via Zoom Meeting
SCCHGS is continuing to provide services as best we can during the pandemic closure period. Look for announcements on this page.
Meetings, classes and groups are conducted via Zoom Meeting. The links to each meeting are sent out by email — see the particulars in the announcement details ('More' links).
Our general meetings are held on the third Tuesday of the month. Topics are shown below. These meetings will be held virtually via Zoom for the remainder of 2020. Members will be provided with the meeting link via email. Others should contact the prior to the meeting (until 5 pm the day of the meeting) for the link.
SCCHGS Genealogy Consultants are offering limited consulting services via email and zoom. Send an email to with your question or for more information.
SCCHGS Researchers are also offering limited research services via email. All local repositories and archives are currently closed, but the researchers do have access to some materials. See Research Services or contact for more information.
Special interest groups continue to meet, via Zoom Meeting. Watch for announcements on this page.
Board meetings continue on their normal schedule, via Zoom Meeting. Members may check the Members Area page for more info.
Be safe.
What else is happening? Join us on Facebook today!
