Happy New Year from the Southern California Genealogical Society! We are all looking forward to the many activities and successes of 2008, including the 39th Annual Southern California Genealogy Jamboree June 27-29. We'll be releasing complete information in the next few days, but if you'd like a sneak peek, check out our Jamboree Blog at http://genealogyjamboree.blogspot.com/ Saturday January 12, 12noon to 2pm 12:00pm lunch (bring your own) 1:00pm Lecture Open to the Public - free So You Thought You Were Organized Presentation by Charlotte Bocage Are you stuck? Are you looking through piles of papers for your notes? This visual aid class introduces the basics of organization i.e. explaining the need for and types of forms, a filing system, and other genealogical paraphernalia. Charlotte M. Bocage has over forty years of genealogy experience, a full-time genealogist, lecturer, author, and Louisiana specialist. Also on the Board of Directors and Education Committee chair, Southern California Genealogical Society, President, Pasadena Area African American Genealogical Society, the former Educational Director of African American Genealogy for Youth Center, the former First Vice President, California African American Genealogical Society, and member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild. Saturday January 19, 2008 1:00pm to 4:00pm Organizing Tips for Successful German Research Presentation by Lois Burlo Whether you have accomplished the feat of organizing your records and have a sense of relief at finding a system that works well or you, or if you need help in getting started, this should be an interesting presentation. Begin the year ready to tackle the hardest part in doing successful research--keeping track of everything. Bring your notebooks, file folders or whatever you have that illustrates your accomplishments or your needs regarding the organizing of your research. The goal of the German Interest Group is to provide a wide range of resources both inside and outside the SCGS Library to help trace German families. The group meets at the Library every third Saturday from 1-4. They often have a speaker on German research and they offer assistance with your German research problems. New members and guests are always welcome. If you bring your family information (pedigree charts and family group sheets with as much information as possible), the group members will be better able to assist you in locating information you need to find your German ancestors. For additional help, our German Research Team is in the Library every Thursday. Come in to receive personal assistance to help you overcome your German research hurdles. Sunday, January 20, 2008 10:00am to 2:00pm DNA Interest Group Preparing for FTDNA's My Map: A Look at Population Genetics Alice Fairhurst. A drawing will be held for a $30 discount certificate for ordering a DNA test. Check our online calendar for meetings and other events. http://calendar.scgsgenealogy.com/ All activities held at the Southern California Genealogical Society 417 Irving Drive Burbank, California 91504-2408 phone: 818-843-7247 email: scgs@scgsgenealogy.com web: www.scgsgenealogy.com

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak will be the speaker at the Fourth Annual Hill Country Family History Seminar at Boerne Texas, Saturday, January 26, 2008. Her topics include two lectures on DNA, and one each on Reverse Genealogy and Online Newspaper research for obituaries. She will also speak at a pre-seminar dinner on Friday evening. The seminar is sponsored by the Genealogical Society of Kendall County. Early registration ends January 14 at the lower price. For more information or a registration form, visit the GSKC website at www.rootsweb.com/txgskc/

The Austin Genealogical Society 2008 Annual Seminar takes place on Saturday, April 26, 2008 at 9:00 at the Norris Conference Center. Susan Kaufman, Manager of the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research in Houston, is the presenter. She will speak on Newspapers, Convicts to the Colonies, PERSI, and The Allen County Library. Early registration is $40. That includes lunch, materials, and a full day of genealogical camaraderie. For more information visit our website: www.AustinTxGenSoc.org or e-mail pat@the oxleys.com

"Keys to Ontario Research" Workshop Saturday, 23 February 2008 Toronto, Ontario Whether you're searching for roots in Ontario or digging into the history of your community, you'll enjoy this information-packed day about Ontario's records and record-keepers. The Workshop will be co-hosted on Saturday, February 23, 2008 by the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society and the Canadiana Department of North York Central Library. The Workshop will address sources, research techniques, libraries, archives and online resources, with a special emphasis on the overlapping interests of family and local historians. Speakers include Christine Bouriolas (Archives of Ontario), Ruth Burkholder, Diana Fink (Canadiana Department, North York Central Library), Fraser Dunford, J. Brian Gilchrist, Kathryn Lake Hogan and Paul McGrath. More Info: http://www.torontofamilyhistory.org/ontariokeys.ht ml

Westchester County Genealogical Society (NY) Upcoming Meeting TOPIC: Jean Zimmerman will present Women of the House to the WCGS on January 12, 2008. Her talk is co-sponsored by Friends of Philipse Manor Hall. An honors graduate of Barnard College, Ms. Zimmerman received an MFA in writing from Columbia University’s School of the Arts. The subject of her lecture to us is taken from her most recent book, The Women of the House: How a Colonial She-Merchant Built a Mansion, a Fortune and a Dynasty (Harcourt, 2006). The book chronicles the lives of four women of the Philipse family, beginning with the Dutch-born fur trader and ship merchant, Margaret Hardenbroeck, who set up house in the American wilderness in 1682 and made herself the richest woman in New York. Ms. Zimmerman has spoken frequently to historical societies, libraries and community groups about women in colonial New York, and has been a contributor to The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Travel and Leisure and Working Mother. MEETING INFO: TOPIC: Women of the House WHEN: Saturday, JANUARY 12, 2008 @ 10 a.m. WHERE: Philipse Manor Hall, 29 Warburton Avenue (near Dock Street), Yonkers, NY. DIRECTIONS: Please visit _http://www.philipsemanorfriends.org/vis.htm_ (http://www.philipsemanorfriends.org/vis.htm) for directions. For information about Westchester County Genealogical Society (Westchester Connection or Surname List), visit WCGS home page -- _http://www.rootsweb.com/~nywcgs/_ (http://www.rootsweb.com/~nywcgs/) RESERVED THESE DATES FOR WCGS Future Meetings Feb 9, 2008 Identifying Photos from Costumes *** Meeting to take place at Yorktown Community& Cultural Center, 1974 Commerce Street, Yorktown Heights, 914-962-2970 Laura Lee Keating Mar 8, 2008 The Trail Our Ancestors Followed in Becoming Citizens Joseph Lieby Apr 12, 2008 Every Age Has a Story to Tell Peter Savigny from Heirloom Biography May 10, 2008 The Story of Sybil Ludington - American Revolutionary War Hero – the Female Paul Revere Vincent D'Aquino June 14, 2008 An Object of Great Importance: The Hudson River During the American War for Independence Christopher DiPasquale **************Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp00300000002489

Hurry before it's too late...Early Bird Pricing The St. George Family History Expo early bird pricing has ended, BUT WAIT I just happen to know that with Holly's daughter getting married she will not be able to change the pricing until next Monday-Jan. 7, 2008. So, if you have been busy and just forgot, here is your chance to still get the early bird pricing of $50.00 for two fun filled days of learning. St. George Family History Expo - Details found at www.MyAncestorsFound.co <http://myancestorsfound.com> m When: Feb. 8-9, 2008 ---8 AM - 6 PM Where: The Dixie Center ; 1835 Convention Center Drive ; St. George , Utah 84790 Don't Delay Sign Up Today! http://www.myancestorsfound.com/events/upcoming.php?event_id=1 Happy New Year! Kim

The January meeting of the Sun Country TMG Users' Group will be Saturday, January 12 from 10 a.m. until noon at the West Walley Genealogical Society Library, 12222 North 111th Ave., Youngtown AZ. We will have a presentation on a census chart method which can be used in both TMG and as a Second Site exhibit. Visitors are welcome! Barbara Shroyer Secretary

Let's start out the new year by trying to break down those brick walls that have been bothering us. So if you can't jump over the wall or go through the gate, maybe the meeting the Pommern Special Interest Group has jointly with the Immigrant Genealogocial Society will give you some new ideas about contacting living descendants of family lines. You may be surprised to hear some of our successes and suggestions. The IGS Library at 1310 W. Magnolia Blvd. in Burbank, California, is open from noon until 5pm each Sunday. Our meeting will start at 2pm January 13 and we hope you'll come and join us with your charts, questions, and clues.

Happy New Year to All! This is just a reminder that our next meeting will be saturday, January 12,2008, at 11:00am at the Secaucus Public Library. Our guest speaker is Catherine Medich, Archivist with the NJ State Archives. Check out our website at http://HudsonCountyNJGenealogy.org for more information. If you can attend, please let me know at ebh1776@optonline.net. Thanks, Ellen Healy

Folks Shake off the new year blues by researching your family history. Visit the research facilities of the Oxfordshire Family History Society, whether you have Oxfordshire ancestry or not. Expert advice available, Broadband internet, lots of research facilities. Free admission. When : New Year’s Day, Tuesday 1 January 2008 from 10.00am till 4.00pm. When : Saturday 5 January 2008 from 2.00pm to 4.00pm. Where : The Holford Centre, School Lane, Stanton St John, Oxford OX33 1ET Further details :- _http://www.ofhs.org.uk/holford.html_ (http://www.ofhs.org.uk/holford.html) Contact me for more information. Season's greetings. Paul Gaskell Publicity Officer and Minutes Secretary Oxfordshire Family History Society Website : _www.ofhs.org.uk_ (http://www.ofhs.org.uk/)

Assisted Genealogy Group-Cleveland Area [CAGG] P. O. Box 16794 Rocky River OH 44116 Contact: Mary Lou Bregitzer, Publicity Chairman (440) 442-1689 or mbregitzer@sbcglobal.net FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: COMMUNITY CALENDARS/NEWSLETTERS WHAT: Computer Assisted Genealogy Group-Cleveland Area Meeting WHEN: Saturday, January 19, 2008 - Doors open at 9 a.m.; meeting 9:30 a.m. with general program/speaker. Breakout sessions for the major genealogy software programs start at 11 a.m.; brown bag lunch; computer fundamentals from 1-2 p.m. WHERE: Fairview Park Regional Library, 21255 Lorain Road, Fairview Park OH PROGRAM: Morning Program: You Can Find It Here.In One Step at stevemorse.org by John Stoida Have you ever had trouble with the Ellis Island site trying to locate an ancestor that arrived in New York in a year that you know is correct and cannot find them? Well you are not alone. For January's program we will cover the ins and outs of how to discover what the differences of the Ellis Island web site search engine and using the One-Step search engine by Stephen P. Morse. We will also cover several of Stephen P. Morse's other search engines, which will increase the possibilities of finding a "missing" relative. A suggestion before attending this discussion is to go to stevemorse.org and click on "About This Website and How To Use It". Please take the time to read this lengthy but interesting and informative information on his website. It will help you to understand how and why this website really works. In our 10 o'clock session we will cover actual case studies and what I found using this "One-Step method. Afternoon Program: More on One Step with John Stoika For the afternoon session please bring in your "dead-end" research relative and we will see if we can have success in finding them. FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact: Bill Frank, CAGG President, (440) 734-2021 or visit our web site at www.rootsweb.com/~ohcagg/ The Computer Assisted Genealogy Group was formed in 1991 to: 1) encourage the use of personal computers for researching and processing genealogy data, and 2) provide the resources for computer assisted genealogy education. Meetings of the Computer Assisted Genealogy Group-Cleveland Area are held nine times a year at the Fairview Park Regional Library, 21255 Lorain Road, Fairview Park, Ohio. Normally on the third Saturday of each month; no meetings are scheduled in July, August or December. Guests are welcome.

The December Christmas party meeting of the Angelina County Genealogical Society will be at 6 p.m. Monday, December 17, at Lufkin Bar-B-Que on the corner of Chestnut and Timberland. The street address is 203 South Chestnut in Lufkin. The meal will be "Dutch Treat" ordered from the regular menu. Any arrangements for special diet items should be made in advance directly with the restaurant. Special society guests will be the new Kurth Memorial Librarian Susan Randleman and her spouse. The executive board will meet at 5 p.m. in the reserved meeting room at the same restaurant to conduct any needed business before the next regular meeting on Monday, January 21, at Kurth Memorial Library. The main item of business for discussion at the executive board meeting is expected to be the necessary steps to renew the society's non-profit status. All society officers and committee chairman are urged to attend. Instead of a regular program with a speaker, society members are urged to bring a genealogy or family history related item or story to show/share informally with the group. Suggestions: What is on your genealogy wish list for 2008? Did you find a new relative who shared new research in 2007? Found another generation? Found and slipped through a crack in your research stone wall? Still have a "stone wall" you need help climbing? Maybe another member can help boost you over it! New society officers for 2008 will be installed by long time society member, Sam Griffin. New officers for 2008 are Bob Ham, president; Cindy McMullen, vice-president; June Moffett, treasurer, and Anita Crona, secretary. Vivian Cates, 2007 President

The Bracknell Family History Fair will take place on January 27th 2008 10am-5pm admission £3 (accompanied children under 16 free) at Bracknell Sports Centre Bagshot Rd (A322), Bracknell, Berkshire New This Year! This large fair has 250 stalls featuring family history societies,trade stalls & specialist groups There is a series of talks planned by Berkshire Family History Society on the day, the proposed talks and times are: 10.30 Gillian Stevens & Chad Hannah - Start Your Family History Using the Internet 11.30 Jean Debney - Dating Old Photographs [Jean will be on the BerksFHS stall throughout the day to date your photographs] 12.30 Jeanne Bunting - Searching the Census 13.30 Peter Durrant (Berks Record Office Archivist) - Poor Law [pre 1834 Records] 14.30 David Chilton - Tracing Victorian Soldiers at TNA 15.30 Peter Christian - The Future of the Internet for Family Historians There is an Admission fee for the talks Dating of old photographs Bring along your old photographs to expert Jean Debney to have them dated! Army Research: David Chilton will help you with your questions Need Help Researching Your Family History? By expert Richard Moore from the Society of Genealogists whether you are new to family history or experienced, Richard is here to answer your questions Need Help With The Internet? The census detectives from the Society of Genealogists are here to help with your research THIS IS A FAIR NOT TO BE MISSED!

The December meeting of the Sun Country TMG Users' Group will be Saturday, December 8 from 10 a.m. until noon at the West Walley Genealogical Society Library, 12222 North 111th Ave., Youngtown AZ. Officers for 2008 will be elected. We will then complete our discussion of TMG exhibits and, if time, will continue with the TMG training DVDs. Visitors are welcome! Barbara Shroyer Secretary

The next meeting of the HCGS will be saturday, January 12, 2008, at the Secaucus Public Library from 11:00am until 1:00pm, or thereabouts. Our guest speaker will be Catherine Medich, Archivist of the NJ State Archives. Check out our website at http://www.HudsonCountyNJGenealogy.org for more information. Please rsvp if you will attend. Ellen Healy

Hello Colleagues The next meeting of the Oxfordshire Family History Society will be a computer meeting to be held on Monday 3 December 2007 at Exeter Hall, Oxford Road, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1AB. The doors will open at 7.15pm. The meeting will start at around 7.30pm. It will feature a presentation by various members of the society's Computer Group Panel entitled :- "Never knew I could do that ! - An exploration of lots of basic PC facilities you need to know about" This meeting will seek to help those who want to know more about their PC, how it works, and how to get the best from it. Audience participation will be encouraged - why not come along and ask a question ? All members, potential members and their guests are welcome. Admission and car parking are totally free. For directions how to get there, please see :- _http://www.ofhs.org.uk/ExeterHall.html_ (http://www.ofhs.org.uk/ExeterHall.html) For a list of future meetings of Oxfordshire FHS, please see :- _http://www.ofhs.org.uk/meetings.html_ (http://www.ofhs.org.uk/meetings.html) Any queries, please contact me off-list. Paul Gaskell Publicity Officer Oxfordshire Family History Society Web : _www.ofhs.org.uk_ (http://www.ofhs.org.uk/)

OKLAHOMA SCHOOL CENSUS RECORDS Speaker: JANELLE LEE MILLER Monday, 6:00 pm - DECEMBER 3, 2007 The Oklahoma Genealogical Society's monthly meeting for December 2007 will be held on Monday, December 3, 2007, at 6:00 p.m. at the Oklahoma History Center, in the Chesapeake Events Center, located at 2401 N. Laird, Oklahoma City. The meeting will feature Janelle Lee Miller, long-time genealogical researcher, who has a special interest in Oklahoma public schools and the preservation of their records. Janelle will present a program on the Oklahoma School Census Records, which are very valuable to genealogists, as they provide an annual full-name census of families with children in the county. This presentation will provide general information about various Oklahoma public school records before and after statehood, but will focus primarily on each Oklahoma county school census records, as to where located, years covered, and whether records are microfilmed or not. This collection of school census records will be published by OGS in the future for Oklahoma researchers. The Oklahoma History Center's genealogy library will be open until 7:45 p.m. for those who wish to do research. OHS Staff and volunteers will be on hand to help those with genealogy research questions and problems. For more information, contact via e-mail: OkGenSoc@aol.com<http://us.f580.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=OkGenSoc@aol.com> Frederick M. Dittmar Diggin' Deep Genealogy Research Service PO Box 2601 Norman, Oklahoma 73070 http://frederick.dittmar.org Member: Association of Professional Genealogy - http://www.apgen.org Board Member - Oklahoma Genealogical Society - http://rootsweb.com/~okgs Board Member - OKOLHA - http://www.okolha.net

The NGS Newsletter Competition deadline is December 31, 2007 Check the submission details at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/awardscompcalendar.cfm All other Submissions and Nominations for the following must be turned in by January 31, 2008: Family History Writing Contest Award for Excellence: Genealogy and Family History Book Award for Excellence: Genealogical Methods and Sources Award of Honor Award of Merit Distinguished Service Award NGS Fellow (FNGS) *Rubincam Youth Award - Newly Revised National Genealogy Hall of Fame The Filby Prize for Genealogical Librarianship NGS Home Study Course Scholarship Award Check the NGS Web site for complete details http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/awardscompcalendar.cfm Submitted by Lynda Suffridge, Chair, NGS Award Committee

FamilySearch and My Ancestors Found Team Up to Sponsor the 4th Annual Family History EXPO in St. George, Utah. MORGAN, UTAH - FamilySearch and My Ancestors Found (MAF) announce the 4th annual Family History EXPO in St. George, Utah, February 8-9, 2008. The EXPO (formerly known as the Genealogy and Family Heritage Jamboree) has become one of the largest and best attended family history events in the country. Paul Nauta, Manager of Public Affairs, FamilySearch (TM) says, "I look forward to seeing you again in February 2008 in St. George. It appears your family history expositions continue to grow and succeed. We're happy to be involved and look forward to participating as a sponsor in 2008." "Working with FamilySearch is a natural, since our organizations share similar goals. FamilySearch works to preserve access to the world's important record collections and MyAncestorsFound.com serves to teach researchers how to evaluate the surviving source documents that mention ancestors," says Holly Hansen, MAF President. "The proliferation of indexes and scanned images on the web means genealogists must learn to sift through the information overload. Based on the 100+ course materials compiled for the syllabus, attendees of the Family History EXPO can expect to come away with increased knowledge, enthusiasm, and products designed to catapult them forward in their search for answers to family history questions." Holly continues "The large exhibit hall will feature thousands of family history items demonstrated by experts from as far away as Hawaii, Connecticut, California, Illinois, Arizona, Utah, Washington, Maryland, New Jersey, Florida, Idaho, and England. Additional sponsors include WorldVitalRecords.com, Ancestry.com, Family Tree Magazine, Footnote.com, DearMYRTLE.com, GenerationMaps.com, and Godfrey Memorial Library." About FamilySearch The Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU), doing business as FamilySearch, is a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. FamilySearch maintains the world's largest repository of genealogical resources; these resources may be accessed through FamilySearch.org, the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and over 4,500 family history centers in 70 countries. FamilySearch is a trademark licensed to GSU and is registered in the United States of America and other countries. About My Ancestors Found Tapis and Associates, doing business as My Ancestors Found (MAF), sponsors events to educate and inspire individuals to discover their heritage through sponsoring family history events, producing educational and instructional materials of value to family historians. Event and product details can be accessed through MyAncestorsFound.com. CONTACT: Kimberly Savage, Vice President, Tapis & Associates MyAncestorsFound.com Kimberly@myancestorsfound.com 801.792.2596 Visit www.myancestorsfound.com <http://www.myancestorsfound.com/> for further information 801.829.3295 Copyright C 2007 My Ancestors Found

2008 Genealogy Seminar at Sea – Fly Away Travel is currently taking reservations for their Genealogy Seminar at Sea, sailing October 25th to November 1st, 2008. The Seminar at Sea will be hosted on board Royal Caribbean’s brand new, unparalleled, Liberty of the Seas, which will be sailing to the tropical Eastern Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico, St. Maarten & Royal Caribbean’s private paradise of Labadee. This Seminar at Sea stands to be the best of the best in terms of its extraordinary array of some of the most prominent speakers in the Genealogy community today: ~ John Phillip Colletta ~ George G Morgan ~ Paul Milner ~ Laura G Prescott ~ Donna M Moughty ~ Paula Stuart-Warren ~ Michael J Leclerc ~ Stephen J Danko Passengers will learn the latest techniques covering a broad spectrum of geographic areas, methodology, writing & publishing, internet research and problem solving. Guests will have the opportunity to choose up to 15 lectures that will take place in Liberty of the Seas four state of the art conference centers during the three days at sea. The authored speakers will be featured for book sales and autographs during a special group activity. Check out our impressive line-up of topics & speakers for this event at www.GenealogyCruises.com The cost of experiencing this week long seminar/vacation begins at just $829 per person, including all port taxes and seminar fees. Traveling companions not attending the Seminar at Sea qualify for a rate reduction, as well as the 3rd & 4th passengers sharing one cabin. (Ask for details) Fly Away Travel is a full service Travel Agency with nearly 100 yrs of combined experience. Fly Away Travel specializes in Group Travel, Honeymoons, Destination Weddings & Family Vacations. Contact Cindy Lorenz at Fly Away Travel 800-837-0295 or by e-mail: FlyAwayInc@aol.com