SACRAMENTO OLD CITY CEMETERY, Exhibitor at Family History Day

Adorned with beautiful statues, dramatic markers and lush gardens, Sacramento Historic City Cemetery is an outdoor museum recording California history from the Gold Rush Era through today.  It is the oldest existing cemetery in Sacramento. 

Since its establishment in 1849, the City Cemetery has become the resting place of many remarkable Californians, demonstrating the diversity of California history and culture. Visitors will discover the burial sites of Sacramento mayors and California governors as well as numerous group plots honoring members of the Pioneer Association, Masons, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Volunteer Firemen, the Improved Order of Red Men, the state government, Donner Party survivors, Civil War and other military veterans, and the victims of the 1850 Cholera Epidemic.  A treasure trove of stories about the lives of these pioneers awaits the family history researcher, including their role in the history of baseball and the railroad in Sacramento. 

Keeping with the popular style of the times, the cemetery was designed to resemble a Victorian garden with monuments symbolic of Victorian funeral customs. Traversed by pathways and grand avenues, the cemetery provides a park-like setting for exploring history. Today, volunteers with the Adopt-a-Plot program take over the gardening of plots - a task once performed by long since departed relatives.

Could your ancestors be buried here?  Visit our exhibit at Family History Day and talk to the docents about accessing the burial index, guided and self-guided tours, and year-round events.

Sacramento Historic City Cemetery

1000 Broadway

Sacramento, CA 95818

(916) 448-0811

LISA B. LEE, Speaker at Family History Day

It is a pleasure to introduce Lisa B. Lee who will be a speaker at Family History Day at the California State Archives.

A professional genealogist, Lisa B. Lee is the owner of GotGenealogy.com, where she publishes a monthly newsletter, the Got Genealogy Gazette, which provides timely and useful information to help genealogists make the most of their online genealogical searches. Ms. Lee is a graduate of the National Institute for Genealogical Studies (University of Toronto), where she obtained her Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies (PLCGS) with certificates in U.S., Canadian and Irish genealogy and methodology. Since the inception of ExpertConnect by Ancestry.com in 2009, Ms. Lee has been an Expert, and conducts professional research for clients all over the world on behalf of Ancestry.com. In addition to the Got Genealogy Gazette, dozens of her articles have been published in numerous genealogical journals and newsletters in North America.

Ms. Lee speaks and conducts workshops at genealogical societies and conferences in the U.S. and Canada where her animated style, infinite knowledge of everything internet, wit and perverted humor ensure that attendees will not only learn a lot but will have fun doing so. All of her workshops feature a free raffle where attendees can win valuable prizes, and if you ask her a genealogical question she can’t answer, you’ll win an awesome reward. Mind you, your question has to be pretty hard to stump her, especially since she’s memorized the internet by heart. If genealogy isn’t fun, then why do it?  She invites you to join her on FaceBook at www.facebook.com/got.genealogy?

Ms. Lee will be presenting two sessions:

Really Cool Ways to Find Black Ancestors Online: Whether your black ancestors were free or enslaved, their lives were documented in the U.S. and Canada. However, not all of this information has made it into online databases intact. Blacks are coded as whites, whites as mulattos, men as women, etc. You need to be aware of how to get around these shortcomings, and how to read subtle clues to help you differentiate your ancestor from another with the same name. Yes, the Freedman's Bank and Freedmens Bureau and incredibly important for researching blacks, but they're just the tip of the iceberg. I'll explain what it really means if your ancestor was listed as "Egyptian" or "Ethopian," and new ways to discover the name of the last legal slave owner in databases you've probably ignored. Finally, I'll show you which subscription databases are worth their weight in gold and which should be avoided like the plague.

Researching Canadians From Afar:  Just because you're thousands of miles away is no excuse for not researching and finding your Canadian ancestors. I'll show where to find useful military, land, church, cemetery, census and vital records, plus an amazing collection of online historical Canadian newspapers and digitized books. In addition, we'll examine what's at the various local and provincial archives and how to request information from the Library and Archives Canada. I'll explain why InterLibrary Loans are better than using the Family History Library system and show you a cheaper way to access Ancestry.ca (the Canadian version of Ancestry.com) without having to purchase the World Deluxe subscription.

LINDA TODD, Speaker at Family History Day

It is a pleasure to introduce Linda Todd as a speaker at Family History Day at the California State Archives.

Linda Todd was raised in Sacramento, California and attended California state colleges. She worked 40 years for the State of California. All of the time Linda worked for the state she was involved with computer technology. Linda has always been interested in her family history. She has spent more than 35 years researching family history. Her research has taken her to Germany, Texas, Ohio, Missouri and North Carolina. She currently works at the Regional Family History Center in Sacramento, helping patrons with their research and she also teaches classes at the Center as she continues her family research.

Linda Todd will be presenting Understanding and Organizing PC Files and Folders. All the information on your computer is stored in files. Learning how to use files and folders is a necessary skill for all computer users. This class will discuss the directory tree, creating and organizing files and folders, searching for files, techniques and tips on viewing and navigating through your files and folders.

JEWISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF SACRAMENTO, Exhibitor at Family History Day

It is a pleasure to introduce the Jewish Genealogical Society of Sacramento (JGSS) as an exhibitor at Family History Day at the California State Archives.

The JGSS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the study of Jewish family history in order to learn about our rich heritage and to preserve it for future generations. The JGSS meets every month so that members can hear lectures by leading genealogy experts, access the JGSS’s outstanding library, and share their skills and personal experience. Meetings are held at the Albert Einstein Residence Center in Sacramento

At Family History Day at the California State Archives, the JGSS will have books available for name lookups from the “old country,” and we’ll have laptop computers to do free Ellis Island lookups if WiFi is available. We love to hear the oohs and ahhs when people make that first amazing contact with their ancestors. We’re delighted to be able to help you and point you in the right direction on your way to discovery.

Do come on by and see what you can find out about your past. We’ll also have an example or two of ancestor charts. Remember, you don’t have to be Jewish to like rye bread or bagels and you don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy Jewish genealogy. It’s a great deal of fun connecting with your past.

We Dig Our Ancestors!

Jewish Genealogical Society of Sacramento
c/o Einstein Center
1935 Wright St.
Sacramento, CA 95825
Phone: 916-486-0906 ext. 361
Email: jgs_sacramento@yahoo.com