C. Ann Staley, CG, local professional genealogist, has come up with a great idea for the summer. She is holding a "Genealogy Summer Camp" at the Jacksonville Public Library, July 23-26. This summer camp is more for teenagers and adults than for children. Lots of good learning and fun, and no mosquitoes!
This four-day genealogical conference will include presentations on topics such as beginning genealogical research, land records (beginning and intermediate), military records (beginning and intermediate), vital records (birth, marriage, death), pre-1850 census research to determine parentage, free genealogy information on the internet, and cemetery records, among others. Your friendly neighborhood blogger, Karen Rhodes, will present talks on beginning genealogical research, British colonial and American federal paleography, and using blogs, podcasts, and Twitter (and Google+) for genealogy.
Other speakers include Arnold Weeks, Margo Brewer, Ann Staley (of course), David Fuller, and Amy L. Giroux.
Sessions begin at 10 a.m. and end around 2:30. No information is available yet on registration, so watch this space, and I'll get that out as soon as it comes to me.
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Monday, June 4, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
"Virtual Tea" featured in Times-Union
The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville's paper, has featured the SGES "Virtual Tea" for Mother's Day in its blog. The "Virtual Tea," a fundraising effort for the SGES, was described in the last entry on this blog.
The purpose of the fundraising is to keep our genealogical research library open. In the present economy, many libraries are getting cut or even closing. SGES is dedicated to keeping its library open, and providing services both locally and nationally, and even internationally. Our library is staffed by volunteers, but we have expenses of office supplies, utilities, and acquisition of books and other materials.
The "Virtual Tea" is, in the opinion of your friendly neighborhood official SGES blogger, a unique and fascinating idea. A participant enters information about female ancestors, under their maiden names. One can also upload photographs. Instructions are at the website . It is a great way to celebrate Mother's Day and honor your female ancestors.
For local residents who do not have the facility to upload photos, a "scanning day" is being held at SGES Headquarters, 6215 Sauterne Drive (just off Blanding Blvd., north of 103rd Street) on Friday, 4 May, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bring your photo or photos, and we will scan them for you and get it posted on the "Virtual Tea" website.
Join this unique tribute, and let us know about your female ancestors.
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The purpose of the fundraising is to keep our genealogical research library open. In the present economy, many libraries are getting cut or even closing. SGES is dedicated to keeping its library open, and providing services both locally and nationally, and even internationally. Our library is staffed by volunteers, but we have expenses of office supplies, utilities, and acquisition of books and other materials.
The "Virtual Tea" is, in the opinion of your friendly neighborhood official SGES blogger, a unique and fascinating idea. A participant enters information about female ancestors, under their maiden names. One can also upload photographs. Instructions are at the website . It is a great way to celebrate Mother's Day and honor your female ancestors.
For local residents who do not have the facility to upload photos, a "scanning day" is being held at SGES Headquarters, 6215 Sauterne Drive (just off Blanding Blvd., north of 103rd Street) on Friday, 4 May, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bring your photo or photos, and we will scan them for you and get it posted on the "Virtual Tea" website.
Join this unique tribute, and let us know about your female ancestors.
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Thursday, April 19, 2012
Spring Happenings
New things are happening at the Southern Genealogist's Exchange Society.
First, we have a newly redesigned website which is finally located at the proper domain. This reflects the fact that we are a non-profit organization, recognized as an educational organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The old website is still active.
SGES is having a fund-raiser which is fun and original. Go here, and you will see the announcement of the "Mother's Day Tea." You do not have to dress up or bake little goodies. At the right on the website is a list of options, including "submit a maiden." This brings up the form on which you can submit a female ancestor by maiden name. You may also upload a photograph. Select "make your donation" to see the suggested price list for submissions. Any donation is appreciated. There is a deadline: May 9. Let's honor our mothers and grandmothers and other female ancestors who have shaped our lives.
Continue to visit the site over the next few weeks as the Maiden Name Wall will expand and photographs continuously added to the slide show.
SGES is also now listed on Facebook, under The Southern Genealogist's Exchange Society, Inc. We invite you to "like" us and keep up with developments in genealogy and the activities of the society.
First, we have a newly redesigned website which is finally located at the proper domain. This reflects the fact that we are a non-profit organization, recognized as an educational organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The old website is still active.
SGES is having a fund-raiser which is fun and original. Go here, and you will see the announcement of the "Mother's Day Tea." You do not have to dress up or bake little goodies. At the right on the website is a list of options, including "submit a maiden." This brings up the form on which you can submit a female ancestor by maiden name. You may also upload a photograph. Select "make your donation" to see the suggested price list for submissions. Any donation is appreciated. There is a deadline: May 9. Let's honor our mothers and grandmothers and other female ancestors who have shaped our lives.
Continue to visit the site over the next few weeks as the Maiden Name Wall will expand and photographs continuously added to the slide show.
SGES is also now listed on Facebook, under The Southern Genealogist's Exchange Society, Inc. We invite you to "like" us and keep up with developments in genealogy and the activities of the society.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
If an Ancestor Died in Jacksonville, Florida . . .
. . . you are in luck!
The Southern Genealogists Exchange Society has been obsessed with death -- that of other people, that is, and recording all sorts of facts about that occurrence in the lives of residents of Jacksonville and surrounding areas. We have our own hop-to-it graveyard rabbits, and I plan to introduce them to you soon. We also have an extensive collection of obituaries from a variety of local publications, dating from 1851 to 2009. One virtue of obituaries is that they often name other family members. This can provide clues for follow-up and can lead to some important genealogical discoveries.
Obituaries vary greatly in their format and content. Many are written by family members, and these can contain a great deal of information. They also may contain a certain bit of hyperbole, so may be approached with caution.
The big lucky news for those who do have ancestors who died in Jacksonville is that the SGES obituary collection is now available through Ancestry.com. The mounting of the collection was announced in the Ancestry Monthly Update for September 2011. There are more than 105,000 obituaries in the collection. Interspersed in the collection are some funeral home records and some newspaper articles about the individuals in the collection.
Ancestry provides the following information about what is in the collection: The name of the publication in which the obituary appeared, the date of publication, the publication location (that is, whether it was located in Jacksonville proper or elsewhere in north Florida), and the given name and the surname of the decedent. Other information which may be in the collection (on an entry-by-entry basis; some have it, some do not) is: The name of the decedent's spouse, the decedent's birth date, the decedent's death date, the decedent's age, the names of surviving relatives, the location of the death and the burial of the decedent, the date and location of the funeral service, the name of the officiating clergy, the decedent's parents' names, and in some cases even an image of the decedent.
The collection is not definitive. Your obedient servant searched for her grandmother and mother, both of whom died in Jacksonville, and found neither. Nor did she find her husband's grandfather, his grandmother, or his mother, though she did find his father's obituary. One must also realize that occasionally, there is no obituary for some individuals. To the right is a browse function, but it is not functioning. It says you can browse either by a span of years, selected from a drop-down list, or by the first letter of the surname. There is, however, no drop-down or other list for an alphabet from which to choose the first letter of the surname, nor is there a box into which to enter such a letter. This is apparently a programming glitch that needs to be fixed, and your official SGES blogger has notified Ancestry of the problem.
Of course, access to the collection requires an Ancestry.com membership, or access at a public library or other facility, and in Jacksonville at the SGES library. You can, as with other documents in Ancestry's database, easily attach the obituary you find to the relevant individual in your family tree on your Ancestry account. When you do find an obituary, it is displayed on a field in which it may be enlarged for easier reading.
This adds another layer to the wealth of information available at Ancestry.com, and SGES is pleased to have provided it.
The Southern Genealogists Exchange Society has been obsessed with death -- that of other people, that is, and recording all sorts of facts about that occurrence in the lives of residents of Jacksonville and surrounding areas. We have our own hop-to-it graveyard rabbits, and I plan to introduce them to you soon. We also have an extensive collection of obituaries from a variety of local publications, dating from 1851 to 2009. One virtue of obituaries is that they often name other family members. This can provide clues for follow-up and can lead to some important genealogical discoveries.
Obituaries vary greatly in their format and content. Many are written by family members, and these can contain a great deal of information. They also may contain a certain bit of hyperbole, so may be approached with caution.
The big lucky news for those who do have ancestors who died in Jacksonville is that the SGES obituary collection is now available through Ancestry.com. The mounting of the collection was announced in the Ancestry Monthly Update for September 2011. There are more than 105,000 obituaries in the collection. Interspersed in the collection are some funeral home records and some newspaper articles about the individuals in the collection.
Ancestry provides the following information about what is in the collection: The name of the publication in which the obituary appeared, the date of publication, the publication location (that is, whether it was located in Jacksonville proper or elsewhere in north Florida), and the given name and the surname of the decedent. Other information which may be in the collection (on an entry-by-entry basis; some have it, some do not) is: The name of the decedent's spouse, the decedent's birth date, the decedent's death date, the decedent's age, the names of surviving relatives, the location of the death and the burial of the decedent, the date and location of the funeral service, the name of the officiating clergy, the decedent's parents' names, and in some cases even an image of the decedent.
The collection is not definitive. Your obedient servant searched for her grandmother and mother, both of whom died in Jacksonville, and found neither. Nor did she find her husband's grandfather, his grandmother, or his mother, though she did find his father's obituary. One must also realize that occasionally, there is no obituary for some individuals. To the right is a browse function, but it is not functioning. It says you can browse either by a span of years, selected from a drop-down list, or by the first letter of the surname. There is, however, no drop-down or other list for an alphabet from which to choose the first letter of the surname, nor is there a box into which to enter such a letter. This is apparently a programming glitch that needs to be fixed, and your official SGES blogger has notified Ancestry of the problem.
Of course, access to the collection requires an Ancestry.com membership, or access at a public library or other facility, and in Jacksonville at the SGES library. You can, as with other documents in Ancestry's database, easily attach the obituary you find to the relevant individual in your family tree on your Ancestry account. When you do find an obituary, it is displayed on a field in which it may be enlarged for easier reading.
This adds another layer to the wealth of information available at Ancestry.com, and SGES is pleased to have provided it.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Upcoming Events
We have a couple of events coming up of interest to the genealogical and historical communities at the local level:
On 10 September 2011 is our seminar: "Bringing Your Ancestors to Life," with guest speaker Patricia Charpentier. This is a hands-on writing workshop, where participants will write brief vignettes of their family history using techniques that Ms. Charpentier will teach during the day-long session. Volunteering participants will then read their selections to the audience. Fee at the door is $40. For more information, visit http://www.sgesjax.com and click on 'Upcoming Events" or call the Society at 904-778-1000.
On 24 September Baker County celebrates their sesquicentennial, sponsored by the Baker County Historical Society. SGES will have a table at the festival. The celebration will be in Macclenny, in Baker County, near the junction of U.S. 90 and Fifth Street (coming from Jacksonville, turn right on Fifth Street). See http://www.150yearsofbaker.com for more information.
On the national level, there are three upcoming events of interest:
Federation of Genealogical Societies Annual Conference, this year in Springfield, Illinois, 7-10 September. See http://www.fgsconferenceblog.org/ for more information.
32nd Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society Conference, Little Rock, Arkansas, 22-25 September. See http://bit.ly/naKw6j for more information (that is a shortened URL).
Atlanta Family History Expo, Atlanta, Georgia, 11-12 November. For more information see http://222.fhexpos.com/expos/.
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On 10 September 2011 is our seminar: "Bringing Your Ancestors to Life," with guest speaker Patricia Charpentier. This is a hands-on writing workshop, where participants will write brief vignettes of their family history using techniques that Ms. Charpentier will teach during the day-long session. Volunteering participants will then read their selections to the audience. Fee at the door is $40. For more information, visit http://www.sgesjax.com and click on 'Upcoming Events" or call the Society at 904-778-1000.
On 24 September Baker County celebrates their sesquicentennial, sponsored by the Baker County Historical Society. SGES will have a table at the festival. The celebration will be in Macclenny, in Baker County, near the junction of U.S. 90 and Fifth Street (coming from Jacksonville, turn right on Fifth Street). See http://www.150yearsofbaker.com for more information.
On the national level, there are three upcoming events of interest:
Federation of Genealogical Societies Annual Conference, this year in Springfield, Illinois, 7-10 September. See http://www.fgsconferenceblog.org/ for more information.
32nd Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society Conference, Little Rock, Arkansas, 22-25 September. See http://bit.ly/naKw6j for more information (that is a shortened URL).
Atlanta Family History Expo, Atlanta, Georgia, 11-12 November. For more information see http://222.fhexpos.com/expos/.
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Sunday, August 14, 2011
The Southern Genealogists Exchange Society
The Southern Genealogists Exchange Society is one of two dynamic genealogical societies located in Jacksonville, FL. Though we style ourselves a local genealogical society, and most of our activities take place in the northeast Florida area, we serve the entire U.S. Southeast, and the rest of the country, as well,. We have members all over the country.
We publish a newsletter, Legacy, which is distributed to members electronically. We also publish a quarterly, The Southern Genealogist's Exchange Quarterly, which features articles about families, copies of documents, lists of cemetery interments, and other information of use to genealogists and family historians. The quarterly began as a privately-published periodical in 1957, and has been in continuous publication since then.
We host yearly seminars. We have had as seminar guests Lisa Arnold from Ancestry.com and George G. Morgan, one of the "Genealogy Guys." Our seminars cover a variety of topics, with a host of local and national speakers. Our next seminar is on 10 September 2011, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Riverside Presbyterian Church, 849 Park Street, in Jacksonville. The speaker is Patricia Charpentier, who will guide attendees in writing down their family histories and memories. Patricia has been our guest before, and her sessions are lively and instructive. Start writing your memories now.
Our president is Jon Ferguson. I am the Education Chair and duty blogger, Karen Rhodes. This blog will discuss the activities of SGES, its history, and topics of genealogical interest not just to those tracing southern lineages, but -- I hope -- to all. I also plan to have guest bloggers present their own perspectives on genealogical topics.
For more information on the SGES, including how to join, visit our website.
We publish a newsletter, Legacy, which is distributed to members electronically. We also publish a quarterly, The Southern Genealogist's Exchange Quarterly, which features articles about families, copies of documents, lists of cemetery interments, and other information of use to genealogists and family historians. The quarterly began as a privately-published periodical in 1957, and has been in continuous publication since then.
We host yearly seminars. We have had as seminar guests Lisa Arnold from Ancestry.com and George G. Morgan, one of the "Genealogy Guys." Our seminars cover a variety of topics, with a host of local and national speakers. Our next seminar is on 10 September 2011, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Riverside Presbyterian Church, 849 Park Street, in Jacksonville. The speaker is Patricia Charpentier, who will guide attendees in writing down their family histories and memories. Patricia has been our guest before, and her sessions are lively and instructive. Start writing your memories now.
Our president is Jon Ferguson. I am the Education Chair and duty blogger, Karen Rhodes. This blog will discuss the activities of SGES, its history, and topics of genealogical interest not just to those tracing southern lineages, but -- I hope -- to all. I also plan to have guest bloggers present their own perspectives on genealogical topics.
For more information on the SGES, including how to join, visit our website.
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