Saddleback Valley Trails

SOCCGS EVENTS

Monthly meetings are held on the third Saturday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to Noon at the Mission Viejo Family History Center Institute Building, 27978 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo, between Medical Center Drive and Hillcrest Drive. Membership is open to anyone wishing to join. Yearly membership fees are $20 per calendar year for individuals, $25 for joint membership.
17 April 1999 SOCCGS member Kathie Mauzey will speak on the resources available at the Laguna Niguel National Archives. Kathie has over ten years experience researching at the National Archives and has been a volunteer there for the past eight years
15 May 1999 Janet Franks, past SOCCGS President, will speak on Heritage Societies. Janet is well qualified: she is a member of the Colonial Dames, DAR, and Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America and New England Women. She has held state and national positions and is currently a National Vice Chairman of the DAR.
19 June 1999 Several SOCCGS members will give short 5 to 15 minute discussions on their particular area of expertise.
17 July 1999 "The 5 W's for Citing sources: Who, What, When, Where and Why" will be the title of Barbara Renick's talk at this meeting. Barbara will also address the issue of primary, secondary and tertiary evidence in research.
25 September 1999 Our second SOCCGS all-day seminar, "Your Family in History" will
feature guest speakers, classes, prizes and fun, to be held at the Mission Viejo City Library.

OTHER LOCAL EVENTS

12 April 1999 Temecula Valley Gen Society meeting to be held in the Community Room, Temecula Public Library, 41000 County Center Drive, Temecula CA, 7 p.m., Speaker is Lois Burlo discussing "Northwest Territories".
24 April 1999, "Taking Family History Into the New Millennium", theme of the 1999 Family History Fair to be held at the Orange Stake Center, 674 Yorba St., Orange, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The schedule and pre-registration order form is included in this newsletter.
27 April 1999 North San Diego County Gen Society meeting this month will feature John Moore who will discuss the evolution of the American flag, its history, and have on display his flag collection. Meeting begins at 10:00 a.m., in the City Council Room at City Hall (next to the Carlsbad Library)
12-13 June 1999 The Southern California Genealogical Society will hold their annual Jamboree at the Pasadena Convention Center on these dates. Further information will be made available in the near future.
23-24 October 1999 The Orange County History Conference is scheduled on this date, to be held at Cal State University at Fullerton. This year the conference will be adding genealogy as part off their workshop program. Further information to follow.

Will those who have forgotten to pay their yearly dues realize they will not be receiving a newsletter this month? We certainly hope so, and will miss them. Please, if you have not joined us this year, do so.

The Colonial Dames, XVII Century, Cavalier Chapter has made a monetary donation to our society and we wish to thank them for such generosity.

The Library is desperate for volunteers, especially on Monday 7-9 p.m. shift and Tuesday 5 - 7 p.m. shift In addition, help is needed for Sunday afternoons, 3 to 5 p.m. Some of our volunteers are having to do double duty to cover these shifts. Even if you can only show up every other week, it would still be a help. By the way, the telephone is now hooked up to the Genealogy desk in the Mission Viejo Library, but the number is temporary, so possibly can be published in next month's neewsletter.

The Mission Viejo Library is holding a potluck for the volunteers and library employees on April 22^nd at 12:00. Sign up at the library if you can attend and what you can bring. And mark that calendar. This editor keeps forgetting the date!

One of the deterrents to corresponding with libraries, vital record offices and county clerk's offices is not knowing the cost of the service. It is even more frustrating when, after sending a check to a record office, it is returned in your SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) because the fees have been changed.

The following ideas were gleaned from the WAGS Newsletter, April 1985. I have used both methods and they work!

To overcome this obstacle try telephoning the office before 8:00 a.m. The answers to your questions can be answered in a few seconds and may even cost less than sending a letter with a SASE.

Or, when you do not know the fee for a service, try sending a signed check on which you have written directly under the line where the amount is to be written "amount not to exceed $15" (or whatever amount you designate) and they will fill it in themselves. Make a check payable to the appropriate office. This can speed up the process tremendously. But, be careful and use this method with only small amounts. (CSGA Newsletter, Mar 1999)

I regret that I must move on, because I have picked up too many other responsibilities at the moment, and as of this newsletter I must give up the editorship of the Saddleback Valley Trails.

It has been a pleasant and rewarding experience to work with this group from the very beginning when SOCCGS was first formed. I am indebted to many of my fellow members for their help and support, especially John Smith and Herb Abrams. Please contact Judy Deeter or Janet Franks if you can take over this very important service.

Record the following information after a cemetery visit:
* Name the cemetery, city, county and state
* Specify the location
* Type of cemetery, public, private, farm
* Is it readily accessible?
* Is it well maintained or overgrown?
* Is it enclosed by a wall, fence?
* Have markers been damaged?
* Are other family members buried nearby?
* Has cemetery been listed in published books?
* Is cemetery of historical value?
* Date you visited the cemetery, whether you took pictures, and where they are stored/
(from Gen Soc. of North Orange Co. Newsletter, Sept 1998)

SOCCGS member Gene Cramer reports that,after hearing Rich Faber's talk on preservation of photos, he found materials at some local stores and at a decent price. Staples has acid-free printer paper and sheet protectors. Hallmark Card carries sheet protectors and photo pouches in a variety of styles.

1. Richie County WV 1850 census, by Wes Cochran
2. Probate Records of Essex Co. MA, Vol, 1665-1674, by The Essex Instiute
3. Probate Records of Essex Co, MA Vol 1 1635=1664, by The Essex Institute
4. Probate Records of Essex Co MA, vol 3, 1675-1781 by The Essex Institute
5. A Medical Miscellany for Genealogists, by Dr Jeannette L. Jergen
6. Idaho Territorial Voters Poll Lists, 1863, by Gene F. Williams
7. SC Marriages, 1688-1799, by Brent H. Holcomb
8. New Homes in a New Land, German Immigration to Texas, 1847-1861, by Ethel Hander Geve
9. Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex Co MA, Vol 1, 1636-1656, by The Essex Institute.
10. Side-Lights on MD History, by Hestor Dorsey Hubbard, 2 volumes
11. Other Days in Greenwich, CT, by Frederick Hubbard
12. Hugenot Emigration to America, by Charles W. Baird
13. A to Z, A Comprehensive Dictionary for Genealotists and Historians, by Barbara Jean Evans.
14. Evidence, Citation and Anaylsis for the Family Historian, by Elizabeth Shown Mills
15. Gravestone Chronicles, Some 18^th Century New England Carvers and Their Works, Vols 1 and 2, by Theodore Chase and Laurel K. Gabel.
16. Early Kanawha Co (WV) Marriages, 1794-1826, part 1, by the Kanasha Valley Gen Soc.
17. The Honorable Peter Stirling, by Paul Leicester Ford
18. York Co PA Church Records of the 18^th Century, Vols 1-3, by Marlene Bates and Edward Wright
19. Monacacy & Catoctin, Vol 3, by Calvin Schildknecht
20. A History of Adams Co PA, 1700-1990, by Robert Bloom
21. York and Adams Co Pa, three maps, by Nicholas Scull
22. Early California Settlers, Morrison, Scott and Watson,
23. Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in Indiana, by Margaret Waters
24. Legends of the Haddock Family, by Hugh Haddock
25. Fire on the Prairie, Memories of Lac Qui Parle, by Ray P. Herriges.
26. The Indian Frontier of the American West, 1846-1890, by Robert M Utley
27. The Fatal Shore, The epic of Australia's Founding, by Robert Hughes
28. The American City, an urban odyssesy to 11 US cities, by Paul Gapp
29. Oregon, End of the Trail, by Writers' Project
30. Ancestors, 900 Years in the Life of a Chinese Family, by Frank Ching.
31. The Timetable of History, by Bernard Grun
32. Texas by the State
33. Gold Dust, by Donald Dale Jackson
34. \Alabama Bibles, by Jeannette Holland Austin, floppy disc
35. DAR Magazine Vol 115, #5, May 1981 and Vol 132 #7 Aug/Sept 1998
36. Genealogical Soc of Page Co Va. Vol 9 #1-4 1998
37. Traces, Journal of the Indiana HS, vol 11 #1,
38. Gen Helper, Jan/Feb 1999
39. New England His and Gen Register, Oct 1990, Jan, Apr, Uly 1991 and Jan 1992
40. Nexus, June 1990 thru Dec 1991
41. Prairie Roots, Peoria IL GS, Vol 10, #1-4 1983
42. Ozar'Kin, Ozarks Gen Soc., Vol 12 #1-4, 1990
43. Deaths in Truro, Cape Cod, 1786-1826, taken from the Diary of Rev Jud Damon, by John Harvey Treat
44. The Report, Ohio Genealogical Society, Vol 38 #4, 1998
45. 1886 History of Adams County PA.
46. The Cincinnatti Historical Society Bulletin, Vol 30, #4 & 4, 1972

Fourteen of these books were bought through the 50/50 program. Thank you for your generous donations through the penny basket each month. If you would like to see a certain book on the shelf and would like the 50/50 program to open an envelope to purchase this book, submit your request to the Library committee.

Our thanks to the following who have donated these books to the SOCCGS Library; Ethel Nelson, Janet Franks, Gene F. Williams, Louise Shull, Frank Nolan, Judy Deeter, Pat Bargaehn, Bill Myers, Grace Clark, Orange County Gen. Society, Rich Faber and Willis Wyant.

Last month the editor of the Trails suggested we begin a "get to know" the "rich and famous" uncovered by our members research. In the mail came this letter from SOCCGS member Susan Ambrosia:

"I was so glad you asked about our 'near connections to the rich and famous'. They ARE distant, but it was so much fun when I found, much to my surprise, some very famous relatives.

First, I discovered John Adams, 2^nd President of the United States. He's a 3^rd cousin, 8 times removed; so of course I'm also related to his son, John Quincy Adams, 6^th President....a 4^th cousin 7 times removed. (However, my brother is a history teacher, and says John Adams wasn't particularly well-liked and thought himself to be a "little king".... And enacted some rather unpopular legislation.)

I'm also 3^rd cousin, 8 times removed, to Samuel Adams. You remember him...instigated the Boston Tea Party, signed the Declaration of Independence, and more importantly, had a beer named after him! I really like being related to him...it gives me a genetic excuse for my rebellious ways!

I sure hope you get lots of response from your request. This could be fun!"
(Thank you, Susan. Contributions of articles make the editor's job much easier. Ed

From the recent library acquisition of "Early Kaskaskia Illinois Newspapers" by Lola Crowder:

On April 7, 1826, the newspaper, The Illinois Reporter, printed that Thomas Jefferson died on the 4t^h of July 1826. It was the anniversary of the day, fifty years ago, that he signed the Declaration of Independence. (The second President, John Adams , died on that date also.)

Same source - - as reported 14 August 1826. John Adams was eight years older than Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was eight years older than James Madison. James Madison was 8 years older than James Monroe. James Monroe was eight years older than John Quincy Adams.

A modern mother is explaining to her little girl about the pictures in the family photo album. "This is the geneticist with your surrogate mother, and here's your sperm donor, and your father's clone. This is me holding you when you were just a frozen embryo. The lady with the troubled look on her face is your aunt, a genealogist."

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