Welsh researchers in the United States often find it difficult to get their ancestors back across the water and into the location from which they came. In this new lecture Annie gives information about major settlements in the U.S. and where those settlers might have come from. She will show that it is not impossible to find a location or area in Wales.

Annie was born in Culver City. Her father was a Welsh-born immigrant who came to the United States in 1913. Her mother’s Welsh ancestors began arriving in 1638 and settled in Connecticut, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Annie is a writer, genealogist, lecturer and consultant. She has published several books on Welsh research and volunteers much of her time to various genealogy societies and organizations, including the Welsh-American Genealogical Society.

While may not all have Welsh ancestors, each genealogy presentation imparts some information for each of us.

And remember, “a good reason to attend a meeting is to share your information with others.”

2005 CALENDAR

August 20-------------Kathy Mauzey - “What To Do With That Census Information.”
September 17---------Caroline Rober - “Kentucky Research.”
October 22 -----------Seminar, featuring Lloyd Bockstruck.
November 19---------Preserving Your Photographs and Documents
December 16 -------- Holiday Party.

GENEALOGY SAFARI

No safari is scheduled for the month of July. We will resume the regular schedule on August 24. Look for information in the August newsletter.

LIBRARY VOLUNTEERS

Roger Peterson and Sol Shenker are the newest docent volunteers. If we continue to recruit two new docents each month, soon we will be able to cover the regular shifts. And, we can never have too many names on the substitute list.

Volunteering as a docent, or substitute, is a positive way for members to help the society. It entails about two or three hours a week, or month, depending upon your availability. PLEASE THINK ABOUT IT! And, then call Mary Jo McQueen, 581-0690.

We had a very good turnout at the June meeting to hear Leland Pound’s presentation on German Research. Mr. Pound is an excellent speaker and gave us much information while telling his family story. Bill Bluett continues to do an excellent job of obtaining good speakers for our meetings. As a result our meeting attendance is up. Thank you to Sandra Callaway who provided the goodies.

NEW MEMBERS & GUESTS

We welcome two new members who are listed with the surnames they are searching.

Virginia Valdez ESQUIBEL & LUCERO (Albuquerque, NM); VALDEZ & GONZALEZ (Gallup, NM)
Marcia R. Roy [email protected]
ROY (Dunblane, Scotland 1781); LOWRY (North part of Ireland 1819); GREENFIELD (England 1823); DASCHER (Jenaz, Switzerland 1850); PLANTZ (Baden, Germany)
Visitors at the June meeting were: Joy Allen, San Clemente; Susan Blackford, Columbus, OH and
Frank Bierich, Mission Viejo. We invite them back and hope they will decide to join our group.

PLEASE SIGN UP
(SOCCGS MAILING LIST)

In order to receive information between meetings and newsletters you need to sign up for the SOCCGS Mailing List. You may also use this list to send out a query, or to pass on genealogical information to the group. To subscribe to the SOCCGS mailing list, send an e-mail to SOCCGS-L- [email protected] with the message: subscribe. Don't put anything in the subject line. To send a message or query to the list address the message to SOCCGS- [email protected]. The topic of your query should appear in the subject line.

2005 SEMINAR - October 22

Please mark your calendars now for the Forth Annual SOCCGS Genealogy Seminar. Lloyd Bockstruck will be our featured speaker. Four topics, to be announced, will be presented throughout the day. Mr. Bockstruck has been Supervisor of the Genealogy Section of the Dallas, Texas, Public Library since 1973. He is the author of “Virginia's Colonial Soldiers”, “Genealogical Research in Texas”, and “Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants Awarded by State Governments”. He received the Award of Merit from the National Genealogical Society in 1982, was named a Fellow of National Genealogical Society in 1993, and was the first recipient of the "Filby Prize for Genealogical Librarianship" from Scholarly Resources and the National Genealogical Society in 1999.

The day promises to be interesting, informative and fun! There will be food, door prizes and an opportunity drawing for a hand made quilt. More information will be forthcoming.

PLEASE PLAN TO JOIN US!

QUILT PROJECT

Military Personnel Records: Public Opening of the new Archival Research Room in St. Louis was held on June 11, 2005.

What opened up as of that date are individual records in three batches:
**Navy enlisted men from 1885 until Sept. 8, 1939.
**Marine Corps enlisted men from 1906 until 1939, in general.
**The first 150 of about 3,000 Americans identified as "persons of exceptional prominence"

The National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel Records (NPRC-MPR) is the repository of millions of military personnel, health, and medical records of discharged and deceased veterans of all services during the 20th century. NPRC (MPR) also stores medical treatment records of retirees from all services, as well as records for dependent and other persons treated at naval medical facilities. Information from the records is made available upon written request (with signature and date) to the extent allowed by law.

http://www.archives.gov/facilities/mo/st_louis/military_personnel _records.html
This site is provided for those seeking information regarding military personnel, health and medical records stored at NPRC (MPR). If you are a veteran, or next-of-kin of a deceased veteran, you may now use vetrecs.archives.gov to order a copy of your military records. For all others, your request is best made using a Standard Form 180. It includes complete instructions for preparing and submitting requests.

Please Note: All requests must be in writing, signed and mailed the following address:
National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel Records, 9700 Page Avenue,
St. Louis, MO 63132-5100

The St. Louis Republican of the 15th instant, states that the steamer Kansas, had just arrived from St. Josephs, having on board, as passengers, some ten or twelve persons who are just in from the encampments of the emigrants now crossing the Plains for California. Some of these persons went as far as three hundred miles out, when, becoming discouraged from the fatigue and hardships of the journey, they gave up the trip, and are now on their way back to their friends. Two or three are from the vicinity of Chicago; others reside in Ohio and Kentucky, and they all agree that the undertaking was more than they could conveniently stand.--They also give anything but a flattering account of the health and harmony prevailing in the different companies, and seem to think that large numbers will be returning before the main body gets beyond Fort Laramie.--These rumors, however, are to be taken with some degree of allowance, as the dissatisfied ones now coming back may view matters in a worse condition than really exists. They all state that the sickness was not as bad as when they first started, but their accounts about the grass, water, &c., materially disagree. Some say the former was fine and the latter in great abundance; others that the horses and mules were starving for the want of both.

The officers of Kansas report the cholera prevailing at Lexington, Brunswick, Glasgow, and Jefferson City, but there were few or no cases at the other towns along the river. At Lexington, on Tuesday, six new cases were reported. At Jefferson City several persons had died within a few days, among whom was Mr. Obermeier, of the firm of Obermeier & Brothers. The weather was quite warm and raining nearly every day. River falling fast at St. Joseph. On Sunday it fell nearly two feet.--Pitts. Gaz.

STORY CORPS

It was the first day of census, and all through the land; The pollster was ready ... a black book in hand.
He mounted his horse for a long dusty ride; His book and some quills were tucked close by his side.
A long winding ride down a road barely there; Toward the smell of fresh bread wafting, up through the air.
The woman was tired, with lines on her face; And wisps of brown hair she tucked back into place.
She gave him some water ... as they sat at the table; And she answered his questions ... the best she was able.
He asked of her children... Yes, she had quite a few; The oldest was twenty, the youngest not two.
She held up a toddler with cheeks round and red; his sister, she whispered, was napping in bed.
She noted each person who lived there with pride;
And she felt the faint stirrings of the wee one inside. He noted the sex, the color, the age...
The marks from the quill soon filled up the page. At the number of children, she nodded her head;
And saw her lips quiver for the three that were dead. The places of birth she "never forgot";
Was it Kansas? or Utah? or Oregon ... or not? They came from Scotland, of that she was clear;
But she wasn't quite sure just how long they'd been here. They spoke of employment, of schooling and such;
They could read some .and write some .. though really not much. When the questions were answered, his job there was done; So he mounted his horse and he rode toward the sun.
We can almost imagine his voice loud and clear; "May God bless you all for another ten years."
Now picture a time warp ... its' now you and me; As we search for the people on our family tree.
We squint at the census and scroll down so slow; As we search for that entry from long, long ago.
Could they only imagine on that long ago day; That the entries they made would effect us this way?
If they knew, would they wonder at the yearning we feel; And the searching that makes them so increasingly real.
We can hear if we listen the words they impart; Through their blood in our veins and their voice in our heart.

(Thanks to Joan Rambo, OCGS for passing this along.)

SEEKING ORANGE COUNTY FAMILY HISTORY PHOTOS

SOCCGS members who are longtime Orange County residents, or have ancestors from here, are being asked to loan copies of historical photos of Orange County to the Orange County Register newspaper. Each day, a different history photo is displayed on the web gallery at:
http://www.ocregister.com/100/dailymoments/index.shtml. This gallery will be permanently archived on this web site. The photos will run several days a week in the 100th Anniversary advertisement in the Life section of the Orange County Register.

There is particular interest in photos taken prior to the 1960s. These may be of anything/anyone that depicts life in OC at that time and lends to a better understanding of our local history.... home life, social life, work life, architectural/military history, etc. Portraits are not desired.

If there is access to a scanner, or if the photos have been digitized (at least 200dpi resolution), they may be emailed, or mailed on a CD. Otherwise, the Register photo editing team will do the scanning these, in which case, the photos may be sent via USPS. If we scan them, we can provide a CD. All photos will be returned, and credit will be given for each photo used.

Please email/phone if interested, or if you have any questions.

Colleen Robledo, News Research Librarian,
Orange County Register/Freedom Metro Information
625 N. Grand Ave., Santa Ana, CA 92701
Email: [email protected], Phone: 714/796-2254, Fax: 714/796- 7086

COOKBOOK PROJECT

There was not enough interest in submitting recipes for a cookbook. Instead, a new feature is being added to the newsletter. Each month we will highlight a member’s recipe, story and picture. A recipe may be submitted with or without a story and/or picture. However, it would be fun to see some ancestor photos. Please send your submissions to Herb Abrams: [email protected]. Also, please direct any comments or questions to him.

Don't understand German? Try the Babel Fish Translator: http://babelfish.altavista.com/translate.dyn

A German Genealogical Word List is available from the Family History Library online at:
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/RG/guide/WLGerman.ASP

KY Land Records -- online: Now, historians, genealogists and those who are just plain curious can go online and access a plethora of scanned images of historical land documents. http://www.sos.ky.gov/

Historyworld. This is a huge, fascinating website with worldwide histories and timelines.
http://www.historyworld.net/default.asp

World War I: Memories and Diaries. Did your ancestor or relative leave an account or a personal narrative? You might find it here. http://www.firstworldwar.com/diaries/index.htm

Germany. National German Military Grave Registration Service. This database contains the names of more than two million missing and dead German soldiers from World War I and World War II. It is in German.
http://www.volksbund.de/graebersuche/content_suche.asp
http://www.volksbund.de/graebersuche/

Tips for using: Nachname (surname); Vorname (first name); supplying a date of birth (Geburtsdatum) or death (Todes) is optional. Click on "Suche beginnen" to start a search. You then must register with your name and address to continue the search.

On the registration form, the following items are required: Vorname (first name), Nachname (last name), Strasse Nr. (street and number), Land/Plz/Ort (country/postal or ZIP code/city). Click on "Zur Ergebniseite" to continue. On the next screen click "Suchanfrageausführen."

If you are trying to trace your family lines back to Denmark check out the website developed by Gary Horlacher in Salt Lake City and now available at http://www.progenealogists.com/denmark/

Oregon Trail Ancestors? “The Oregon Territory and Its Pioneers” free website at http://www.oregonpioneers.com has lists of, by year of emigration, the names of the known wagon train captains and emigrants.

“The Overland Trail website has over 100 links to diaries, letters, memories and reports at
http://www.over-land.com/diaries.html

Norwegian Genealogy Terms: :http://www.sofn.com/norwegianculture/languagelessons/Lesson09 .html

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Save NARA Budget - If you haven't done so already, please go to this website and sign the petition to save our National Archives. Congress is threatening a zero budget for NARA in 2006. http://www.savearchives.org/

Donated by Jacquelyn Hanson:
Frankfort Maine, 1774-1976
A Record of Publishments and Certificates in Maine, March 1822
The Avery, Fairchild and Park Families by S. P. Avery
Sevier Family History with Letters of Gen. John Sevier by Sevier & Madden
Pennsylvania Society SAR, 1955
Biographical History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania by Alex Harris
Heads of Families, First Census of the United States, 1790, North Carolina, Maine, Virginia
Old Lancaster Tales and Traditions-Pennsylvania by W. F. Worne
Transcription of Early Town Records of Staten Island, New York 1678-1813
History of Islesborough, Maine by J. P. Farrow
Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Vol. 1; Eaton, Fuller & White by L. M. Kellogg
Swiss and German Pioneers of Southeastern Pennsylvania by H. F. Eshleman

Donated by Bill Sward:
Germans to America, Vol. 31, Dec. 1871-Dec. 1873 by Glazier & Filby
Unhallowed Intrussion, History of Cherokee Families in Forsyth County, Georgia by D. Shadburn
Index to Rolls of Honour, DAR, Vol. I through Vol. IV, two books
Harris Trees and Branches, Descendants of John Taylor Harris, NC & TN by Roberson & Talbott
Greenbrier Pioneers and Their Homes - West Virginia by Ruth Dayton
The Raven, Life of Sam Houston by Marquis James
Trail of Tears, History of Cherokee Removal by John Ehle
Descendants of Joshua Tucker of Pitt County, North Carolina by Ross & Kammerer
History of Cherokee Indians by Emmet Starr
Kinter/Kinder Family of North America and the Connection to Ireland, Scotland, England, Germany and Netherlands by W. P. Kinter
Five Generations Of The Family of Burr Harrison of Virginia, 1650- 1800 by J. P. Alcock
100 Years at Warrington, York County, Pennsylvania by M. Walmer
York County, Pennsylvania Church Records, Vol. 2
North Carolina Genealogical Research by Schweitzer; also Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia and Revolutionary War
Taylor Family Records by Seaver
Mitgliederverzeichnic 1992 der DAGV (in German) by Zwinger
List of Freeman of Massachusetts 1630-1691
Immigrant Ancestors, A List of 2500 Immigrants to America before 1750 by F. A. Virkus
Will Index, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania 1851-1875
Marriages, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania 1753-1856
Early Pennsylvania Research by Everton
Church Records by Everton
Beyond Vital Records by Everton
Unusual Record Sources by Everton
Handy Tips on Immigration, Emigration and Naturalization Sources by Everton
It’s All Relative; How To Create Your Own Personal Family History Trivia Game by Bonsey & Healey
Some Emigrants to Virginia by Stanand
Norfolk County, Massachusetts Church Records, 1633-1860, Early Settlers, 1630-1720, Cemetery Records, 1633-1860 all on Microfiche
Also on Microfiche:
List of American Lutheran Church Records for Norwegians, Danish and Germans
List of Captured German Documents microfilmed after WWII at the Berlin Document Center

Donated by Bob Weatherly - The Guilford Genealogist, Vol. 31 Vol. 1-4 (North Carolina)

SOCCGS Purchase: Ohio Source Records from Ohio Genealogical Quarterly (early 1800’s)

**Thank you to those who so generously donate to our library. Remember this a good repository for genealogy materials taking up space on your bookshelves. It is good to share with others.

LINDA JONAS speaking on "ESSENTIALS FOR MAKING BRITISH CONNECTIONS" at the Veterans Memorial Complex, 4117 Overland Avenue (at the corner of Culver Blvd.), Culver City, CA. The cost is $50 for members/ $60 for nonmembers. Includes a British Tea and a Syllabus. Registration deadline is August 1, 2005; no cancellations after that date. A registration form may be downloaded at https://sites.rootsweb.com/~bifhsusa/.

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THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GENEALOGY