The Beautiful San Ramon Valley Photo courtesy: Ted Shapas
General Meeting (on Zoom)
Tuesday, April 16, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
Robert M. Wilbanks IV
"Heading West, Starting Fresh: Our Ancestors and American Expansion"
(Via Zoom)
This presentation is a historical overview of United States migration from the earliest Colonial period through to the later 1800s. This presentation explains the geography and topography of the Eastern United States, and how it influenced early settlement and growth, as well as the westward expansion after the Revolutionary War through the post Civil War Era. This presentation also discusses what pushed and pulled our ancestors to pick up and head elsewhere.
Our General Meeting presentations are free. Participants are emailed a link to the Zoom session shortly before the meeting date. To request this link, please email our president Steve Watty (click on his name).
Robert Martin Wilbanks IV is a long-time genealogist who discovered genealogy at the age of 12 with the advent of the television mini-series Roots in January 1977. He instantly became a fervent genealogist, and considers Alex Haley the most influential person in his life. Robert began his genealogy profession in 1988 as editor and publisher of two family newsletters, followed by authoring several books, and then became editor of a genealogy society newsletter, and a quarterly. Robert gave his first genealogy presentation in 1989 speaking continuously ever since.
Now a professional genealogist for over 40 years, he founded Ancestral Pride: Professional Genealogy Services in 2009 and continues speaking, researching, writing, and has developed several websites. Robert’s most noted areas of expertise are United States military history and records, the American Civil War, the Old South and Colonial Virginia, general United States history and genealogy, and genealogy and history of the British Isles, with some research experience in Canada, Germany, Poland and the historic Bohemian region of the Czech Republic.
The video from the April 16, 2024, Robert M. Wilbanks IV talk, "Heading West, Starting Fresh: Our Ancestors and American Expansion" is available for one month by logging into the member section of our web site.
Newsletter
Our newsletter is published monthly, except for August and December. In it you will find information on our next speaker, a summary of the last speaker's presentation, the date and location of the current month’s Special Interest Groups, educational opportunities available in the local area and on-line, a list of webinars you can access from your home computer and other timely notices of genealogical interest. You can look through this month's newsletter or browse previous issues.
Special Interest Groups
SIG Meetings Will Be Online: Most SIG groups are using Zoom to meet on-line. SIG Leaders will email call-in instructions to SIG members. To be safe, check with your SIG leader before attending any SIG meetings. Review the latest 5 events (on right side of this web page), or click right below on "View Full Listing" to see all events.
SRVGS has had a number of Special Interest Groups over the years in addition to the five that now meet monthly. We encourage members to start their own SIG meetings on topics they are interested in, as a way of learning by teaching. The SIGs come and go, over the years but we promote them and they are a vital part of our Society. There have been SIGs on Macintosh, Azores Research, Using Computers and the Internet, RootsMagic and more. If you are interested in a topic not currently covered please volunteer to lead the group and we will publicize and arrange for a place to meet when we resume meeting in person. In the meantime, our SIG Zoom sessions are the perfect place to meet.
Danville FamilySearch Center (DFSC)
The Danville FamilySearch Center, 2949 Stone Valley Rd, Alamo, California 94507. The DFSC Director is Kevin Ganschow.
The Danville FSC is closed until further notice due to ongoing rain leakage into the computer/research room. Roof repairs are continuing but not expected to be completed until later this month (March, 2024) or next month. An announcement will be made when the FSC reopens. The Concord and Oakland FSCs remain open for your use.
About the San Ramon Valley Genealogical Society
The San Ramon Valley Genealogical Society (SRVGS) was organized in 1985 with the idea of providing resources, assistance and educational opportunities in a social environment that would allow its members to successfully research their ancestry. To fulfill these goals the society offers monthly meetings with speakers presenting topics covering various aspects of genealogical research. It publishes a monthly newsletter to keep our membership informed of the latest happenings. It offers several Special Interest Groups (SIGs), where members with common interests can meet and discuss their specific areas of research. It provides resources ranging from a large selection of reference books, conveniently kept at the Danville Public Library, to information on local genealogical libraries. It also offers classes for the beginning researcher and those interested in genetic DNA. All this is done within a community of like-minded individuals ready to encourage and assist others and to share their experience.
Facebook Page
We have a public Facebook Page where comments from club officers and visitors are made. Usually the posts are helpful genealogy tips that can be acknowledged and commented on. Join us in educating our genealogy community.
BOD Meetings
We have a Monthly Board of Directors meeting, currently via Zoom, where any member of our Society is welcome to attend. To receive a meeting invitation, please email our president at president@srvgensoc.org before the meeting. The BOD meetings begin on the 4th Tuesday of each month, at 10 a.m. and last between 1-2 hours. The BOD does not meet in August or December. Also, please see our About page for more info about our officers.
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