The Beautiful San Ramon Valley        Photo courtesy: Ted Shapas  
 
General Meeting (on Zoom)

Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 10:00 a.m.

Flyer graphic and link for September 17, 2024 SRVGS General Meeting
Lisa M. Vogele

"Travel Your Tree: Walking in your Ancestors Footsteps"

Don’t know where overseas your family originated from?  This presentation covers a variety of sources to explore to locate your ancestor's point of origin before arriving in the United States. Examples and strategies will be provided including: Resources for locating town of origin, strategies for name changes, tips for boundary changes, and overcoming handwriting & spelling challenges.

Lisa Vogele is a professional genealogist and Certified Travel Advisor (CTA). She is the Chief Tree Climber at Travel Your Tree: Where Ancestry Meets Adventure, a full-service family history research, travel planning & custom tour operator. She is passionate about traveling in the footsteps of your ancestors to make or re-establish connections of personal, historical significance. In 2016, Lisa authored Food & Folklore: A Year of Italian Festivals, a guidebook to assist travelers with incorporating heritage festivals into their itineraries, get off the beaten path, and experience local culture through food and historic events. She earned a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University in 2019 and a Certified Travel Associate (CTA) credential from The Travel Institute. Her travel tips have been featured in the Huffington Post, 1000 Travel Tips, and her travel blog LisaLovesToTravel.com. She holds a Master's degree from Clemson University, was raised in Connecticut, and resides in Colorado.

Our General Meetings are held on Zoom and members are notified of how to connect to each meeting. The meetings are also open to the public. If you would like to attend, please email our President to request a link.


Available in the Members Only area when you log into our website, is a meeting recording of the July 16, 2024 General Meeting with Steve Little speaking about "AI assisted Genealogy". This will be available for one month. 

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

Special Interest Groups Image of 5 silhouettes of people

 
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 six 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 a meeting time/place. Our SIG on-line sessions are a very convenient place to meet.

Danville FamilySearch Center

The Danville FamilySearch Center (DFSC) address is: 2949 Stone Valley Rd, Alamo, California 94507. The DFSC Director is Kevin Ganschow.
 
The DFSC has re-opened, but will be by appointment only thru July, 2024. In August, 2024 it closes for vacations and will open with regular hours in September, 2024. 
 
Appointments in June/July 2024 may be obtained by calling 925-837-7010 and/or by email. County guidelines are followed so masks are optional and the six foot rule is no longer required.  Those that need to avoid climbing steps should call the center prior to coming. We will unlock the side & back gates so they can enter the building thru the back entrance. Additional information is available on the FamilySearch WikiThe 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

Facebook LogoWe 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.

Upcoming Events
September 9
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
FamilySearch SIG - Cancelled for September
Cancelled this month due to SIG Leader on vacation

September 11
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Irish and Scottish Research SIG via Zoom
Zoom meeting details will be emailed to members before the meeting.  

September 16
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
DNA SIG Online via Zoom
Zoom meeting details will be emailed to members before the meeting.

September 17
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Lisa Vogele - "Finding Your Ancestor's Village"
Zoom meeting details will be emailed to members before the meeting.

September 18
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Italian Reasearch SIG
Zoom meeting details will be mailed to members before the meeting. Please contact Karen LaDuca for an invitation.