Our Library Collections: Minnesota

One in a series highlighting some of our holdings at the Library in Oakland. For a fuller listing of our books, journals, and more, consult the CGS Library catalog. Our catalog is also included in WorldCat.

This post about our Minnesota collection is by a guest author - our very own Nancy Cork. Thank you, Nancy.

Conservatory at Como Park, St. Paul, Minnesota

Como Park in Saint Paul, Minnesota, is a lushly landscaped retreat in the heart of the city; the Golden Gate Park of the Twin Cities, so to speak. Similar to our San Franciscan treasure, the park has many attractions: Como Lake, a zoo, an amusement park, sculptural art, historical structures, and the stunning conservatory. Since its opening in 1915, this horticultural showcase (now named the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory and on the National Register of Historic Places) has attracted a great number of visitors from near and far, and continues, with the zoo, to be one of the biggest cultural attractions in the state.

Nathan Richardson's bandolier bag, pictured 
in A Big Hearted Paleface Man:
Nathan Richardson & The History of 
Morrison County, MN

We hold 10 issues of the biannual Minnesota Genealogical Journal published from September 2008 to September 2013. The journal specialized in publishing transcripts of records, some quite esoteric. I found a wonderful article about visitors to the conservatory in 1932.* Janice Quick, a volunteer for Saint Paul Parks and Recreation, transcribed the guest registers that were signed by people that summer. I always love finding quirky articles, and this one was especially meaningful to me. Not only do I have vivid memories of my own visits to the Spring Flower Show when I was growing up, but I was hoping to find a family name or two (or six!) in the registers.

The guest registers asked for the name of the visitors, the number of people in the party, where they were from, the model of their car, and any remarks they cared to add. Yes, there is value in this for a genealogist! Especially since many people in a party all signed the books together, providing groups of names for families and friends. Paging through the 34 pages of this two-part article, I kept thinking of what I could learn about the old relatives from this glimpse into a day in their lives.

Six Feet Under by Stew Thernely

And don’t think this article is just for Minnesotans! People from all over America and the world signed this guest book. Poland, Peru, and Palestine! Brazil! China! Australia! I noted many Californians: Mrs. Ruth Howard of Los Angeles arrived with four others in a Durant; Mrs. Ann Nygren and O. Johnson, both from San Francisco, separately remarked that the conservatory was “Grand!”; and Miss Georgia Stromberg from Alameda noted that she had been traveling on the Western Pacific Railroad. Some of my favorite entries include a remark by a woman from L.A. that the greenhouse full of exotic flowers “looks like Calif,” and another Angeleno who commented fondly, “good old Minnesota.” Ah, I know, I get that same catch in my throat whenever I go back home.

Other Minnesota holdings include numerous country histories and biographical sketches and many publications by the Minnesota Historical Society. Among them are Germans in Minnesota (2003), Poles in Minnesota (2005), and quirkier books such as Stew Thernley's Six Feet Under: A Graveyard Guide to Minnesota (2004). The latter tells the stories of 375 notable Minnesotans and is designed as a handy field guide, just the size to fit in a back pocket. 

Browse our catalog online or stop in at the library to see the variety of books and resources we have from the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." 

*Janice Quick, "Como Park Conservatory Guest Register, Summer 1932," Minnesota Genealogical Journal, Issue 44 (September 2010); continued in Issue #45 (March 2011).

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society

CGS at San Francisco History Days This Weekend, March 2-3

This coming weekend, San Francisco's historic Old Mint Building will become a pop-up museum of San Francisco history. This free, family-friendly event is open to all. Join community historians, archivists, genealogists, archaeologists, researchers, educators, re-enactors, and other history enthusiasts to celebrate and discuss the City’s unique history. Ohlone and other indigenous peoples lead the opening ceremony and host cultural exhibits and presentations throughout the weekend. 

The city's multilayered history is represented in immersive exhibits and talks on subjects including Spanish colonialism, African-American pioneers, the Gold Rush, gay and lesbian rights, the Filipino influence on South of Market, and so much more. Films, including the post-quake 1906 short, "A Trip Down Market Street," are shown throughout the weekend. The newly restored model of 1940 San Francisco is on display. Costumed actors mingle with visitors and portray historic figures including Mark Twain and California's first poet laureate, Ina Coolbrith. Come in historical garb yourself and compete for prizes in a fashion show judged by "Countess Lola Montez," vintage clothier Cicely Hansen, and drag queen Honey Mahogany. The event typically draws several thousand participants over two days.  

CGS is proud to participate again this year. Our own San Francisco Special Interest Group is among the more than 75 exhibitors. On Sunday at 3:30 p.m., CGS President Vicky Kolakowski and artist Elina Ansary of Ghost Tour San Francisco will speak on the topic "Personal Histories: Find Your Family, Tell Their Stories."

For a complete schedule of events, visit the San Francisco History Days website. Then grab your friends and family and get ready to embark on a time-traveling adventure!

Photos by Shannon Reese, 2017.
Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society

Our Library Collections: Missouri

A beautiful book title

One in a series by CGS member Chris Pattillo highlighting some of our holdings at the Library in Oakland. For a fuller listing of our books, journals, and more, consult the CGS Library catalog. Our catalog is also included in WorldCat.

Our Missouri section of the library occupies eleven shelves and includes several sets of journals including Missouri State Genealogical Association Journal, 1988 to the present; Missouri Historical Research ,1960 to 2005; NW Missouri Genealogical Society Journal, 1982–2005; Missouri Pioneers, 1971– 976; and Missouri Researcher, 1962 – 1972.

We have the usual source books for cemetery records, bible records, tax records, etc. I found one type of book that I have not previously encountered while writing this blog series. They are Virginia Settlers in Missouri by A. Maxim Coppage III and Dorothy Ford Wulfeck, and Stuart Seely Sprague's Kentuckians in Missouri Including Many Who Migrated by Way of Ohio, Indiana or Illinois. These are the first books I’ve encountered that focus on state residents who have migrated from other states. Of course this happens all the time but it is not always recorded in this manner.

This was written by two CGS members

I picked up Missouri Cemetery Inscription Sources (Print & Microform) and was admiring it as an impressive labor of love. These dedicated researchers collected and organized the cemetery records for 114 counties in Missouri. It includes more than 15,000 citations for inscriptions extracted from books, films, fiche, manuscripts, and periodicals. Imagine my surprise when I noted that the authors were our own CGS luminaires Elizabeth Kot and Shirley Thomson and that the book was published right here in Vallejo, California.

One of our more esoteric small books

This collection includes many county histories and biographical books. Among this section, I found a small booklet titled Guide to the Mormon War Papers, 1838-1841. This is a topic I know nothing about so I read a portion of the introduction to find out. I learned that the Mormons were driven out of Missouri in the mid-1830s – victims of “mistrust by their fellow citizens” – a common excuse for prejudice. This source summarizes a list of all of the known documentation of an investigation that was conducted about the “Difficulties with the Mormons.” This is a good example of an esoteric source of value mostly to specialists, and it occurs to me that maybe we should do more to promote our library to serious scholars. 

This 4-volume set has many well-written biographies

Finally, I noticed a set of four books titled Opening the Ozarks: First Families in Southwest Missouri 1835–1839 by Marsha Hoffman Rising, published in 2005. This is the sort of book every researcher hopes to find. Each volume includes lengthy narrative biographies for individual families. For example, the information on Daniel Austin and family spans six pages. In addition to the basic birth, marriage, and death facts, the well-written biography covers Daniel’s property and migration route. It then describes his children and grandchildren. The format is very similar to how I record my family history on my family blog. Anyone who finds their ancestors in this book should be thrilled to find their work already done for them.

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society

CGS Library Collections: Michigan

One in a series by CGS member Chris Pattillo highlighting some of our holdings at the Library in Oakland. For a fuller listing of our books, journals, and more, consult the CGS Library catalog. Our catalog is also included in WorldCat.

A water-stained page from American
Biographical History

The first book I selected to peruse in our Michigan collection grabbed my attention because of its size (5-plus inches thick) and the gilded leather cover. Opening the book, American Biographical History of Eminent and Self-Made Men with Portrait Illustrations on Steel (Michigan Edition) published in 1878, the next thing I noticed was that it was water-stained. I vaguely recalled having heard a story about a flood but did not know any details, so I made a mental note to call someone and ask for the story. Before I got around to it, I read Marie Treleaven’s article about the CGS Library in the Fall 2018 issue of The California Nugget and l found the answer to my question. Marie described a 2004 water leak at the Latham Building, which housed our library at the time. Fortunately, the water damage was limited. Fifteen boxes of damaged books were freeze-dried to preserve them. I suspect this was one of those freeze-dried books. Thank you, Marie, for the wonderful update to our history. 

This guide was produced in anticipation
of America's Bicentennial

Next, I selected Michigan Surname Index, Vol. 2, published in 1969 by the Michigan Genealogical Council. The Council lists five objectives in the book’s introduction. First is to coordinate genealogical activities of statewide interest, including seminars. Then to cooperate in locating and publishing genealogical information, to provide information to members, and to work with others to improve genealogical resources. That all sounds great and something that every state should have. The book has over 1200 pages and appears to be a treasure trove of information for anyone with Michigan ancestors.

A Guide for the Writing of a Local History by John Cumming was my next selection. Published in 1974 by the Michigan Bicentennial Commission, this small paperback contains many illustrations. The table of contents is essentially a step-by-step list of how to approach writing a local history and where to look for information. The book was written in preparation for the U.S. Bicentennial: its stated purpose was to “spur a multitude of excellent city, county and township histories.”

One of the photographs found in Pictorial History of Ann Arbor

As with most of our state collections, we have several books focused on individual counties and cities. They include eight volumes from the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research. There is also the Pictorial History of Ann Arbor, 1824–1974, published on the occasion of Michigan's sesquicentennial. It was a joint effort of the Michigan Historical Collection and Bentley Historical Library. This book is a good source of images for anyone writing about their family connections in Ann Arbor. Next time you visit our library have a look.

A sketch by Jasper Crospsey in
Pictorial History of Ann Arbor

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society

A Dream Saved Her Life: How Finding Aids Can Enrich Your Family Story

 By Georgia Lupinsky

 "Only a dream, but it saved the life of the handsome young Swiss girl, Martina Kurrer. Another minute and she would have fallen a victim of a madman’s deadly bullet.” - San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday, July 19, 1903 
 

Martina Kurrer Elwert

Many CGS members and users of our library may know that the society has a Manuscript Collection, but may not be aware of the rich personal material that can often be found therein.  A prime example is alluded to in the title of this article. One of our larger collections was compiled by John Ellis Hale, a past President of the society. The collection, listed as “Hale” in the Manuscript Database Index available on our website, is described as Mr. Hale’s forty years of research on the Hale and Bemis families and related lines.  Under the surname description of the collection are forty-eight surnames for which some material exists.

With the finding aid recently completed for this collection a researcher may easily zero in on the materials available for a single surname. Among those names is that of Elwert. This surname was not related to Mr. Hale’s line, but to that of his sister-in-law, Barbara Jean (Elwert) Hale, for whom he did some research. In so doing he uncovered an incredible story about her grandmother, Martina Kurrer, as reported in the San Francisco Chronicle:

In 1891 Martina Kurrer, a native of Switzerland, planned to immigrate with a friend and settle in California.  Shortly before the trip, Martina’s friend was unable to go, but Martina, who had already purchased her ticket, decided to travel alone. She arrived in New York, then boarded a train for Tulare, California. She settled herself on the train as comfortably as possible with a big pillow and blanket that she had brought with her. Speaking no English, she had difficulty purchasing food, but shortly after leaving Kansas City, she heard German spoken near her and began conversing with the speaker, a man of about 45 years of age. He offered to assist her and helped her obtain meals. As Martina kept a diary on her trip, she remembered that on February 26, 1891, after having dinner that the “strange, quiet man” brought her, she settled back to sleep with her head on her pillow and had a dream in which she was home again in Switzerland with her sister at a house party. Her sister commented that Martina’s hair was very messy and urged her to go dress it.  Martina woke with a start. The dream seemed so real that she got up from her seat on the train and stepped into the dressing room to comb her hair. 

Martina's story as reported in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1903

While there, she heard several shots, then people screaming. A gentleman in the car said to Martina, “My girl, you have had a wonderful escape from a terrible death,” and pointed to the place where she had sat only a few minutes ago. Just after she got up, a young man across the aisle had left his seat and moved to hers, resting his head on Martina’s pillow. The man who had befriended Martina went berserk and placed a revolver against the young man’s head and killed him. He then began shooting up and down the car, wounding two other passengers as well. The killer escaped the train on foot, but realizing that he was being pursued, cut his throat with a razor he had in his pocket. Martina kept the pillow and blanket as she had no others and the next day reached her destination in Tulare where she was met by friends.

Interviewed in 1903, Martina stated: “The pillow I have yet, and I would not part with it for anything. I keep it just as it was, though the blood stains are darker and fainter now. I know not many people who would like to have such a thing in the house, but I do not mind, and it is a valuable keepsake.”*

Martina married Max Elwert on August 15, 1893 in Los Angeles. They had three children: Theodore, Anita and Lawrence. Sadly, Martina died in childbirth at the age of 38 on December 29, 1905, in Lodi.

Newly available in our Manuscript Collection Database are finding aids for three collections: Covell, Hale, and Sherman. We will continue to transcribe and upload additional finding aids and advise as they become available.

Georgia Lupinsky is co-chair of the CGS Manuscripts Collection.

*"A Dream Saved this Woman from a Madman's Bullet," San Francisco Chronicle, 19 July 1903, p. 7; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 11 February 2019).

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society

The 1916-1917 Colored Directory: A Window into Oakland's Vibrant Past

Cover of the 1916-1917 directory

CGS is pleased to announce a new acquisition: a rare copy of the 1916-1917 Colored Directory of the Leading Cities of Northern California, which will be of special interest to genealogists researching African Americans in California.

The award-winning movie The Green Book, currently nominated for five Oscars, takes its name from The Negro Motorist Green Book, a directory of safe places for African Americans to eat and sleep when traveling in Jim Crow-era America. The Green Book was published from 1936 to 1966, and has been widely recognized for its significance in African American history. Less well known are the various “blue books” or social directories that were published in black communities throughout the country in the early 20^th century to promote “race pride” and celebrate their achievements.

Charles F. Tilghman in 1916

One such publication was launched in Oakland, California, in 1915, when Charles F. Tilghman, then just 18 years old, set up a printing press in his home to produce a directory of African American residences, businesses, churches, and other organizations throughout northern California. It covered not only Oakland and its neighbors but cities as far north as Sacramento and as far south as Fresno and was liberally illustrated with photographs of notable citizens and important buildings.

Oakland resident Lorna Jones discovered this copy of the 1916-1917 Colored Directory at a yard sale years ago. “I knew it had value the moment I looked at it,” she says. She consulted her friend and fellow genealogist Electra Kimble Price. The two agreed that the book needed to be preserved and they offered the directory to CGS with the stipulation that it be made freely accessible online. “It’s not the only source for names and localities, but the historical value of it—the fact that people were collecting and putting out that information—makes it very important,” says Price. 

It is not clear if any copies survive of the first, 1915 edition. The WorldCat.org database indicates the existence of just two other copies of the 1916-1917 directory: one at the African American Museum and Library at Oakland and one at the Allen County Public Library in Indiana. Allen County has a digitized version available on its website. CGS has made our copy downloadable as a high-quality PDF file which can be searched using OCR (optical character recognition).*

"A Block owned by our race" in Oakland

By the time Tilghman published his second Colored Directory it was considerably expanded: “from seventy-six pages it has grown to one hundred and forty,” the introduction boasts. It now represented “close to 10,000 Colored People” and had 119 illustrations of “Homes, Churches, Pastors, Women’s Clubs, Ranches, etc.” The 1916-1917 issue also reprints a letter of appreciation from Booker T. Washington, to whom Tilghman had sent a copy of the previous year’s directory. “I congratulate you most heartily upon issuing such a creditable publication,” wrote Washington, in a letter dated August 21, 1915 (less than three months before his death). “It contains a great deal of valuable information in addition to the Directory features. The section containing cuts of homes owned by colored people in that section is very creditably illustrated.”

Numerous private homes are pictured, with one page captioned, “A Block owned by our race, Oakland.” There are photographs of black churches and of the ministers who lead them. The Fresno section carries photos of several ranches, including the impressive “Country Home of Mr. C.E. Orr,” who “came to California in 1896, penniless, like most of our Southern people.”

The Pilkerton Ranch in Fresno

The directory gives insight into the concerns and interests of California’s black families: a “Lodges and Organizations” section enumerates various fraternal lodges as well as groups such as the West Indian Aid Association and the Negro Welfare League of California. There are women’s clubs dedicated to art, music, literacy, and “the uplift of humanity.” A full-page advertisement on p. 84 urges readers to “defeat the Liquor Traffic” by voting for two prohibition-related ballot measures.

Women and children of the
Mothers' Charity Club

Perhaps most intriguing are the advertisements. (“Patronize the Firms that Boost Our Race,” the directory urges in its Advertisers Index). Some are straightforward, such as William Arthur Bigby, Sr., Cement Contractor. Some are colorful, like that of Medium Lena, Clairvoyant and Spiritualist: “I am the one that p[r]ophesied the big earthquake of April 18^th, 1906.” Ads for grocers and milliners, saloons and funeral parlors, barbershops, candy stores, and financial institutions bear witness to a thriving community. Tilghman takes advantage of his role as editor by sprinkling advertisements for his printing business throughout.The Tilghman Press would continue to operate for another 60 years, becoming the most prominent black press on the West Coast.

The directory's overall spirit of enthusiasm and optimism is expressed in the foreword:

The colored man's prosperity in Northern California, certainly is more conspicuous to-day than ever before and clearly indicates possibilities that defy the most active human imagination to fully comprehend his final development.

In making this book available to the public we hope to illuminate a part of the vibrant history of African Americans in California.

*To download the file, go to our Databases page, scroll down to "Searchable Finding Aids Free to All," and click on The Colored Directory of the Leading Cities of Northern California 1916-1917. Document may take a few minutes to download.

 

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society

CGS Library Collections: Massachusetts

Aaron C. Joseph (1843-1916) -
Twenty Families of Color in Massachusetts

One in a series by CGS member Chris Pattillo highlighting some of our holdings at the Library in Oakland. For a fuller listing of our books, journals, and more, consult the CGS Library catalog. Our catalog is also included in WorldCat.

I had heard that our collection for Massachusetts was extensive and was reminded of that when I read our society history in the Fall 2018 issue of the Nugget. Well, it’s true. There are 36 shelves of books about Massachusetts in our library – certainly something for everyone with an ancestor from that state.

The first book I chose was the very last one on the shelf. It is Twenty Families of Color in Massachusetts, 1742-1998 by Franklin A. Dorman. It was a gift of Vernon A. Deubler, one of my favorite CGS members. The book has twenty chapters, each devoted to the descendants of a different individual. The foreword explains, “They gathered in mid-December of 1828 in Boston, the first semi-annual meeting of the Massachusetts General Colored Association. Their goal was to unify African-American people to work against slavery and to protest the denial of civil rights to those already free.”

Next I perused Joseph William Carlevale's Leading Americans of Italian Descent in Massachusetts (published 1946). Carlevale, an immigrant from Italy, compiled mid-century "Who's Who" directories of Italian Americans in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Philadelphia. One of the goals of the 2018 Strategic Plan is to increase our offerings to different cultural and ethnic groups. Fortunately, we have much to offer in our library.

Image from History of Worcester County

Dick Rees was in the library when I was there to write this article and asked me to include a mention of our extensive collection of town books for Massachusetts. Each book follows a similar format, with compilations of births, marriages, and death records. Vital Records of Marlborough, Massachusetts To The End of The Year 1849 (published 1908) lists 7,598 births, 3,852 marriages, and 2,256 deaths, so lots of useful information.

CGS has 24 volumes in this set

We hold 24 of 31 volumes of Mayflower Families Through Five Generations by Francis Eaton, Samuel Fuller and William White. Known as the "Silver Books" because of their distinctive covers, the series from the General Society of Mayflower Descendants meticulously documents the first five generations of descendants of Mayflower passengers and has long been considered an essential resource for Mayflower and early American genealogy. This set of books came to CGS from the California Historical Society – one of the organizations we shared space with in the past.

History of Worcester County

My final selection was chosen because of its gilded and embossed brown leather cover and satisfying heft. The History of Worcester County, Massachusetts runs more than 600 pages and purports to be a comprehensive history of Massachusetts' largest county from its earliest colonial settlement to the date of publication (1879). We own Volume I of the two-volume set. This is a dense tome with several nice images of historic buildings, both civic and residential properties.

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society

2019 DNA class offerings

Get your DNA on with CGS in 2019!

CGS is sponsoring a plethora of classes and activities focused on ancestral DNA this year. It all kicks off March 7 with a NEW 6-week DNA series being taught by Mark McLaren at the Oakland FamilySearch Library. This is intended for people either new to DNA or looking to improve their ability to use it in their research. Class textbook is The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy by Blaine Bettinger.

Then we offer 3 one-day seminars on interpreting your DNA test results:

March 23:  You've Got Your Ancestry DNA Results, What Next?

March 30:  You've Got Your Family Tree DNA Results, What Next?

April 6: You've Got Your 23andMe or MyHeritage DNA Results, What Next?

Those who've completed one of the above classes may be interested in the First Saturday Monthly DNA Study Group, starting up again on May 4. Information is given during the preliminary classes.

And there's more ...

Stay tuned for details on the following:

Summer Evening Drop-in DNA Q&A Sessions
(Time/date TBA)

Therese Hart-Pignotti will help with your DNA questions, particularly as they relate to adoptions.

Fall Classes on Advanced DNA Topics 
(Time/date TBA)

Jim Russell will cover citing DNA sources in your genealogy writing, using the emerging DNA matching tools, and more, as well as a lecture on Y-DNA. 

Subscribe to our blog or follow us on Facebook to get the latest news!

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society

Speakers' Bureau Revived

CGS member Ron Madson is knowledgeable about
computers, organization, and other topics

Rumor has it that CGS used to have a Speakers’ Bureau. Well, that tradition has been revived by members of the Development & Member Services and Events committees. This recently reconstituted committee brings together several functions of the society including development, membership (data entry), volunteers and outreach. As part of our Outreach responsibilities we felt it would be helpful to have a database of speakers and topics. We created a spreadsheet that lists seventy-five different topics that are offered by fifty-two different speakers. Most speakers are members of the society who give these talks at no charge. A few are professionals and typically ask for a modest honorarium.

The spreadsheet is organized by topic. We have speakers available to discuss Chinese, Norwegian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Jewish genealogy, among many others. Multiple speakers are qualified to discuss adoption and DNA, and how to use various tech tools.

If you hear about an organization that is looking for speakers on genealogy, please know that that is part of our Outreach program and that we have people available who enjoy giving talks on a broad range of topics. You can request a speaker from the Development & Members Services Committee at development@californiaancestors.org

If you have a topic that you feel qualified to speak on and would like to have your name added to the spreadsheet you should contact the Development & Members Services Committee. Tell us your name, the topics you feel qualified to speak on, availability limitations, and a little information about your public speaking experience.

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society