The End Of The Line

Museum of Hartlepool via Flickr the Commons, http://www.flickr.com/photos/hartlepool_museum/4397459869/

Well, it's the end of the 2013 tour. We want to thank everyone who participated in the tour including:

Our Sponsors:

National Institute for Genealogical Studies
PhotoTree.com
RootsMagic
Southern California Genealogical Society
Crystal Inn

Participating Societies and Libraries:

Conejo Valley Genealogical Society
South Bay Cities Genealogical Society
Los Angeles FamilySearch Library
San Fernando Valley Genealogical Society
Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Sacramento
California Genealogical Society and Library
Sacramento German Genealogy Society

Thanks to everyone who supported this journey!

Reflections of Roadshow and Road Trip

Have we really been on the road just a day shy of a week? The time has rushed past. I haven't blogged as much as I'd planned, but I certainly have not been without a computer on my lap.

When Gena and I signed on to work on Genealogy Roadshow, we had no idea how much of our lives would be dedicated to this project. Seeing it come to fruition in San Francisco yesterday was an amazing experience and we were pleasantly surprised to see how many people could be crowded into a single building and then move almost like choreographed dancers to pull cable, move cameras and lights in and out, rearrange seating, and communicate with guests, participants, researchers, on-air talent, and the many, many people needed to pull off such an event. It was amazing!


And such a pleasure on this trip to meet people we'd been talking to over the phone over the past 12+ weeks. Efficient, intelligent, helpful folks, all working to make these two researchers (and, vicariously, the three who were not with us - Linda Serna, Jamie McManus-Mayhew, and Alice Volkert) feel as if our contributions were the major factors that brought the show to life (and, of course, that' correct).

So tonight we have an evening with the California Genealogical Society in Oakland and tomorrow I will be presenting my narrative program on "Elisabeth: The Story of a German Immigrant" in Sacramento. Then it's homeward bound.

I have the best travel companion and have enjoyed most every moment of the trip. Thank you, Gena, for all your work on the app, and the rest of the techy part of things. Thank you, all our sponsors, whose offers and support are not only helpful to us, but a boon to the genealogy world. And thanks to those who have been following this journey . . . it's been great to have you connect with us - in person & via tech means.

May your roots pursuits be full of fruits (and nuts and candies, too).

Jean

Next Stop: CSGA

Join us tonight for a great event at the California Genealogical Society and Library in Oakland. Jean and I will do a reading from our books and sign copies.

We look forward to seeing you there! To learn more click here.

Next Stop: Santa Barbara Genealogical Society

Gena here and our theme today for the Santa Barbara Genealogical Society is the Civil War. I'm talking about women and thought I would share some website  with you as you tell the story of the women in your family tree who lived during the American Civil War.



"American Women's History: The Civil War Era." Middle Tennessee State University.

Blanton, DeAnne. "Prologue: Selected Articles." National Archives and Records Administration.

"Civil War Women: Primary Sources on the Internet." Duke University Libraries - Home.

"Hearts at Home: Southern Women in the Civil War." University of Virginia Library.

North American Women's Letters and Diaries.

Next Stop: San Fernando Valley Genealogical Society

To read more about this stop today see the website for the San Fernando Valley Genealogical Society.

Day 3 Tour Recap

Day 3 was busy! Starting at 5am and ending at midnight. The tour spent the day at the Genealogy Roadshow offices. Gena and Jean are researchers for this new PBS show debuting in September.

Then it was onto South Bay Cities Genealogical Society. We talked about our ancestor's traditions which included some music from Jean.

Dinner was at 10 pm and it didn't disappoint.

You know it has to be good if you have to stand in a line that extends outside the restaurant.

What I Learned at Conejo Valley Genealogical Society Last Night

Gena here: One of the great things about presenting on genealogy is that you often learn about new resources. So I thought I would share a resource with you that I learned more about yesterday.

Got Scandinavian ancestors? You might be interested in the Scandinavian Center at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

They have a museum/library and provide genealogy research assistance. Contact them at 805-241-0391 for more information.

Next Stop: South Bay Cities Genealogical Society

Tonight the Gena and Jean Genealogy Journey stops at the South Bay Cities Genealogy Society. We are going to be talking about  traditions and our ancestors. Food and music will be the topics.

Looking for resources for learning more about your ancestor's food history and how to incorporate some of that into your family history? Here's some resources:

Resources

Libraries/Archives

WorldCat:  http://www.worldcat.org/

NUCMC (National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections):  http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/

Library of Congress:  http://www.loc.gov/index.htm 

ArchiveGrid: http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/

Libraries in  the United States: http://www.librarysites.info/

Cookbooks

Axford, Lavonne B. English Language Cookbooks, 1600-1973. Detroit: Gale Research Co, 1976.

Cook, Margaret. America's Charitable Cooks: A Bibliography of Fund-Raising Cook Books Published in the United States (1861-1915). Kent, Ohio, 1971.

Driver, Elizabeth. Culinary Landmarks: A Bibliography of Canadian Cookbooks, 1825-1949. Toronto Ont.: University of Toronto Press, 2008.

Driver, Elizabeth. A Bibliography of Cookery Books Published in Britain, 1875-1914. London, England: Prospect Books, 1989.

Lincoln, Waldo. Bibliography of American Cookery Books, 1742-1860. Worcester, Mass: The Society, 1929.

American Regional Food History

Battaile, Connie. An Annotated Bibliography and Index of Books and Pamphlets About the Fruits, Vegetables and Seaweeds of Hawaii , 1975.

Fisher, Carol, and John C. Fisher. Pot Roast, Politics, and Ants in the Pantry: Missouri's Cookbook Heritage. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2008.

Gourley, James E. Regional American Cookery, 1884-1934: A List of Works on the Subject. New York: The New York public library, 1936

Kurlansky, Mark. The Food of a Younger Land: A Portrait of American Food : Before the National Highway System, Before Chain Restaurants, and Before Frozen Food, When the Nation's Food Was Seasonal, Regional, and Traditional : from the Lost WPA Files. New York: Riverhead Books, 2009.

Stoner, Joan. California Cookbooks: An Annotated Chronological Bibliography. Sacramento, Calif: California State Library, 1982

Wheaton, Barbara K, and Patricia M. Kelly. Bibliography of Culinary History: Food Resources in Eastern Massachusetts. Boston, Mass: G.K. Hall, 1987.

Willard, Pat. America Eats!: On the Road with the WPA : the Fish Fries, Box Supper Socials, and Chitlin Feasts That Define Real American Food. New York: Bloomsbury, 2008.

Ziegelman, Jane. 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement. New York: Smithsonian Books/HarperCollins, 2010.

Preserving Heirlooms

May-Levenick, Denise S. How to Archive Family Keepsakes: Learn How to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia & Genealogy Records. Cincinnati, Ohio: Family Tree Books, 2012.

Taylor, Maureen A. Preserving Your Family Photographs: How to Organize, Present, and Restore Your Precious Family Images. Cincinnati, Ohio: Betterway Books, 2001.

Writings About Food and Family

Berzok, Linda M. Storied Dishes: What Our Family Recipes Tell Us About Who We Are and Where We've Been. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger, 2011.

Philibert-Ortega, Gena. From the Family Kitchen: Discover Your Food Heritage and Preserve Favorite Recipes. Cincinnati, Ohio: Family Tree Books, 2012.

Schenone, Laura. The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken: A Search for Food and Family. New York: Norton & Co, 2008.

Creating Scrapbooks and Cookbooks

Higgins, Becky. Family History Scrapbooking. Escondido, Calif: Primedia, 2006.

Taylor, Maureen A. Scrapbooking Your Family History. Cincinnati, Ohio: Betterway Books, 2003.

Wolfe, J K. You Can Write a Cookbook. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books, 2000.

There's an App for the Journey!

The official Gena and Jean Genealogy Journey app is here! Available right now from Infinite Monkey, it will also soon be available through Google Play and iTunes.

To be one of the first to get the free app click here.

Next Stop: Conejo Valley Genealogical Society

Gena here: Today I'm speaking at the Conejo Valley Genealogical Society on a topic I love, women's lives during the American Civil War.

Looking for some books on this topic? Check out the following bibliography for ideas. I'm always looking for a good book so if you have additional suggestions, add your favorite titles in the comments below.


Attie, Jeanie. Patriotic Toil: Northern Women and the American Civil War. Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell University Press, 1998.

Blanton, DeAnne, and Lauren M. Cook. They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the American Civil War. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2002.

Camp, Stephanie M. H. Closer to Freedom: Enslaved Women and Everyday Resistance in the Plantation South. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004.

Creighton, Margaret S. The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg's Hidden History : Immigrants, Women, and African-Americans in the Civil War's Defining Battle. New York: Basic Books, 2005.

Culpepper, Marilyn M. Women of the Civil War South: Personal Accounts from Diaries, Letters, and Postwar Reminiscences. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co, 2004

Faust, Drew G. Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1996.

Forbes, Ella. African American Women During the Civil War. New York: Garland, 1998

Giesberg, Judith A. Civil War Sisterhood: The U.S. Sanitary Commission and Women's Politics in Transition. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2000.

Giesberg, Judith A. Army at Home: Women and the Civil War on the Northern Home Front. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009.

Graf, Mercedes. On the Field of Mercy: Women Medical Volunteers from the Civil War to the First World War. Amherst, NY: Humanity Books, 2010.

Johnston, Carolyn. Cherokee Women in Crisis: Trail of Tears, Civil War, and Allotment, 1838-1907. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2003.

Leonard, Elizabeth D. All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 1999.

Lowry, Thomas P. Confederate Heroines: 120 Southern Women Convicted by Union Military Justice. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2006

McDevitt, Theresa. Women and the American Civil War: An Annotated Bibliography. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2003.

Taylor, Susie K. Reminiscences of My Life in Camp: An African American Woman's Civil War Memoir. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2006.

Whites, LeeAnn, and Alecia P. Long. Occupied Women: Gender, Military Occupation, and the American Civil War. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2009.

Winkler, H D. Stealing Secrets: How a Few Daring Women Deceived Generals, Impacted Battles, and Altered the Course of the Civil War. Naperville, Ill: Cumberland House, 2010.

Wood, Kirsten E. Masterful Women: Slaveholding Widows from the American Revolution Through the Civil War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004.

Young, Elizabeth. Disarming the Nation: Women's Writing and the American Civil War. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999.

Tour Sponsor: Crystal Inn

Going to Salt Lake for research? The Crystal Inn is the place to stay when you plan that research trip to  the Family History Library.

Check out their website and their locations throughout Utah and in Great Falls, Montana.

Meet the Author Event with Jean

We had a great time eating, talking genealogy, and hearing a reading from Jean's new book Elisabeth. Elisabeth is an historical novel about the life of Jean's great-grandmother who fled an abusive husband by leaving her native Germany and coming to America.

Thanks to everyone who supported this first event on the Journey!

Tour Sponsor: RootsMagic

RootsMagic is not just a sponsor of the Gena and Jean tour but it is the software that both of us use for our research. There's so much to like about RootsMagic and if you haven't tried it, go to their website and download the free version, RootsMagic Essentials and try it for yourself. 

Have questions? RootsMagic is there with help online or by phone.

Be sure to click on the RootsMagic Learn tab to view webinars and RootsMagic TV.

Tour Sponsor: Southern California Genealogical Society

Jean and I are pleased to announce that the Southern California Genealogical Society is a sponsor of the Gena and Jean Genealogy Journey.

Not in Southern California? No problem! The Southern California Genealogical Society membership offers something for everyone. Consider the following  benefits:

• 24/7 access to nearly 70 webinars conducted by professional speakers on a wide variety of topics. Check out Jean's webinar in November and Gena's in December.
• From home access to WorldVitalRecords (as of July 31, 2013)
• From home access to Access NewspaperARCHIVE 
• Discounts on research team assistance (French-Canadian, German, and General)
• Discounts on Society activities, including Genealogy Jamboree (June 5-8, 2014)
• Discounts on Society publications
• Copy of the Society’s quarterly, The Searcher

If you’re in Southern California area:

• Visit the SCGS Family Research Library, which houses a collection of over 40,000 items
• Participate in a dozen interest groups
• Access a number of for-pay databases at no cost
• Get hands-on assistance from experienced volunteers
• Get to know other genealogists and share your common passion of family history.

There's so much to like about being a member of the Southern California Genealogical Society. Check out their website today!

Traditions of Our Ancestors at South Bay Cities Genealogical Society

Tour Sponsor: PhotoTree.com

As we gear up to leave on our tour, we would like to introduce you to our sponsors. Our sponsors are helping to make the tour possible and best of all, they provide products and services that we believe in and use. 

PhotoTree.com offers a variety of services and products to genealogists that guide them through the process of dating and restoring 19th century photographs. This includes a series of KwikGuide books that help identify and date old photos; plus a newly released photo restoration KwikGuide . Also, PhotoTree provides a free website with dating tutorials, photographic history, a gallery of more than1,000 dated images, and weekly case studies.

14 Days

Can you believe that today is the first day of July? Where did 2013 go?  Hard to believe that Christmas is only 176 days away.

AMERICAN CYANAMID. George Eastman House via Flickr the Commons

But the countdown has started.

The countdown until the Gena and Jean Genealogy Journey begins. We have a great speaking tour coming up and we are bringing it to you each and every day.

Watch this space for links, tips, and announcements. As we prepare to set out on this tour we are going to bring you resources so that those who can't attend will still benefit.

You're invited whether you visit with us in person at one of our California stops or attend from home.

The tour kicks off in 14 days. We look forward to seeing you!