SCGS Joins The 1940 U.S. Census Community Project!

We are excited to announce that the Southern California Genealogical Society has joined the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project to help index the 1940 U.S. Federal Census! By signing up to support this project, you will become part of a monumental grass-roots effort to put one of the richest genealogical data sets in the world online, complete and free of charge forever.

The SCGS has committed to support this project, and we are counting on our members to step up to this challenge. Every new person indexing as a member of our society moves us closer to milestones that qualify us for incentives provided by the sponsors of the project, so please sign up today!

Go to www.the1940census.com/society and register to participate with our society. Simply select Southern California Genealogical Society on the profile screen when creating your account.

SCGS support for this project is being coordinated by Jay Holladay. After you have signed up, please let him know you are part of our team by emailing him at 1940census@scgsgenealogy.com. He will also be happy to answer questions or provide additional information if you need it.

Thank you in advance for your participation. We look forward to the benefits this resource will provide for researchers of our area and all parts of the United States.

SCGS Webinar News - Archive is Updated

You are cordially invited to join hundreds of genealogists and family historians who attend the FREE webinar sessions hosted by the Southern California Genealogical Society.

A webinar is a genealogy-related lecture or class session that you watch over the Internet.  Each program runs 60 minutes, with an additional 30 minutes for Q&A. Viewers can hear the speaker and follow along with slides and handouts. Viewers with cable or DSL will have the most successful viewing experience.

SCGS was the first genealogical society to offer a FREE series of online classes, and the "Jamboree Extension Series" of webinars is a popular feature.

The first (live) session is open to the public at no charge. We typically have 300 or more registrants for each session, with viewers from all 50 states, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and even Zimbabwe.  We can accommodate up to 1000 viewers, so we have plenty of room for expanding our audience.

Webinars are scheduled on the first Saturday and the third Wednesday of each month. The Saturday session starts at 10am Pacific time and the Wednesday program starts at 6pm.

As a benefit of membership, SCGS members can view the webinars at their convenience, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The archive of 2011 and 2012 webinar sessions is now available for SCGS members on the SCGS website.  Members can access the members-only section by clicking on the SCGS logo on the right hand size of the page.(Streamed sessions from 2011 Jamboree will be available in the near future.) 

If you are not currently a member of SCGS, read about benefits of SCGS membership, or join or renew your membership today. 

View the webinars at your convenience, according to your schedule. We will continue to offer the live broadcast of each session open to the public at no charge.

A schedule of SCGS webinars is available on the SCGS website, and webinars offered by other organizations can be found at GeneaWebinars.com. The next SCGS webinar with Barry Ewell (one of Jamboree's 2012 speakers) will be held on March 21. Read all about it here.

Learn new skills in your pajamas! Join us for a webinar soon.

SCGS DNA Interest Group Meeting March 31

Meeting Announcement

DNA Interest Group Meeting
Saturday, March 31, 2012
10:00a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Southern California Genealogical Society Library
417 Irving Drive
Burbank, California
Cross street Glenoaks

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Genetics, Genealogy, and Ethics
Presenter: David Dowell, Ph.D, Genealogist and Research Librarian

10:00-10:30 Answering questions about DNA testing
10:30-12:00 Bioethicists' concerns versus the public’s right to know
12:00-1:00 Lunch
1:00-2:00 Individualized help

$5.00 donation is suggested for attendance. Individualized help will be available after the formal presentation for those who want to order DNA tests or who have received DNA results and need help managing their personal page or interpreting their results. A drawing will be held for a $30 discount certificate for ordering a DNA test. Brown bag or join us for pizza for an additional $5.00.

For additional information contact Kathy Johnston at kjohns7900@aol.com or phone (310) 213-1207.

Following the regular meeting from 2:00-3:00 p.m., those who are Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) Project Administrators or Project Co-administrators are invited to remain to discuss how they are managing group projects. The Roundtable format allows people to share expertise and create solutions to issues.

Future Meetings:
Sat., June 30, 2012 – Alice Fairhurst, Understanding Deep Clade Testing
Sat., Sept. 29, 2012 – Douglas Neslund, An Adoptee’s Quest