About the Program

Make Your Own Maps Using Google's My Maps

Place your ancestors on the map and share it with your family.  Using the tools provided free in Google’s My Maps, Francie will demonstrate how to create and edit maps illustrating places your family lived, their migration routes, and different generations.  Further, she will demonstrate how to add notes, photos, and icons depicting your family’s unique history and will present useful ideas for a variety of your own maps, even for planning a research trip.  You can then share these unique maps with family members and continue to add to them in the future.  You can use her handout to follow the presentation step-by-step.

About the Speaker

Francie Kennedy is passionate about microhistory, and inordinately fond of maps and old county histories. She frequently stays up late collecting resources for her students in Beginning Methodology classes. Francie believes that the study of the past through the fascinating lens of genealogy can bring us a new sense of our own place within the world. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and speaks to genealogical societies on topics ranging from Google to geography. Francie is a fourth generation native Californian.

​“Researching Your Hispanic Ancestors”
Letty Rodella
President of Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research (SHHAR)
May 16, 2018
 
At the last general meeting, Letty gave a lively, spirited presentation pertaining to investigating Hispanic ancestors.
Much of what she presented also has universal applications in genealogy, regardless of ethnicity.  One admonition was “There is no truth without proof.”  In other words, a genealogist must always have clear concise documentation to verify what is believed to be a fact.  For example, census records, an excellent source of information, are only as accurate as the person giving the information, the person receiving the information and the person transcribing the information.  Census records need to be verified.
When investigating an ancestor, Letty recommended searching various spellings of the last name, plus finding aunts, uncles, grandparents, other relatives, and sponsors at religious events.  Beware of idiosyncrasies on forming letters and entering data.  For example, Spanish priests loved to fill each line of a document with letters.  If they came to the end of a line and still had a couple letters left in the word, they would add a hyphen and place the couple of letters at the first of the next line. This created confusion when the hyphenated word was a last name.
She also illustrated the variations on how letters were formed and numerous spellings of the same last name.  In summary, an entertaining and informative presentation was experienced by all.
 
 
Charles L. Hand
May 27, 2018

On Saturday, April 21, 2018, from 10:00AM to 2:00PM, Ted Newman and I represented the Genealogical Society of North Orange County, California (GSNOCC) at the Orange County Historical Commission’s Jamboree.  The event was held at the Irvine Ranch Historical Park on 13042 Old Myford Road in Irvine.  We were joined during the day by GSNOCC President Lila Whiteford.
 
The park supplied a table, two chairs, a canopy and the space for the event.  Norma Keating supplied two green banners which highlighted the GSNOCC booth.  An information board, capably assembled by Norma Longmire, was also prominently displayed.  We also distributed fliers for GSNOCC’s events on May 16 (Letty Rodella) and July 28 (Kory Meyerink), plus the GSNOCC tri-fold application flier.  About ten of each were picked up by participants.
 
Other organizations present at the event are as follows:

• Orange County Historical Commission/Welcome Table
• Orange County Parks
• Orange County Archives
• Orange Public Library and Historical Center
• Orange County Public Libraries
• Orange County Historical Society
• Orange County Agricultural Commission
• Bowers Museum
• Brea Historical Society
• Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens
• Costa Mesa Historical Society
• Dana Point Historical Society
• Genealogical Society of North Orange County California (GSNOCC)
• Helena Modjeska Foundation
• Heritage Museum of Orange County
• Irvine Historical Society
• Pacific Coast Archaeological Society
• Old Courthouse Museum Society
• Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research (SHHAR)
• Tustin Area Historical Society
• 70 Degrees

  

Join us at our May meeting and program on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, 7pm at Yorba Linda Community Center.

About the Program

Researching Your Hispanic Ancestors

This presentation is based on Letty Rodella’s years of research using on-line Hispanic archives which date back to the 1500’s.  Letty will explain the basic steps she uses and will present copies of actual documents found using those steps. She will provide tips for reading the many nuances found in those documents; will offer suggestions for finding the previous generation; and will provide a list of the main resources available for researching Hispanic ancestors.

About the Speaker

Letty Rodella

Letty Rodella is a retired educator having spent 42 years in the educational field.  She graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso and received a Master’s Degree from Cal State Fullerton.  Letty served in various capacities during her educational career including teacher, administrator, and independent educational consultant.  Her love of genealogy started 18 years ago, covers the present and moves back in history to her ancestors of the early 1500s, those who settled in what is now Texas and New Mexico.   Letty is President of SHHAR, the Society of Hispanic Historical & Ancestral Research.