The Beautiful San Ramon Valley Photo courtesy: Ted Shapas
General Meeting (on Zoom)
Tuesday, January 21, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
Lisa Vogele
"Travel Your Tree: Walking in your Ancestors Footsteps"
Explore the world of family history travel beyond the confines of television shows like Finding Your Roots. Discover how you can personally trace your ancestors' paths, whether it's visiting battlefields where your forebears fought, exploring ancestral villages, or connecting with distant relatives. Join us to uncover expert tips for planning your journey and forging meaningful connections along the way.
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.
The video from the November 19, 2024, Karen LaDuca, Bob Venter talk, "Preserving Family Heritage: Navigating FindaGrave and Creating Virtual Cemeteries" is available for one month by logging into the member section of our web site.
Holiday Gathering December 3, 2024 at 2pm.
Please join us for our San Ramon Valley Genealogical Socity annual Holiday Gathering and Cookie Exchange. Reconnect with genealogy friends! Refreshments will be served. We will again be detecting who's related using the "Relatives Around Me" feature of your smart phone's FamilySearch app. So consider installing it with sufficient ancestors connected to your family tree.
We will meet on Tuesday, December 3, 2024 from 2-4pm at the LDS Church Gymnasium on 2949 Stone Valley Road, Alamo. If you are a helping with the event, please arrive by 1pm. See you there!
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
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 the latest 10 events.
A new AI SIG will begin on September 23, 2024, the 4th Monday at 7pm on Zoom. See more about it on our SIGs page.
SRVGS has had a number of Special Interest Groups over the years in addition to the seven 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.
Fall 2024 DFSC Hours:
- Monday: 10:00am - 1:00pm & 6:30pm - 9:00pm
- Tuesday: 2:00 - 5:00pm
- Wednesday: 1:00 - 4:00pm
These pay-for subscription websites are available for free, during your visit. It could save you quite a bit of money.
- 19th Century British Library Newspapers
- Alexander Street
- American Ancestors
- Ancestry Institution
- ArkivDigital
- FamNet
- Findmypast
- Fold3
- Geneanet
- Goldie May
- Irish Ancestors
- MyHeritage Library Edition
- NewspaperArchive
- Paper Trail
- Puzzilla
The DFSC needs shift volunteers to help patrons with their research. It's pretty amazing how much you know, and can help others by volunteering. So, to volunteer or if you have other questions, call 925-837-7010 and/or contact the DFSC by email.
Visitors please also know that 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 Wiki.
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
We 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.
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