MISSION STATEMENTThe mission of the San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society is to encourage interest in family history and genealogy, to preserve genealogical materials, and to provide instruction in accepted and effective research techniques. |
| The San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society (SLOCGS) was founded in 1967 to encourage interest in family history and educate our members and the public in genealogy research techniques. We collect, preserve and house various historical and genealogical records, with particular emphasis on San Luis Obispo County. Our goal is to assist both beginning and experienced genealogists to find the evidence and proof they need to solve their family puzzles. |
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Participants in indexing the 1940 Census  |
30th Annual All-Day SeminarMarch 5, 2016Click to see Schedule Click to see Registration |
| We invite anyone interested in genealogy to join us in our general meetings (below), computer classes, special interest groups and libraries. If you do not live locally you can follow our links to other San Luis Obispo County websites, get in touch with our experienced researchers and see the many benefits enjoyed by the members of our Society. On our county resources page you can access databases that include land records, plat maps, naturalization records, tax records, voter registrations, cemetery records, headstone photos, probate court records and civil case abstracts. |
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except July, August, and December at Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Hall 520 Dana Street San Luis Obispo, CA. Anyone interested in genealogy is welcome! Email Cheryl Storton for additional information. |
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| February 6, 2016 |
Dating Photographs - Eva Ulz, Curator of the San Luis Obispo History Center. Hidden legacies: Rescuing the past of two San Luis Obispo’s pioneer families who ‘vanished’ from our region - Dan Krieger. | |
| March 5, 2016 |
30th Annual All-Day Seminar GENEALOGY QUEST: Moving Forward into Our Past Click to see Speakers Schedule Registration | |
| April 2, 2016 |
Finding Your Irish (or other) Ancestors - Sheila Benedict. Case Studies in Forensic and Family Genealogy - Sheila Benedict. | |
| May 7, 2016 |
Assumption is the Mother of all Screw-ups! - Susan Goss Johnston. Online Research: Going Beyond Ancestry - Susan Goss Johnston. | |
| June 4, 2016 |
Behind the Scenes of PBS's Genealogy Roadshow - D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS. Clustering and More: Searching the World Wide Web - D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS. | |
February 6, 2016
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| Dating Photographs by Eva Ulz, Curator of the San Luis Obispo History Center. | |
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San Luis Obispo Family Histories by Dan Krieger.
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| Board Meeting |
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Session 1: Dating Photographs by Eva Ulz, Curator of the San Luis Obispo History Center. Historic photographs provide a compelling picture of the past, and can often tell us a great deal about the people and places they represent. Learn to date photographs by identifying the technology used to create them and examining clues within the image. Eva Ulz is the curator of the History Center of San Luis Obispo County. She has worked in museums on both coasts, filling positions in education, communications, and collections care. Ulz curated three exhibits blending historic and fine art photography, including “Memento Mori: the Birth and Resurection of Postmortem Photography,” featured in the New York Times Magazine blog |
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| Business Meeting |
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| Social time; book & drawing sales, snacks, coffee & tea. |
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Session 2: Hidden legacies: Rescuing the past of two San Luis Obispo’s pioneer families who ‘vanished’ from our region by Dan Krieger.
Dan Krieger, a longtime resident of San Luis Obispo, joined the History Department faculty at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in 1971. He is a NEH Fellow of the Newberry Library in state, regional, and family history. For the past 24 years he has authored a weekly column, "Times Past," on local history for the San Luis Obispo County Tribune. Dr. Krieger is a published author, including Looking Backward into the Middle Kingdom: An Illustrated History of San Luis Obispo County (Windsor, 1988, REV) and co-author of War Comes to the Middle Kingdom: A History of the Central Coast, 1940 - 1943. He is the author of the forthcoming Chronicles of San Luis Obispo (History Press, 2015) based on a collection of his favorite "Times Past" columns. Dan serves as the volunteer curator and chair of the Museum Committee at Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa |
March 5, 2016
GENEALOGY QUEST: Moving Forward into Our PastClick to see Speakers Schedule Registration |
April 2, 2016
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| Finding Your Irish (or other) Ancestors by Sheila Benedict. | |
| Case Studies in Forensic and Family Genealogy by Sheila Benedict. | |
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| Board Meeting |
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Session 1: Finding Your Irish (or other) Ancestors by Sheila Benedict.
Locating an ancestor in Ireland is complex and just knowing a county will not lead to success. It is important that a researcher knows the history and availability of records in the country they need to search. Ireland and Irish records will be used as an example for Irish-Americans to finding those elusive out-of-country ancestors. |
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| Business Meeting |
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| Social time; book & drawing sales, snacks, coffee & tea. |
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Session 2: Case Studies in Forensic and Family Genealogy by Sheila Benedict.
Forensic genealogists work on cases with legal implications and usually need to find living people; family historians search the past. The presentation will give examples to show the differences and similarities of each. |
| Sheila Benedict is currently the part-time archivist at Old Mission Santa Inés and is self-employed as a forensic and family genealogist. She was awarded the Pearl Chase Historic Preservation and Conservation Award from the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation and authored the recently released Research in the States – California, a National Genealogical Society (NGS) publication. A recent forensic genealogy article was published in the Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy Newsletter. She also taught beginning and intermediate genealogy and oral history techniques for several years at a local community college. | |
May 7, 2016
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| Assumption is the Mother of all Screw-ups! by Susan Goss Johnston. | |
| Online Research: Going Beyond Ancestry by Susan Goss Johnston. | |
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| Board Meeting |
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Session 1: Assumption is the Mother of all Screw-ups! by Susan Goss Johnston.
Genealogy research requires the creation of hypotheses, but those sneaky silent assumptions that creep into our work may result in maple branches being grafted on our oak trees. Once you understand these assumptions, you will be able to avoid them. |
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| Business Meeting |
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| Social time; book & drawing sales, snacks, coffee & tea. |
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Session 2: Online Research: Going Beyond Ancestry by Susan Goss Johnston.
Join us as we play a game. From one little clue, how much can we discover about a family using online sources? We can use only the best records available. No online family trees allowed – and Ancestry is off-limits. |
| Susan Goss Johnston is a 2011 ProGen alumna, has completed the Advanced Methodology and Evidence Analysis course at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) and the National Archives' lecture and lab course, Going to the Source, and has attended the National Institute on Genealogical Research (NIGR). She is a co-editor of the recently published Source Templates for The Master Genealogist (available on Lulu.com). Her personal research focuses on families in New England and the Mid-Atlantic region, and she specializes in military records. A former Maryland resident, she now lives in California, and continues teaching intermediate and advanced genealogy courses there and is a frequent speaker at local meetings and conferences. | |
June 4, 2016
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| Behind the Scenes of PBS's Genealogy Roadshow by D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS. | |
| Clustering and More: Searching the World Wide Web by D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS. | |
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| Board Meeting |
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Session 1: Behind the Scenes of PBS's Genealogy Roadshow by D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS.
As a featured genealogist on PBS's Genealogy Roadshow, Josh will give us an insider's peek at the inner workings of the popular series. |
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| Business Meeting |
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| Social time; book & drawing sales, snacks, coffee & tea. |
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Session 2: Clustering and More: Searching the World Wide Web by D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS.
Effective Internet searching cannot be complete without clustering. Learn how to limit your search engine results to websites that will be beneficial to you without having to scroll through thousands of results! Strong emphasis is put on learning and using "Yippy," and other search engines. |
| D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS, a nationally known genealogical author, lecturer and researcher is a frequent speaker at family history events. He is the current President for the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS). The former Director of Education & Programs at the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), Joshua has authored numerous articles in American Ancestors, UGA Crossroads, FGS Forum, Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly, New England Ancestors, and others. In 2013 he authored “The Keane and Sheahan Families of Bridgeport, Connecticut,” a study of a family’s immigration and life in New England after the Irish famine. He coordinates Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) courses. His MLS is in Archival Management, and his MA is in history. He's been a featured genealogist on Who Do You Think You Are? and can be seen currently as host on PBS's Genealogy Roadshow. | |
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