29 April 2008

California: Steve Morse speaks, May 10

The California Genealogical Society has scheduled a double treat for its members and friends at 1pm Saturday, May 10, when Steve Morse will speak at its membership meeting. The venue is the CGS Library in Oakland.

Morse's talks will be "What Color Ellis Island Search Form Should I Use?" and “The Jewish Calendar Demystified.”

The first talk describes the evolution of the One-Step Ellis Island Web site to the One-Step Web Pages. In April 2001, Ellis Island's ship manifests and passenger records went online. A few weeks later the One-Step Ellis Island website was created to make this resource easier to use. Since that time the One-Step site has been greatly expanded to include new search capabilities and an array of color-coded search forms.

He will describe the evolution of the website from both a historical and a practical perspective, and provide a beacon for navigating through this color maze.

Those of us who have previously seen Steve's calendar presentation realize how funny it is - he has a great sense of humor. It is highly recommended. His tongue-in-cheek but factual description of the Jewish Calendar is seen through the eyes of Adam and Eve. Because the calendar is both a solar and lunar calendar, rules concerning calculation can be daunting. The piece was recently published in the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly which reflects its general appeal. It's not just for people doing Jewish genealogy (and is a very humorous talk!)

Founded February 12, 1898 in San Francisco, the CGS is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization that seeks to aid, educate and encourage research in family history. The society maintains a library, gathers and preserves vital records and disseminates information through publications, meetings, seminars, workshops, its Web site, blog and online catalog.

For more details about the group and the event, click here.

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