Non-SGES Events

August 19-27, 2022 

For 51 years the Southern California Genealogical Society has held a Genealogy Jamboree, and for the last 9 years a Genetic Genealogy Conference, with nationally known speakers covering the latest developments in genealogy. From across our nation, from neighbors Canada and Mexico and from the Old World, Jamboree speakers helped us discover our ancestors' lives and stories. Besides learning a lot from the many, many presentations, programs and exhibits, we all had fun.  

If you are interested in helping us, or have questions, please let me know. I can provide digital materials for your use.  

Margaret Rutledge SCGS Jamboree Marketing Volunteer 

 by New England Historic Genealogical Society

Wednesdays, August 3, 10, 17, and 24; 6:00–7:30 p.m. (ET)

Tracing Ancestors on the Move in America

Cost: $115 

Presented by Hallie Borstel, Lindsay Fulton, Ann Lawthers, and Melanie McComb

Our ancestors moved near and far seeking economic opportunities, religious freedoms, and closeness to family. These mobile ancestors, however, are notoriously difficult to research. We might have an ancestor in our sights and then—poof!—they’re gone; or we may have an ancestor for whom we have no idea of where they came from. This four-session online seminar will give you the context and motivations behind migrations across America from the 17th to 20th centuries, offer strategies for discovering ancestral origins and future movements, discuss go-to records, and provide tools to help track your family on the move.

This course includes four 90-minute classes; exclusive access to handouts and recordings of each presentation; and in-depth q & a sessions with the instructors.

 by New England Historic Genealogical Society

Friday, August 19, 4:00–5:15 p.m. (ET)

Around the World in a Handful of Objects:  Mining the Depth of Human Experiences in the Collections of the Worcester Art Museum

Free Webinar

Birth and death, justice and injustice, wounding and healing, blindness and clarity—these are just a few of the grand themes that speak to the depth, richness, pain, and passion of the human experience and our imaginations. Join Matthias Waschek, Jean and Myles McDonough Director of the Worcester Art Museum to see how just a few works from the museum's wonderful, 5,000-year collection tell these stories—and more! 

 by New England Historic Genealogical Society

Monday, August 22, 6:00–8:00 p.m. (ET)

Camper English with Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal of Beer, Wine, Spirits and Cocktails

 Cost: $32

Includes signed copy of the book sent Priority Mail within the United States 

In this delightful work of cultural and medical history, Camper English, a cocktails and spirits expert, reveals how and why the contents of our medicine and liquor cabinets were, until surprisingly recently, one and the same. Don’t miss this summertime special event on this history of merrymaking!

Alcohol and medicine have an inextricably intertwined in history, with innovations in each altering the path of the other. The story stretches back to ancient times, when beer and wine were used to provide nutrition and hydration and employed as solvents for healing botanicals. Over time, alchemists distilled elixirs designed to cure all diseases, traveling physicians concocted dubious intoxicating nostrums, and the drinks we’re familiar with today began to take form. Be the toast of your next gathering as you share new insight on how today's tipples—modern cocktails like the Old-Fashioned, Gimlet, and Gin and Tonic —were the tonics of old.  Don’t miss Camper English’s ingenious explanations of our beer-drinking Founding Fathers, monastic liqueurs of the Middle Ages, and the 1950s cocktail craze.

 by New England Historic Genealogical Society

Thursday, August 25, 3:00–4:00 p.m. (ET)

Reading the Gravestones of Early New England

Free Webinar

 Virtually all genealogists have an appreciation for old graveyards: inscriptions often reveal birth and death dates, family relationships, and other details. Yet the epitaphs inscribed on early New England gravestones—poetic messages expressing contemporary attitudes towards life, death, and eternity—are too often dismissed as sentimental doggerel. Every single epitaph was chosen for a reason of utmost importance—to memorialize the death of a loved one. Knowing the literary context can increase our understanding of these historic epitaphs and even shed light on the lives of the deceased and their family members. Using several examples of early New England gravestones, epitaph expert John Hanson will discuss how to understand the source of inspiration and meaning behind these passages, and what they really say about our ancestors. 

 by New England Historic Genealogical Society

Tuesday, August 30, 6:00–7:00 p.m. (ET)

Dan Bouk with Democracy's Data: The Hidden Stories in the U. S. Census and How to Read Them

Free Webinar

 The census isn’t just a data-collection process, it’s a ritual steeped in America’s history -- at once a portrait and a tool of our democracy. In this timely and surprising illustrated talk, we’ll learn the human stories behind the neat grids of numbers and gain insights helpful to our own research.