Genealogy tips offered to family historians

TEMECULA – The Temecula Valley Genealogical Society has been providing excellent speakers throughout the pandemic, and the next three scheduled historians are no exception. During the Tuesday, March 13 meeting, the TVGS presenter will be Sara Cochran. She spoke before the membership during 2022; she is a full-time professional genealogist with over 28 years of research experience.

Cochran’s research has taken her into nearly every state in the U.S.A. and Ireland, Italy, Austria, and Britain. She holds a Boston University Genealogical Research Certificate, a bachelor’s degree in library science, and is an alumnus of the ProGen Study Group. The meeting is from 5:30-8:00 p.m., on Zoom and at Ron H. Roberts Temecula Public Library 30600 Pauba Road, Temecula, 92592.

The TVGS April presentation will be given by Melissa Barker, a certified archives manager and public historian currently working at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives. Affectionately known as “The Archive Lady” to the genealogy community, she lectures, teaches, and writes about the genealogy research process, researching in archives and records preservation.

Bonnie Martland of Temecula will speak in May. “In Their Own Words” is the title of her talk. Martland currently serves as a Riverside County Historical Commissioner and is the President of the Board of Directors for the Temecula Valley Museum, serves on the Board of Directors for the Temecula Valley Historical Society, and is a docent at the Lincoln Memorial Shrine and Research Center in Redlands.

Genealogy and family history are no longer the “poor relatives” of history, American history or international history. The nature of genealogy has been transformed as genealogists and family historians have vital records, census reports, land documents, and other primary sources on-line; digitized items and the internet have opened up a world of resources to research, and archives and historical groups are adding data every day.

Also, there are outstanding genealogical podcasts available to millions of internet listeners. The recent pandemic did not keep folks from learning more about researching because excellent speakers joined podcast hosts, covering a myriad of essential topics.

Zoom and other meeting software applications have brought internationally known genealogists into work spaces and living rooms. These presentations are very often equal to or surpass a college professor’s talk in that a topic is well-researched, well-documented, and well-presented through power-point programs with follow-up handouts.

Members of the Temecula Valley communities are invited to learn from these speakers at TVGS monthly meetings – with or without a TVGS membership.

On the immediate horizon, TVGS will continue to assist persons interested in their family history when the club begins its new Library Volunteers Program at the Roberts Public Library in Temecula. Six TVGS members who are local genealogists will be available to meet one-on-one with a local to share resources and give guidance in research.

Watch for more information as to the April commencement date, and how to make an appointment (free of charge).

For more information, visit https://tvgs.net/.

Submitted by the Temecula Valley Genealogical Society.