Wednesday, May 13, 2015

CGSSD Meeting on Saturday, 16 May Features Kitty Cooper

The Computer Genealogy Society of San Diego (CGSSD) meets on the 3rd Saturday of each month  (except December) from 9:00 am to noon on the campus of UCSD, University of California, San Diego.  See our web page www.cgssd.org  for directions.  

The next meeting will be held on 16 May 2015.  Here are the details:

9:00:   User groups: RootsMagic, Mac

10:00: Break, refreshments

10:20: Announcements followed by program:

"The Advantages of Working with a One World Tree"
presented by
Kitty Munson Cooper

The concept of a one world tree is to have a database where genealogists who are researching the same ancestors can collaborate. The idea is to have just one copy of every person on the tree, rather than each of you having your own separate family trees. The goal is to work together to decipher records and solve genealogical problems. The fantasy is to someday have an all embracing tree for everyone who lived in recorded history.

What are the advantages of doing this? What are the disadvantages? How well does this collaboration work? Do you keep a private copy of your tree? Do you hold back any of your data or photographs?

Which of the three major websites (listed here alphabetically) is best for this: FamilySearch, Geni or WikiTree? They all have their positive points as well as their negatives so the decision becomes one of personal preference. Personally I use all three, a lot!

Kitty Munson Cooper is well-known blogger on genetics and genealogy. She started her blog - blog.kittycooper.com - in 2012 to keep track of her family's DNA tests as well as her genealogical research. Written for her relatives with simple step by step pictorial explanations, the blog soon became extremely popular. It currently receives about 800 unique visitors a day.

Her interest in family history and genealogy started at her beloved Aunt Marion's funeral in 1997 when she realized that many stories had died with her aunt. She resolved not to let any more of them be forgotten and started collecting stories, pictures, and family data from that day forward. Meeting a second cousin there who was an accomplished genealogist may have also given her a push.

Kitty started programming computers in 1966 while still in high school and currently has her own small web development business. In her spare time she has created a number of tools for the genetic genealogy community for displaying pictures of whom their DNA is from, showing overlapping segments, and grouping the DNA overlaps.
   
She has a cum laude degree from Harvard University and is also a World Champion Bridge player. Born and raised in New York City, she now lives in Lakeside, California (East San Diego County) with her husband Steve and their dog Navajo. They have over an acre and more than 20 fruit trees. Gardening is another hobby of hers.

We meet at the Robinson Auditorium complex on the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) campus in La Jolla. From North Torrey Pines Road, turn at Pangea Drive into UCSD. Free parking is available in the parking garage on the left; use any space other than those specifically reserved for UCSD vehicles. Signs will mark directions to our meeting room. Please refer to our website www.cgssd.org; or the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies website for directions.




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