Chula Vista Genealogical Society Meeting on Wednesday, 30 March Features Pam Vestal

 Wednesday, 30 March 2022, 12 noon

CVGS General Meeting (in a Zoom Video Conference)

Pam Vestal on "What the Heck Does That Say?

Overcoming the Challenge of Difficult Handwriting”

One of the biggest hurdles to overcome in genealogy is the seemingly illegible handwriting in our ancestors’ records. Whether you struggle to navigate colonial penmanship that doesn’t even look like English or wrestle with contemporary documents that are poorly written, a few good strategies can make all the difference. We’ll look at more than 20 techniques to help you figure out what the chicken scratches on the page say as well as what the style of writing might reveal about our ancestors.

Pam Vestal is a professional genealogist and speaker who turned her focus to her longtime love of genealogy after a 20-year writing career. Her articles have appeared in the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly and the FGS's Forum magazine, and her lectures take her from coast to coast. Pam specializes in conducting genealogical research and then turning that information into illustrated stories that even non-genealogists can enjoy.

Register on the CVGS website for this meeting (https://chulavistagenealogysociety.wildapricot.org/), and look for the email with the Zoom meeting link on about Monday, 28 March.

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This program will be held online using the Zoom video conferencing platform for Meetings. A Zoom meeting invitation will be sent via email to all CVGS members on 28 March. Please note that the meeting starts at 12 noon Pacific Daylight Time (3 p.m. Eastern time, 2 p.m. Central time, 1 p.m. Mountain time). The Zoom Meeting room will be open by 11:45 a.m. PDT for visiting and helping attendees connect.

Attendance is free but only 100 Zoom seats are available, so please register soon.

This invitation is available to non-members by registering at    https://chulavistagenealogysociety.wildapricot.org/event-4732565.  If you register before Tuesday morning, you will receive an email on Tuesday with the link to JOIN. Attendance is limited to 100 attendees. Contact randy.seaver@gmail.com if you have problems or register too late for the email.

NOTE: The Chula Vista Genealogical Society offers an email membership of $10 per year for distant members (outside of San Diego County, California). Besides the monthly General Meeting with a program on last Wednesdays, there is a monthly Research Group meeting on second Wednesdays and a DNA Interest Group meeting on the third Wednesdays, plus a monthly 10-page email newsletter chock full of program announcements, research tips and program reviews.

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Copyright (c) 2022, Randall J. Seaver

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Guest Post - Old German Script Need not Fade

I was asked by Peter at Metascriptum if he could submit a guest post to Genea-Musings, and after reviewing his document, I agreed:

Old German Script Need Not Fade

by Peter at Metascriptum

Old German script is difficult if not impossible for younger generations to read. However, this does not mean that old documents need to fade away into nonexistence or misunderstanding. There are many ways that you can keep history alive.

Of course, one way to decipher these documents is to learn the old script that was used prior to 1941. However, this is a tedious task, made more difficult by the fact that the script is no longer taught in traditional schools. Yet, you can still learn what your past family has left behind. All you need to do is find someone that can transcribe or translate the documents for you.

Family History Regained

One of the biggest reasons people have documents written in old German script is to regain pieces of family history and lore. It is entirely possible that there may be stories in your families past that have been lost because no one can remember them. However, if those stories can come out in past personal letters, diaries, journals, and memoirs, you can regain your family history and a sense of your own self.

There are many different types of documents that may be found in the personal belongings of family members past. Personal letters, journals and diaries, or manuscripts may be found. It is entirely possible that you don’t even know what you have because you cannot read the old German script. Descriptions of property owned, business transactions, or personal encounters may all be discovered by having these documents translated.

Discovering New Insights

Since the old German script was faded out during the Second World War, there are many things you may discover in your family’s old papers. If you had ancestors that fought in the war, you may gain new insight to military life in the Nazi regime. You could also learn about your ancestor’s feelings about the war and about the German government of the time. It could give you a fresh outlook on the war itself and on your family’s part in it. This can give one satisfaction or disappointment, but it is important to the history of your family and the world nonetheless.

If you are so inclined, you could use the research gained from having old documents transcribed to write a book about the time period. Or, you could simply use the information to fill in gaps in your family history. Passing down stories about your family to your children becomes much easier when you have a full understanding of those stories from the perspective of those who actually lived in those times.

Of course, the old German script was used long before the Nazi regime as well, so you could uncover a wealth of family history and information by transcribing documents that you find. You could learn about marriages and births in the family, which could lead you in a totally new direction in your quest for family history and genealogy. All in all, it can be very rewarding and informative to have documents written in old German script transcribed for current and future generations.

We at Metascriptum provide professional support for deciphering your documents written in [old German script | link to http://www.metascriptum.de/german-handwriting] and are happy to help you assist you in your research process.

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My thanks to Peter for his post.  If you have German script documents and want transcriptions or translations done, please contact Peter at his website above.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2012/09/guest-post-old-german-script-need-not.html

SDGS Meeting Saturday, 9 July: Paula Sassi on Handwriting Analysis

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The July meeting of the San Diego Genealogical Society (SDGS) is Saturday, 9 July at 10 a.m. at St. Andrews Lutheran Church (8350 Lake Murray Blvd., near Jackson Drive). 

The program speaker is Paula A. Sassi, a Certified Master Graphologist, who will present:

*  What Was Great Grandpa Really Like?

Genealogy helps locate and track ancestors, but how do you gain insight into their true personalities including how they thought, processed feelings and interacted with others?  Paula will show you how handwriting analysis can be applied to the research and study of ancestors.  By analyzing old documents, records and letters, you can discover what great grandpa or other people in your family were really like.  From colonial times to the present, you can discern personality and behavior from the strokes of writing no matter what period or heritage of the person.

*  Handwriting and History

Handwriting analysis gives a glimpse of the past through antique handwritten books, letters and documents.  By exploring these samples, you will achieve an insight into what handwriting can reveal about bygone eras.  From paupers to presidents, the personality of writers becomes evident from the words they wrote and the letter formations they used.  Examples of old hotel directories with famous signatures, an 1890 Mayor's Docket from the City of Waco, Texas, letters from Civil War and WWII, autograph books, and other unique memorabilia.  Take a trip back in time to experience history in a whole new way and find out information the history books never told you.

In between the two sessions will be the Annual Ice Cream Social with cones or sundaes. 

There will be SDGS announcements before each presentation, and an opportunity drawing.