June / July, 2008 NMGS eNewsletter

June/July 2008 NMGS eNewsletter

Table of Contents


1. President’s Message
2. Upcoming Programs
3. NMGS Blog
4. NMGS Website
5. Albuquerque Special Collections Library
6. NMGS Press



1. President’s Message

Greetings:

Because of my busy schedule, I was unable to send a NMGS eNewsletter at the beginning of June. Therefore, this issue is for two months: June and July.

We had to make a change to the July 2008 program. The program next month will be the “Swiss Family Zimmerly: A Socorro, New Mexico Story”. Yours truly will be the speaker. I hope to see you on July 19th at the Albuquerque Special Collections Library.

Sincerely,

Robert Baca, President NMGS

2. Upcoming Programs

* Saturday July 19, 2008, 10:30 AM, Special Collections Library, 423 Central Ave. NE, Albuquerque, NM (NW corner of Edith and Central.)

“Swiss Family Zimmerly: A Socorro, New Mexico Story” – speaker: Robert J. C. Baca. It is the story of the merging of two cultures. He was a foreign-born American Civil War soldier; she was a daughter of a family as old as New Mexico itself. Together they created a unique Swiss/Hispano family. Their story begins in the early frontier days of Socorro, goes through the advent of statehood, and continues on to the present day. The presenter will include a discussion of the research methods that he used to create this story.

* Saturday August 16, 2008, 10:30 AM, Special Collections Library, 423 Central Ave. NE, Albuquerque, NM (NW corner of Edith and Central.)

Workshop: “Researching at the Courthouse: Deeds, Wills, Titles and Other Records – Part II” – Presenter: William Litchman. Mr. Litchman presents the second part of his workshop that he began in September 2007. It will be an in-depth exploration of legal records that are essential to genealogical research.

* Coming in September: A traveling program to Las Vegas, New Mexico. Find out more about this program next month!

All programs are open and free to the public. For more information about these programs, please visit our website at http://www.nmgs.org/workshop.htm.

3. NMGS Blog

* Are the kids driving you crazy this summer? Why not get them involved in fun genealogical activities? The post “Summertime Blues: Genealogy Activities for Kids” has a listing of some great sites for kids. Check out the link at http://nmgsblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/summertime-blues-genealogy-activities.html

* In June, NMGS went on a field trip to Bernalillo, NM. Find out how it went by visiting the post “Field Trip to the Sandoval County Historical Society” at http://nmgsblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/field-trip-to-sandoval-county.html

Get up to date information about programs and events, genealogical news, and links to interesting websites by subscribing to the New Mexico Genealogical Society Blog at http://nmgsblog.blogspot.com/


4. NMGS Website

Did you know that you can help out Albuquerque Special Collections Library by ordering books on Amazon.com? Go to the front page of the NMGS website at http://www.nmgs.org/ and click on “Amazon.com” link on the left hand side of the page. Order books, electronics and other items from this link and a portion of your purchases will go to NMGS to support the Albuquerque Special Collections Library.


5. Albuquerque Special Collections Library

This is an exhibit you don't want to miss -- A treat for everyone living in or near Albuquerque, or planning a trip here!

Three Hundred Years of Albuquerque History

On exhibit through Sept. 6, 2008

at Special Collections Library.

This special exhibit includes all of the books about Albuquerque published during the Tricentennial, featuring the newly-published genealogy of Alburquerque's founding families, "Aqui Se Comienza" by the New Mexico Genealogical Society. Also on display are documents and illustrations about early Albuquerque, loaned to Special Collections library by the Center for Southwest Research of the University of New Mexico. This is a large compilation of images and documents about life in Albuquerque from its founding in 1706 up to modern times."

For more information, check out the library’s website at http://www.cabq.gov/library/specol.html

6. NMGS Press

Below are some books that relate to Socorro, New Mexico that are sold by NMGS Press:

* San Miguel del Socorro Church (Baptisms), 1821 – 1853. 500 pages, 1998. Book A-9. $50.00.

* Censuses of 1833 and 1845 - Socorro & Surrounding Communities of the Rio Abajo. 172 pages, 1994. Book B-6. $24.00.

You can order these books and many, many more on the NMGS Press webpage at http://www.nmgs.org/books.htm

Summertime Blues: Genealogy Activities for Kids

Ah, it's summertime! The kids are home all day and they're bored. Or you're putting together a family reunion and you realize that - oh my gosh! - there's going to be children at the event! What to do, what to do?

Well, your uncle Bob has been searching the Internet, and has found a few activities that kids can do to have family history fun! (Yes, Virginia, you can have fun with genealogy!)

* NewEnglandAncestors.org has a list of activities that you and your kids can participate in. You can do these activities at home, or while taking a family vacation or field trip. Link.

* Ah, what's more exciting than the U.S. Census Bureau? I know that I love to go through pages and pages of census records finding my ancestor's records. However, children do tend to have less of an interest in research and much shorter attention spans. That's why the census bureau created a Fact Finder Kid's Corner web page. On this site, kids can learn about the U.S. Census, get facts about their state, and have fun with quiz questions. Link.

* Is your child going through a "goth" period? Or does your kid just like to gross you out with random disease factoids? Well, Rootsweb has a website for your kid: "Epidemic's of the Past". On this page, kids can find out how disease ravaged the United States and the World. The page includes links about the history of disease. What fun! Link.

* Have the kids interview their relatives. USGenWeb has a "Tips for Interviewing" web page. Now the kids have all the appropriate questions that the can ask grandma, instead of all those embarrasing ones that they usually ask. Link.

Here are a few more sites for kids:

* USGenWebKidz

* 101+ Fun Family History Activities for Kids

* Family Tree Magazine's Fun for the Whole Family

* Genwriters Genealogy for Children

* Port of Entry, Immigration from the Library of Congress Learning Page

... and, last but not least, Cyndi List - Kid's and Teens

In case you're wondering, the little girl in the photo above is my grandmother Paublita (Zimmerly) Baca. It was taken c. 1912.

Field Trip to the Sandoval County Historical Society

On Saturday, June 21, 2008, NMGS visited the Sandoval County Historical Society in Bernalillo, NM. This was the second time this year that we've traveled to another organization's site to have a meeting.

Our featured speaker was Bertille Baca, long-time resident of Pena Blanca, NM. She began her speech by giving us a history of the Baca family going back to Spain. She then discussed her own genealogy going back to Luis Maria Cabeza de Baca, a settler of the Las Vegas, NM area in the late 1700s. He and his large family of over 20 children later settled in Pena Blanca.

Bertille told stories of her youth in the 1930s and 40s. They were funny and entertaining. She offered audience members the chance to make copies of her handwritten stories. Members of the audience encouraged her to publish her stories so that future generations may enjoy.



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There were about 30 people who attended the meeting in Bernalillo on Saturday. About half were NMGS members, while the others were from SCHS. After Bertille's speech, Martha Liebert talked about other families of Sandoval County. She introduced a number of people in the audience who were descendants of prominent county families and encouraged all of us to talk to them about their families.


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The Sandoval County Historical Society holds their meetings in the DeLavy house in Bernalillo, NM. This museum/library houses hundreds of books, and contains a large photo archive. Many of the rooms are covered with poster boards that show the history of the county and the families that lived there. It is very impressive. One could spend days just looking at the boards themselves.

The DeLavy House is at 151 Edmund Rd., Bernalillo, NM. Follow this link, and click on "How to Find Us" to get detailed directions.

SCHS holds monthly meetings, except usually during the summer. These meetings include lectures, dramatizations and field trips. The next meeting will be on Sunday, July 13, 2008 at 2 PM, at which Benny Goodman's famous 1938 Carnegie Hall concert will be played on CD.

For more information about SCHS, check out their website at this link.