Monday Genea-pourri, Week of October 5–11, 2026

Outside activities included phenology, train club meeting, dinner with daughter, and getting covid and flu shots.

Genealogy

Genealogy Volunteer/Work:
This week, I volunteered at the History Center twice. John and I checked all the boxes from Betty’s donation for any photos we missed. On Tuesday, I answered some queries and entered more books into the library database. I volunteered at the FamilySearch Center in Oakland. I haven’t helped anyone in ages, as most who come in the evenings are regulars. I also got the press release out for this month’s BCG webinar.

Genealogy Meetings: 
Jacqueline and I met twice, Monday and Friday, and Friday will be our new day. We made plans for her trip down to SF in November to see Rachel Maddow speak. I attended the Labor SIG and the Renewal CDG group session where Carol shared her renewal journey.

Genealogy Writing/Research:
This week I worked on my great-grandfather, John H. Sullivan’s line. I also did some Hutson work at the Oakland FamilySearch Center.

Blog Posts Published:

Full-text Search at FamilySearch for John H Sullivan in Montana – 12 for ‘26
I wrote about my search in full-text search for John H Sullivan.

SNGF: A Place that Matters to You
Randy Seaver had us write about a place that matters, and instead of an ancestor place, I wrote about a favorite site in San Francisco.

Timeline Reveals a Conflict: Which Daughter Did John H Sullivan Live With?
For 52 Ancestors theme What the Timeline Shows, I created a timeline of John H Sullivan’s life. This post also count as 12 for ’26. These were highlighted on 52 Ancestors and by Friday's Family History Finds.

Courses Attended: 
I attended the both sessions of the last week of the South Carolina Research class to hear Scott Wilds give his presentation, and then later in the week, listened to LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson’s recordings.   

Webinars Viewed:
None this week.

Other:
I went to the gym Monday. We met our daughter in Berkeley for Norman’s birthday dinner. We found a nice Japanese restaurant. On Thursday, Elaine and I attended the DVC Symphonic Band’s concert. One of my favorite pieces was called "Starfall" a piece played entirely by the percussion section. I found the composer playing it online. Friday, I got both the covid and flu shots and spent the weekend wiped out.

I am reading: 

• The Liberation Line: The untold story of how American Engineering and ingenuity won World War II by Christian Wolmar
• Das große Giggler Geheimnis by Roddy Doyle

Photos for this week. 
The first photo shows milkweek seeds from the Meadow. The second photo shows the cook at the Japanese restaurant in Berkeley.

Genealogists are great at documenting our ancestors’ lives, but not so great at documenting our own. I’ll write about what I’ve been doing the past week. This idea came from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musing, who started this meme.

Copyright © 2011-2026 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.