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Special Interest Groups (SIG)
Researching genealogy is a hobby that has changed significantly with the
advent of computer technology. In 1996, MCGS recognized its members needed a
way to learn about this new-age tool and the first Society Interest Group was
born (read its history below). This one change was responsible
for a large shift in what is available to researchers interested in documenting
family history as well as how researchers sort, store and publish data.
As time passed and the Society grew, we found our needs changed along the way.
By January of 2001, even those professional genealogists most "reluctant-to-use"
computers were admitting at a national level that no longer could genealogical
research be accomplished effectively without the use of a computer. Rather
than viewing the computer as a topic unto itself, MCGS now views the computer
as "just one more tool" we use for a variety of genealogical research
purposes.
In January of 2001, MCGS decided to expand the concept of Interest Groups
to include several more groups that would all likely use computers as one of
many tools. Additional groups will serve to meet the more specific
needs of those who participate and will come and go as the needs change. The format is very casual and small. The groups
will be as good as the interest involved and this is a trial run for Marin County
Genealogical Society! If you are interested in forming another group, let
us know! NOTE" These groups will meet as often as participants deem
helpful; monthly or bi-monthly. Contact the Convener for meeting time and place.
Watch the MCGS Mailing List for additional SIG details.
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Current Special Interest Group(s) (SIGS) are:
 Entering the new
millennium, MCGS has formed a liaison with
Golden Gate Computer Society to help
our members gain the basic computer skills they will need to use a computer effectively in
researching genealogy. John King of
GGCS offers free INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING
classes the fourth Monday of every month. Classes can be begun at any time.
Click on the icon for details.
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HISTORY - 0ur first Interest Group
In January 1996, under the presidency of Pat Jester Friesen, we began the
"Computer Users Group." The inaugural meeting was held in Pat's new home.
Founding Members include, Pat, Lauren M. Boyd, Susan Stone Trumbull, and Scott
Trimble. About 30 people attended, including John Bowman, John Deadman, Clara
Scarborough, Al and Jo Larin, and Don and Ann Gregory. Meetings, it was decided,
would be free of cost and open to the general public, with the expectation that
attendees would eventually join the Society.
We found that although the interest in using computers to do genealogy was
growing by leaps and bounds, not everyone that attended our meetings actually
owned a computer. Some, such as past president, Jim Robinson, attended several
meetings prior to purchasing a computer in order to figure out what they needed.
We have since changed the name of the group to the Marin
County Genealogical Society Computer Interest Group (CIG).
We covered many topics of interest to our members. The meeting began as a "round
robin". The person who hosted the meeting in their home chose the topic and
facilitated the meeting, The meetings began as peer to peer discussions, wherein
members of the group brought their questions and other members tried to help
resolve computer issues. If interest was not strong or the topic was finished in
the first 15 minutes, we moved on to other subjects. We most always digressed to
a general genealogical discussion and we had more opportunity to get to know
each other on a more personal level than possible at the general lecture
meetings.
We shared ideas, interests, how we used the computers to further our genealogy
and helped to build each other's computer knowledge. We explored what
genealogical software was out there and how it was evolving. We We covered the
basics, from choosing a computer, how to use DOS (yes, it was *that* long ago!),
why move up to Windows 3.1, then Windows 95 and 98 to exploring and explaining
new technologies to each other and how they could enhance our genealogical
experience.
In our first year Dan Phillips, son-in-law of the Larins intrigued everyone in
attendance by building a computer then and there, getting it working and showing
people how to de-frag it, etc. Over time, the Gregorys opened our eyes with
their demonstration of Laptop computers and how our genealogy could become
portable. Emelie Wilson shared her online experience with us, introducing AOL
and the Internet. Lauren Boyd shared how to get free email with Juno and open
our world to genealogical list subscriptions and newsletters, John Bowman
reminded us that "Jesus saves, we should too!" with regard to the importance of
backing up our data. Clara Scarborough demonstrated how she uses spreadsheets to
prepare for and stay organized with trips to the Library.
Many other topics of interest, that helped our members get stared in the "new"
world of Computer Genealogy were introduced, explored and discussed. Our
CIG planned and put on a program for our General Meeting
allowing members and the public to do look ups on CD Rom Research disks, owned
by the members and from the Society's newly established CD Rom Research Library.
The CIG members became responsible for the computer
portion of the Society's annual workshop. Scott Trimble lectured on PAF, Jo
Larin on scanners, Lauren on CD use and others on other topics as years passed.
We took another step forward in the world of Computer Genealogy in 1998. Lauren
began the MarinGenSoc list in order that the group could more easily and readily
communicate with each other. The list initially had 66 members -- which shows
the size of the CIG at that time. Until the list was
established, Lauren and JoAnn had shared responsibility for maintaining group
send lists in their private email programs to facilitate communication between
group members. The group had grown to the extent that this became unwieldy and
difficult to manage. The list at Rootsweb was much easier to administer, and
mail is proactively managed by members, rather than requiring intervention by an
individual every time there is an addition, deletion or correction of addresses.
The list is used by the General Membership of the Marin County Genealogical
Society and any non-members interested in the activity of and communication with
the Society.
During Lauren Boyd's presidency (1998 - 2000) we included a new Computer
Interest Group Committee. She also facilitated the securing of a regular meeting
space at Villa Marin, San Rafael, establishing a connection between our two
communities. Jo Ann Rowley-Minhoto served as our first Committee Chair. The
current chair of the committee is founding member, John Deadman. Gene Pennington
serves as Facilitator for most meetings and has secured an interactive.
technologically friendly, meeting location at the
Marin Community Foundation,
Hamilton Field, Novato.
The group continues to grow and evolve. Meetings have grown from personal
interactive sessions in people's homes to more formal presentations at two
public locations. Member's input and ideas continue to shape the evolution of
this group. Even in the more formal format that is the current evolution, the
content for each meeting is still member driven. In 2004 Gene Pennington has
moved the process forward in technology by adding an interactive form to the
website in order for interested parties to type their suggestions and comments
for review and consideration by the committee and for presentation to the group.
Also this year, Lauren introduced the group to a method that could be used to
facilitate meetings online.
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Jana Black, Lauren Boyd and JoAnn Rowley-Minhoto ventured out to the public with their
computerized presentation "Ancestral Journeys". It had been welcomed at
the Marin County Fair, our own general meeting, and the Belvedere - Tiburon Library.
The CIG meetings are held on the third Saturday of every other month and on the
3rd Thursday of the other months. There are minor exceptions to this when holidays fall on this weekend.
Click here for a schedule.
Although we had been holding these meetings in various member's homes, we have
grown to such a number that we were looking to find a public site that would
accommodate the larger group. We meet at the Villa
Marin for our Saturday meetings and at
Marin Community Foundation, Hamilton
Field, for our Thursday meetings. Click
here for a schedule, directions and topic list.
Our meetings have been rather informal and have given us the opportunity to share our
knowledge and our questions. Even better, it has brought our group closer together and
allowed us to better get to know each other. Interestingly, when looking at each other's
family tree programs, we have discovered that several of us are related!
We always have a topic for discussion and usually digress to other subjects as the
discussion evolves. We have had guest speakers lecture on specific topics such as
"How to Write Your Family History Book Using Family Tree Maker", "The YK2
Problem", "How to Build a Computer", "Using GenWeb/GenConnect to put
your family records online" and others. We discuss computers, programs, hardware,
problems with all the aforementioned, as well as solutions, articles of interest, web
sites of interest and of course, GENEALOGY in general, as it is our focus for computer use! You need not be a member of our
Genealogical Society to participate in our Computer Interest Group Meetings.
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TMG Users Group
The MCGS Board of Directors approved the creation of our TMG Users Group (The
Master Genealogist) in May 2005. The TMG Users Group is part of our Computer Interest Group
(CIG). You can participate in either or both groups. Many of
our members are previous UFT users who have transitioned to TMG.
Our purpose is to provide information and user help for
effective utilization of TMG through education, product knowledge and the
sharing of ideas and experiences to enhance our genealogy research.
Our first meeting was on 6/22/05.
Click here for a TMG Users Group schedule.
Last Modified:
10/23/2005
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Marin
County Genealogical Society 
