AKA: How to Write a Book When You Don't Know How

by Karen Burzdak, NVGS Member

Episode Two

Previously, I mentioned beginning with Partrick and Stephen Broadhurst cemeteries. After finishing script on Partrick Cemetery, I delved into Stephen and soon learned that he is listed twice on Find A Grave: the Steven Broadhurst Cemetery (aka Dry Creek) and the East Union Cemetery. This greatly confused me. How do you get buried twice, asked the naïve genealogist?

I contacted the East Union Cemetery in Manteca, San Joaquin County, and spoke to a nice lady who was pretty sure Stephen was buried there. And this is when I realized that many headstones are memorial in nature. This fact should always be considered. A salient example of that is displayed at the Yount Cemetery, where a headstone naming George Yount’s son includes incorrect dates. Son never came to California, though a local author claimed he came “later” (than his father), obviously relying on the headstone engravings.

“Nice Lady” asked me if I knew about a book written by Michael LaSalle entitled “Emigrants on the Overland Trail.” And so, my collection of relevant books began, most of which I purchase from ThriftBooks. The most recent is the “Year of Decision 1846” by DeVoto.

Stopping the research process to read a book is a DELAY. And there have been plenty of them.

DELAY Type One: Collecting information that is not on the internet. D-1 is reading a book, ordering a book, or waiting for the response from a “Contact Us.” It could also include finding the appropriate time to research at the Recorder’s office.

DELAY Type Two: Weather and geography. While there was a time delay (D-1) in locating the right people to access Capell Cemetery, I had to wait for the seasonal creek to dissipate. It was March before I could tour it with a vineyard manager, who was necessary to open the locked gates. I am still waiting to visit Wooden Valley Cemetery.

Many cemeteries, located on private property, require access. Duval Cemetery is found on property now owned by Gallo. Their headquarters put me in touch with the local vineyard manager, who then delegated field workers to find the cemetery, which is barely discernible, covered in wild iris and weeds. I was ghosted by the owner of the property surrounding Partrick Cemetery; there is no easement for visitors.

DELAY Type Three: Stress! There are times when the need for rest (temporarily abandoning the project) takes precedence. This includes vacations.

DELAY Type Four: Rabbit holes. The idea is that the history of cemetery law in California should be included in such a book. Or the history of cemeteries in general would be helpful. How about all the adornments on a headstone? Or, more complicated, finding a simple history of our many land grants and patents.

Mistakes I have made:

We always teach new genealogists to organize their work using forms and citing sources. I have taken photos of books, recorded documents, etc., and have not linked them to the source immediately. This requires a do-over.

I have taken notes on paper smaller than 8 ½ by 11. They get lost, thrown out, or are just plain annoying.

I have also used one page to take notes on more than one person. Where do you file that piece of paper?

Collecting facts and transferring them to a document:

Research is the fun part. But getting all those facts organized and onto paper (Word document) is the hard part. I remember when working on the St. Helena Cemetery’s York and Hudson facts, that typing something just to get it from my head to paper was the first step. Later, it could be used, deleted, rewritten, or moved to a different paragraph.

Editing your own work happens ad nauseam. Next time, I will tell you what happened when Co-pilot came into my life. And Grammarly. And ChatGPT.

by Kate Penney Howard, Contributor

Editor's Note: Kate Penney Howard, Genetic Genealogist & Speaker, presented her topic, "Women's Hidden Histories in Early America" for our March 2026 educational program. She has written this practical step-by-step guide to organizing your family treasures that will help with an often daunting task. Visit her website, katepenneyhoward.com, for more valuable family research information.

Last week, my friend sent me this email: "My grandmother died. My mother is moving out of the house. The basement is threatening to flood, what do I do with these 12 tubs?"

Here's what I told her: "You don't have to sort anything in the first week. Grief and decision fatigue are a poor combination."

First, move the boxes to the driest, coolest room in your house. A spare bedroom closet is usually best. Then, give yourself a break, spend time with family, and grieve.

Second, triage before you organize. When you start, your goal is not to sort by family line or chronology. Your goal is to separate the fragile from the stable, and the original from the copy. Photographs are fragile. Loose newspaper clippings are fragile. Nineteenth century letters are fragile. Modern printed pages are not. Twentieth century photocopies are not. Stack the fragile items separately and handle them as little as possible. My friend who runs a digitizing company calls these things the "fish heads" - the things that gum up the works in a fast loose-leaf scanner.

Third, get the basics right on storage. Archival boxes cost about what a pizza costs, and they'll outlast you. They are buffered, acid-free, and lignin-free. You want acid-free tissue paper between photographs. You want polypropylene or polyethylene sleeves for documents, not PVC, which off-gasses and yellows. Write on the box, not on the item. If you must label an item, use a soft graphite pencil on the reverse margin.

Fourth, digitize the irreplaceable first. A flatbed scanner at 600 dpi for photographs and 400 dpi for documents produces files useful for preservation and for everyday reference. Save the master file as a TIFF if you can manage the file size. Save a working copy as JPEG. Name files consistently: surname-firstname-documenttype-date. Back up to two locations, one of them offsite. A single hard drive in your office is not a backup plan. It's a waiting disaster.

Fifth, label what you know now. Old photographs lose their identifications every generation. The cousin who knew everyone in the 1952 reunion picture dies, and then no one knows anyone. Sit down with the oldest person in the family and a stack of unidentified photographs and a voice recorder. Ask open questions. "Who is this?" "When was this?" The recorder catches the asides and half-memories the written label would miss.

Sixth, decide what to keep in the original and what to keep in the file. Not every document has to stay as a physical artifact. A 1998 printout of a Social Security application is a file, not a treasure. A handwritten recipe card from your grandmother is both a document and an object. It holds her handwriting, her smudges, her pencil corrections. Keep the originals of handwritten materials, photographs, legal documents, and anything with a signature. Scan the rest and let the paper go.

Seventh, share as you go. The family archive is not a vault. It's a library. If you've transcribed your great-grandfather's Civil War letters, post them to a family tree, a blog, FamilySearch Memories, or WikiTree. If you've indexed the Sunday school attendance register your great-grandmother kept for thirty years, offer it to the relevant county historical society. Archives live when they are used. They die when they are hoarded.

Spring is a good time for this work because the light is better. You'll see tears and foxing you missed in winter light. You'll catch pencil notations that are nearly invisible under lamps. Open the curtains. Put on something warm. Make tea. The boxes have waited this long, they'll wait another afternoon while you catch your breath.

AKA: How to Write a Book When You Don't Know How

by Karen Burzdak, NVGS Member

Episode One (The Pilot)

Serendipity: I looked it up to be sure it was serendipity that led me to write a book about Napa County cemeteries. This is the long version of my story.

I decided that being a single mother of three daughters, Napa would be a better place to raise my family than Marin County. But why Napa? I had discovered Napa when we spent a weekend at my (ex) in-laws’ temporary home in the Redwood Village area. My father-in-law, a second-generation San Rafael physician, decided he wanted to work an internship at Napa State Hospital. After their house on Palomino Way was completed, the Redwood Village house was sold to their son, my ex-brother-in-law. I bought a house on a parallel street. I had transferred from a part-time job at Kaiser Hospital in San Rafael to a full-time position at Vallejo Kaiser Hospital. Though they were my ex-in-laws, we all remained family. This all happened about 1972.

Timeout: 

Do you know why your parents chose to move from X City/Country to Y City? I don’t. I don’t know why my grandparents moved from Belfast, Ireland, to Vancouver in 1916. Or why my mother, on her own, decided to move to San Francisco when she was 18. Or why my father’s family moved from Minot, North Dakota, to Edmonton, Alberta. Even more puzzling is why my father’s mother moved to San Francisco, either as a divorcee or widow (depending on the document), with four young children in tow.

I hope you have written these stories down for your children, your grandchildren, all of them who will later want to know.

Fast-forward from 1972 - about 15 years - after I had remarried and taken on a job in the Recorder’s office. One day, I just happened to be standing at the recording counter (I was not a Recorder) when a man came in with his deed to record. The address (found in the upper-left-hand corner) was my father-in-law’s house on Young Avenue. I chatted with the gentleman, probably giving him a rundown of my life. Fast-forward again to membership at a local gym where friends coffee’d in the morning. Gentleman told me he was related to Reason Tucker! If that name means nothing to you, think captain of the first Donner Party relief, which included Reason’s son George. Naturally, I had to work on Gentleman’s genealogy, which was through his mother, since his surname is decidedly Italian. BTW, new Friend’s family also goes back to Napa County's early history through his father, circa 1860. If I remember correctly, his naturalization papers are on file with our court.

After completing Friend’s genealogy and a Pioneer File, he suggested that I write a book about Napa County cemeteries. I ruminated for a few weeks and decided to move forward with his suggestion. Little did I realize that it would take years to complete. I anticipate another year.

Where did you start, you ask?

I can recall about 3 tasks to start. I found only two books about California cemeteries: one about those in Sonoma County, the other from another county. I tried to contact the author of the other county but did not get a response. The cemeteries of Sonoma County were, more or less, simply a list and a location. I found that to be dull. My book would include the cemetery's location, history, pioneers, pictures, and visitor access. I used the internet to find a list of cemeteries in Napa County, but not all lists included the same ones. I eliminated family burial grounds of fewer than six people, which complies with the State’s definition of a cemetery. And, naturally, I purchased a DVD of the cemeteries that had been “walked” by NVGS members in the late 1980s or early 1990s.

Partrick Cemetery was chosen first. Many of the records were written under the name Patrick, by the way. The second cemetery I researched was Stephen Broadhurst’s Cemetery, now known as Dry Creek Cemetery. I encountered the same snag in efforts to walk the grounds. Partrick Cemetery is landlocked. There is no easement from a public road. Using the Assessor’s public records, I learned the name and mailing address of the people who owned the surrounding plot. They ghosted me, concerned about the ReBobs. Using the Secretary of State’s website, (bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business), I found the agent for service of process, the person who could grant me permission to walk the Dry Creek Cemetery. Not living in Napa County, she agreed to contact me when she visited Napa. Once again, there was no follow-up.

To be continued…with facts, advice, great reading, rabbit holes, and contending with Co-pilot.

by Ruth Jenkins-McIntire, NVGS member

The following article was originally published in the Napa Valley Register on January 1, 2018. We have published it once again for the benefit of those who may not have been able to read it originally. Ruth has graciously reviewed, updated, and revised the article to be current. Please enjoy her story of an amazing genealogical discovery.

Years ago, I was given copies of handwritten bible pages listing births, deaths, & marriage dates for my 3rd great grandparents, and their children. This family had lived near Greeneville, TN in the mid 1800’s. These pages were very helpful since they were accepted as documentation by lineage societies, allowing me to prove information about two generations of my family tree. Before 1900, there were not many places where these events were recorded. Some were found in church records, town records, and family bibles. When I received the copies, I wondered where the bible was that the information was taken from. I was told that a genealogist hired by someone in the family had found the copies in records at the Daughters of the American Revolution library in Washington D.C. When using bible records for documentation, most societies want you to include the title page of the bible as well. It was not included with the pages I received.

The title page usually has the copyright date and the date should precede the family dates listed in the bible. Most of the time, events were recorded in bibles as they happened. Another thing to look for would be the use of different inks and sometimes different handwriting. This makes sense because not all dates were entered at the same time nor by the same person.

I now had more reason to want to find that bible! It did seem a far-fetched possibility because so many old family treasures are thrown away by people who see no value in them once elder family members have passed on.

At one point, I met a second cousin, Carolyn, who said she had an old family bible somewhere in her basement, but she did not know which side of the family it was from. She invited me to come to Denver to see it. At that time, I hoped that I would be able to visit her sometime in the future.

Carolyn called me after a couple of years and told me that she had moved to a smaller place. She had friends who had packed up the items in her basement, including a couple of bibles. I figured I really needed to go and see what family treasures she had. As we were planning a trip to the east coast, we decided to stop there on our way home.

We finally had a chance to fly to Denver. I was very excited and hoped that one of the bibles she had was the one I was looking for. As I entered her home, I saw that she had laid out the bibles, lots of photos and some old letters on her table and counter. I could see a picture of my great grandfather. I only had a poor-quality photocopy of it. I picked up an old bible and searched through it to see if I could find pages with handwritten family information. Often these pages are somewhere in the middle of the bible and are easy to miss. Searching the bible carefully I found the handwritten pages I was looking for. The bible’s title page listed 1829 as the copyright date! My 2nd great grandparents were married in 1836 so I believe the bible was probably theirs. Joy and excitement filled my body as I held this family treasure and knew that it had been held lovingly many times by my ancestors. Standing there in Carolyn’s home looking at all of the family treasures, I was overwhelmed!

I asked Carolyn if we could take the items to a place where I could scan the pictures and the bible pages. She told me that I could have anything I wanted! She was glad to find someone interested in having them and I was thrilled to get them! My Genealogist heart was full!

by Karen Mireau, Contributor

Editor's Note: Karen Mireau, a Sonoma County resident, has published over 100 diverse titles – including novels, poetry, picture books and numerous memoirs. The following article shares her genealogical discoveries while publishing two memoirs about the Bay Area Chabot family.

As a publisher of memoirs, I am often led down paths I could never anticipate. One morning in 2024, it was a brief email that sparked a year-long literary adventure – one that also revealed a family mystery begging to be solved.

The email wondered if I was the publisher of a book about the heiress, feminist, and philanthropist Emily Chabot. Indeed, I was. Coincidentally, I was in the midst of preparing a reissue of that book, as well as writing one about her great-granddaughter, Lucy Rau Ferguson.

The author of that email, genealogist Pat Gallagher, was in possession of several cardboard boxes that held photographs, letters and ephemera about the Chabot family that had been rescued from an abandoned storage unit in Oakland. Was there any possibility that I might be interested in them? Does a one-legged duck swim in circles?

It wasn’t long before I was at Pat’s doorstep, collecting what proved to be a treasure trove of family photos and original documents such as wills, appraisals of jewelry and furniture, and stacks of handwritten letters between members of the Chabot family. I was in memoir heaven!

The information in those boxes, dating from the 1800s, was invaluable and it allowed me to complete both books. It also raised the question of what had happened to the Chabot fortune. It was then that another email arrived. This time it was from a man who had purchased Lucy’s home after her death. In their basement were two cardboard boxes that looked like they might hold old photographs and letters, and would I be interested in them? By now you know my answer.

The moral of this story is that it never hurts to take a good long look at what is in your basement, garage, or attic before you throw things away – especially if they appear to be just ordinary cardboard boxes.

       

by Sue Ziemski, Librarian

We continue to find interesting volumes in our stacks! Here are just a few of our latest discoveries:

Various US federal census, state, and local government records:

The US federal census started in 1790 and is taken every 10 years as mandated by the US constitution. It often includes more than just names and households. Each cycle included a specific schedule such as agricultural holdings, mortality information; and some years included information on veteran pensions. These schedules are found at the end of the main census report.

The 1840 federal census included a schedule of Revolutionary War veteran pensions. The NVGS library has a compilation of these schedules for all the states arranged by state, county, and city (Census of Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Services with their Names, Ages, and Places of Residence, Call No. 312 UNIT).

The 1890 federal census included the schedule of veterans and widows collecting pensions for service in the Civil War. Because this information is unique, it is often available as a separate publication. This is especially critical because much of the 1890 census held by the Federal government was destroyed by fire.

State and local governments have reconstructed some of those lost federal records. The NVGS library has many of these volumes:

• Kansas (Annals of Kansas, 1886-1925, Call No. 978.1 H38k)
• Texas (Comanche County, Texas, census records : 1860 and 1870 Federal census, with index to the 1880 Head of Households, and the Special 1890 census of union veterans and widows, Call No. 976.4554 X25h)
• Eastern Kentucky (Confederate Soldiers & Widows Pension List for Southeastern Kentucky, Call No. 976.9 X28w)
• Oakland County, Michigan (Eleventh Census of the U.S. 1890 Schedules Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Call No. 977.438 K29o), to name a few.

In addition, we have a volume of Texas Confederate pension applications, both approved and rejected (Index to Applications for Texas Confederate Pensions, Call No. 976.4 M28k).

Many states conducted a state census in the years between the federal census that often contained information missing in federal censuses. The NVGS library has quite a few copies of these records that can offer valuable genealogical information not found elsewhere.

Plan your visit to the NVGS library to explore these gems!

Find more Treasures in Our Stacks. Search our online catalog.

by Chris McKenzie, Editor

October is recognized as Family History Month — This month was established in October 2001 by the US Senate to encourage families to research and celebrate their heritage.

Why Family History Matters

Learning about your family’s past can deepen your sense of identity and belonging. It can reveal inspiring stories and help keep cultural traditions alive.

Ways to Celebrate

• Start a simple family tree or journal
• Talk to relatives and record their stories
• Organize and label old family photos
• Visit historical sites or family landmarks
• Share favorite family recipes or traditions

NVGS Can Help You Expand Your Knowledge

• Monthly Genealogy-Related Education programs
• Member Round Table discussions
• Local family histories and archives at our library
• Research opportunities galore at the NVGS Library!

Preserve Your Legacy

By sharing and recording family stories, you ensure that future generations can know and appreciate their history. October is the perfect time to start—or continue—this meaningful journey.

by Susan Ingersoll, President

To help Napa County visitors and its residents learn about the region’s unique historical and cultural resources, a local heritage tourism collaborative was founded in 2024. Led by energetic NVGS members Diane Dillon and Shannon Kuleto, the Napa Valley Heritage Network enables member organizations to find new partners and share great ideas.

The network’s founding members include Napa Valley Genealogical Society and the following:

• Napa County Historical Society
• Napa County Landmarks
• Napa Valley State Parks Association
• Napa Valley Museum & The MAC
• Napa Valley Roots
• Robert Louis Stevenson Museum
• Sharpsteen Museum
• St. Helena Historical Society
• Special Partner: Visit Napa Valley

A next step for NVGS will be to frame our library within the context of other Napa Valley heritage destinations. As you can see from the list above, many local opportunities exist for visitors to experience a slice of their ancestors’ lives, whether or not they can trace their roots to this area.

In the 21st century, it’s important for societies like NVGS to develop strong partnerships with organizations whose work and missions complement our own. The Napa Valley Heritage Network is one important tool in this effort. We’ll keep you posted about the network’s activities — and its successes!

updated Jan 2026

FamilySearch houses millions of records that remain unindexed, usually requiring time-consuming manual searches to locate specific ancestors. In early 2024, FamilySearch introduced a Full Text Search feature.

This tool employs handwriting and special character technology to scan and identify every word in typed and handwritten documents rapidly, using Artificial Intelligence (AI). Users should note that the tool's availability and accuracy are not guaranteed, as it remains a work in progress. 

Currently, the searchable record collections include U.S. Land and Probate Records, Mexico Notary Records, Australia Land and Probate Records, New Zealand Land and Probate Records, and U.S. Plantation Records, with continuous addition of other collections. It is important to understand that not all territories, states, counties, or municipalities within these categories are completely represented.

To learn more and access the Full Text Search feature, go to:

Then simply log in to your FamilySearch account and start searching! You may discover previously unknown historical records that will enrich your family history.

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P.S. For help using this feature, check out these FamilySearch articles:

• How do I Use Full Text Search?
• Unlock the Power of Full Text Searching for Historical Records

Or you can find a plethora of video tutorials on YouTube.

by Linda Jesmok and Sue Ziemski

Recently, a Stanford student asked the Napa Public Library for help finding four articles from an 1872 Napa newspaper, which is not available online. The Napa Library has microfilm records of the Napa Weekly Journal, but no way to read the microfilm.

Fortunately, the Napa Library and the Napa Valley Genealogical Society have a strong partnership. Because the NVGS library happens to have a ScanPro machine, the only microfiche/microfilm reader in Napa County, Katie Olding contacted us to help find the elusive articles.

At the time, our resident ScanPro expert was on vacation, but how hard could running a microfilm reader be? ScanPro has an impressive array of bells and whistles, but it shares principles with both old microfilm and new internet technology. Katie and Linda Jesmok (NVGS Secretary) joined forces, captured three of the four articles, and revealed an interesting slice of Napa life. Two hours of fun. And, we hope, a happy Stanford student.

The ScanPro arrived at NVGS thanks to a 2023 grant from Community Projects. NVGS knew that, while microfilm was no longer considered state-of-the-art, many documents have not yet been digitized and are only available in other “old-fashioned” media. In addition, we had a cabinet of microfilm that could contain treasured information, if we could only read it.

Our volunteer Scan-Pro expert has found Napa County “Road Tax Assessments 1890-1932”, which can illuminate not only the development of Napa County roads, but also property ownership and detailed property descriptions during that period.

Other findings include 100 years of Baptist church records from Robertson County, Tennessee; New Orleans Notary Public records for the last half of 1837; and ship passengers arriving at Philadelphia in the year 1860.

We’re still discovering unique treasures in our microfilm cabinets. Plan your visit to see a demonstration of our wonderful machine, and to find out if we hold keys to YOUR family history.