Napa Valley Genealogical Society
and Library

NVGS helps members and the public learn about ancestral heritage and homeland history. Beginner instructional classes and seminars are held throughout the year. Individual assistance is always available.

A bi-monthly newsletter, Wine Press, informs our members about society activities, meetings, seminars, new library acquisitions, and research tips.

The Napa Valley Genealogical Society promotes the study and preservation of family history through our library and educational outreach. Using relevant technologies and research methods, we strive to create a vibrant learning community in which researchers of all levels and backgrounds share discoveries and celebrate the human story.

The Napa Valley Genealogical & Biographical Society was founded as an offshoot of the Bicentennial Committee of the Napa County Historical Society. Meetings began with great enthusiasm in July of 1974 with membership numbers growing quickly from the original core to 134 charter members.

After six months of preliminary tasks including formation of the Society, adoption of by-laws, and filing for incorporation in the State of California, founding member Marian McGuire hosted an organizational meeting at her home in January of 1975. By the end of the meeting, the first slate of officers had been elected and board members appointed.

In March of 1975, the group announced the opening of its first library, a rented room on the second floor of the Native Sons Hall in downtown Napa. The new library boasted how-to books, DAR magazines and yearbooks, National Genealogical Society quarterlies, some vital record compilations, and several volumes donated from Marian McGuire’s personal collections. The six-foot shelf held up by cinder blocks was rapidly filling.

The Society became an official non-profit organization with the adoption of Articles of Incorporation in June of 1975. Members met four times per year, one meeting being an all-day workshop. By popular demand, that number kept expanding until the group met monthly as it does today.

By 1978 the Society had developed a multi-day seminar called Roots and Shoots open to genealogists from around the Bay Area. The recognition gained from these events led the National Genealogical Society to chose us as the host society for their 1984 Conference in the States in San Francisco. Over 1,000 people from around the country attended this event.

Meanwhile, the library began outgrowing its space at the Native Sons Hall. After much discussion and trepidation, the group decided by 1986 to move to larger rented quarters on Solano Avenue. Monthly rent increased to what yearly rent had once been, necessitating an increase in dues and the initiation of serious fundraising efforts — rummage sales, wine raffles, turkey dinners, fashion shows, and other creative events. Longstanding members heeded the call, bolstered by the energy of new volunteers who increased the membership rolls to more than 200.

In addition to fundraising, volunteers contributed hundreds of hours to genealogical projects — indexing the huge file of Hartford Times and Boston Transcript newspaper columns, creating compilations of cemetery records and obituaries, copying vital records, and publishing Quarterly reviews.

As often happens, though, success brought new challenges. Support from members and friends in the community had multiplied the library’s holdings so rapidly that we soon faced a hard decision — rent larger quarters or get rid of books. When rents turned out to be prohibitive, we began the search for a home of our own.

Many buildings were studied and rejected, but the church at 1701 Menlo Avenue was found to be almost perfect. Our offer of $166,000, replete with contingencies, was accepted. After a year of feverish work, contingencies were removed and promissory notes signed on December 20, 1989. Continued fundraising and building preparation led to the library’s grand opening on July 20, 1991. Less than two years later, on May 22, 1993, the Society invited the community to a “Mortgage Burning” ceremony to celebrate full payment of the balance on our library loan. With pride and gratitude, the ceremony’s written program proclaimed: “It is ours free and clear. Thank you all!”

The genealogy library and its collections will always be the core legacy of our early volunteers. This legacy continues to be enhanced by new acquisitions and capabilities such as becoming a FamilySearch Affiliate in 2012, which made our library part of an important genealogical resource network.

As we know from history, challenges and opportunities never end. Resting on our laurels is not an option. By offering our first online education program in February 2021, launching a redesigned website the following month, and being open to innovation in changing times, we stay determined to continue the mission we’ve inherited in new and creative ways.

In June 2024, NVGS celebrated its 50th anniversary at our library. Read all about it and see photos!

Adapted from Sandra K. Ogle, Napa Valley Genealogical & Biographical Society History, 1993.