Photo courtesy of Benicia Historical Museum

Pictured: Spenger's, the famous fish restaurant of Berkeley, opened another restaurant in San Rafael on the ferryboat "Encinal". The ferryboat was later moved to Benicia where Spenger's opened again in April of 1943, 2 miles west of town on the Benicia-Vallejo Highway. The "Encinal" was built in San Francisco in 1887 and was designed to carry narrow gauge freight trains between San Francisco and Alameda. A short video clip of the Encinal in its Spenger's Grotto incarnation can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1jsWsQOkCs

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Annie Pennycook

Annie Elizabeth Pennycook (1866-1946), a native of Tuolumne County, came to Vallejo as a child. She was a Vallejo school teacher for 47 years and then a principal for five more years. She retired in 1939. A new elementary was named in her honor in 1957. Photo courtesy of Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum.

Our History

THE GENEALOGY SOCIETY OF VALLEJO-BENICIA Genealogy Society of Vallejo was infomally started in March 1993 and officially established in October 1997. In 2001 the name was changed to Genealogy Society of Vallejo-Benicia. GSVB is a nonprofit California Association and our monthly newsletter Taproot is sent to our members and exchanged with other societies. We maintain contact and exchange schedules with other societies via e-mail as well.
If your research takes you to Vallejo, Benicia, or anywhere nearby, we can help. Our well-stocked reference library is located in the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum, Second Floor, Room 9 (see: "Our Library" for days and hours). The library is open to both members and the public. Also available is the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum's reference library.