The Genealogy Society of Vallejo-Benicia's Thursday November 7, 2024 featured Zoom Meeting speaker is Nancy Calhoun. Her topic is “Shakin’ Out the Smiths”
Common surnames can lead to the dreaded “brick walls” in genealogy, when researchers try to trace the family roots of the Millers, Joneses, and Garcias. Or the Johnsons, Brown, and Williamses.
Nancy Calhoun will give a presentation about researching common surnames. Nancy will include examples of research from her own Smith family which begins in Oklahoma, goes back to Texas, and finally to Tennessee.
Nancy has been chasing relatives for over 40 years. She began with a semester long class in Kansas while in Teacher Corps and graduate school in Kansas. With a teaching background and 20 years in newspaper work, she often used her research skills.
Ms. Calhoun was the Department Head of Genealogy and Local History at Muskogee Public Library in Muskogee, Oklahoma, for 13 years. She then worked for the Oklahoma Historical Society Research Library. She has attended several NGS and FGS national conferences, in addition to area educational opportunities. She was the recipient of the librarian scholarship to attend IGHR and the Richard S. Lackey Memorial Scholarship for the 2017 session of Genealogical Institute on Federal Records. Her writings have placed in the annual contests held by the International Association of Family History Writers and Editors.
Her memberships include APG, NGS, DAR, United Daughters of the War of 1812, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Oklahoma’s First Families of the Twin Territories, First Families of Wythe County, Virginia, the Mayflower Society, and several county and state genealogical societies. She is a board member of the Oklahoma Genealogical Society and Gen-Fed Alumni.
GSVB Members will automatically receive a Zoom invitation that will be sent out a couple of days before the meeting.
Non-Members: If you are interested in attending, please send an e-mail to
GSVBzoom@gmail.com to request a Zoom invitation.
The Zoom meeting time is at 1:30 pm Pacific Time. The event is FREE. All are welcome.
