Step back into the Sierra gold fields in the early 1860s. Our guides will be historical novelists Terry Meekins and Richard Hurley from Grass Valley who will present "California and the Civil War" based on their novel the Queen of the Northern Mines, set in Nevada City in the early years of the Civil War.  The novel was inspired by the famous Bullion Bend stage robbery near Placerville in 1863, where Rebel partisans held up a Wells Fargo shipment and left the driver a receipt for $52,000 from the Confederate States of America. Meekins and Hurley will illustrate California’s sudden leap from sleepy colonial outpost to pivotal player in the great national conflict. How close did California

Springtime is right around the corner and everyone is invited to take a break from Sacramento city-life to experience the awakening of nature. The Center for Land-Based Learning (CLBL) is hosting, "Spring Open House on the Farm", Sunday, April 1, 2012, from noon to 4:00pm. Springtime is a wonderful time to experience everything the Farm on Putah Creek - Center for Land-Based Learning's educational farm - has to offer you and your family. There are miles of walking trails along Putah Creek, a bountiful organic market garden, hedgerows in full bloom, and many diverse species of birds and wildlife. A sampling of the many hands-on activities includes hayrides, guided educational walks alon

Social media such as Facebook and Twitter can be a wealth of information for the family historian. Oftentimes the information discovered using these new tools is not available in standard research repositories, such as archives and courthouses, or on websites.  Learn more at the Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society program on Wednesday, March 14, 2012. Guest speaker Lorenzo Cuesta will provide examples of great finds others have made using social media for genealogical research and provide step-by step instructions to get you started with Facebook and Twitter.  Free, visitors welcome. 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., Citrus Heights Community Clubhouse 6921 Sylvan Road, Citrus Heights. Contact Sa

You have your great-grandma's thimble collection. Someone else has their great-grandpa's high chair he used as a baby.  Yet another has the family bible dating back to the early 1800's.  The fancy word for these items is ephemera.  Put simply, they are your family's keepsakes, heirlooms and momentos.  Family historians in particular place a high value on these treasures because of the story they tell about the ancestor who owned, perhaps even made, them.  As moving as it is to possess such history, be sure you have a thorough inventory of your collectibles.  Help teach your descendants where they came from.  On Wednesday, February 8, 2012 bring your family keepsake or collection to Show a

Family history researchers can find valuable information about births, deaths, marriages, moves, business, naturalizations, court cases, and more in newspapers.  Millions of pages of the world's newspapers are now accessible online, but there is no one place to find them all. Learn more about newspapers at the next Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society meeting featuring Janice Sellers who will provide an overview of what newspapers are available and how to find them, and teach some techniques for finding your ancestors in the newspaper.  All are welcome to attend this free event. Date: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 Time: 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Place: Citrus Heights Community Clubhou

On Wednesday, September 14, 2011, Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society will host Linda Johnson, Senior Archivist at the California State Archives. Linda will describe county records held there and answer audience questions. A brief membership meeting will precede the program. We welcome your questions in advance! Email them to rootcellarsgs@gmail.com. Questions will also be taken at the meeting. All Root Cellar membership meetings are free so bring someone with you. 7pm-8:30pm Citrus Heights Community Clubhouse 6921 Sylvan Way Citrus Heights Contact Sandi Benward 916-412-3511 Website: http://www.rootcellar.org Blog: http://rootcellarramblings.blogspot.com October Datebook: Sat

A nifty mobile scanning service will be discussed at the next meeting of Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society.  If you have boxes and boxes full of treasured family history photos and documents that you want to preserve in one fell swoop, this service may be for you.  Everyone is welcome on June 8th at the Citrus Heights Community Clubhouse, 6921 Sylvan Road, Citrus Heights, 7:00pm - 8:30pm.  Blog: http://rootcellarramblings.blogspot.com Website: www.rootcellar.org Email: rootcellarsgs@gmail.com

Are you starting to plan your summer vacation? Despite spring weather trying to take hold in the Sacramento area, it's not too early to think about summer-time travel. For many family history researchers, travel will involve going to their ancestor's place of origin, visiting with newly discovered relatives and delving into courthouses, libraries and other record repositories. What research documents and equipment should you take with you? What should you leave home? What should you wear? Get answers to these questions and more at Glenda Lloyd's presentation "Planning a Research Trip" at the next meeting of Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society. All meetings are free and open to th

This is a great week for book-minded Sacramentans, with plenty of literary events taking place in libraries, movie theaters, community centers and museums.  Read on. Monday, June 29, 7:30 p.m. Poetry reading -- Dorine Jennette and Valerie Fioravanti. Sacramento Poetry Center. Hosted by Frank Graham Dixon. Davis resident Jennette has published poems, essays, and reviews in The Journal, Ninth Letter, Coconut, Court Green, Memorious, Puerto del Sol, and the Georgia Review. She has a poetry collection, Grace by Degrees, coming out in 2010. Valerie Fioravanti writes fiction, essays, and prose poems. Her story collection, The Brooklyn Shuffle, was a finalist for the Tartt First Book Award. Her