The California Genealogical Society (CGS) is a genealogical institution, the oldest and largest in California."Genealogical Society Marks 110 years of Researching Family", '' Oakland Tribune'', 24 February 2008. Founded in 1898, its mission is to aid Californians in tracing family history, through its research services, educational resources, online tools, and genealogical databases. The CGS Research Library, one of the largest on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

, contains over 38,000 reference materials from California and around the world.

History

The California Genealogical Society was founded on February 12, 1898, in San Francisco. The society moved from San Francisco to Oakland in 1997. The society's original library was devastated by the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...

.California Genealogical Society - History
/ref> By 1913, the society had rebuilt its collection, growing to one of the largest in the West Coast. Between 1913 and 1962, the society's library and collections were housed at various sites in San Francisco, including the

San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center The San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center (SFWMPAC) is located in San Francisco, California. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. It covers 7.5 acres (3 hectares) in the Civic Center Historic Distr ...

and the San Francisco Public Library. From 1962 to 1982, the society had an agreement with the California Historical Society to house the CGS collections at the archives of the California Historical Society. Since 2007, the society, its research library, and collections have all been housed in the historic Breuner Building in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

Resources

The CGS website feature
The California Names Index
a free, searchable database containing more than 350,000 names from state, county, and local references found in the library. It is an ongoing project and names are added regularly. The society regularly hosts seminars, genealogical workshops, and members meetings on subjects pertaining to genealogy and the history of prominent Californian figures and families.BayNet - San Francisco Bay Area Library and Information Network: California Genealogical Society and Library
/ref> CGS is a member of the Federation of Genealogical Societies.

References

External links

Official website

Official blog

Official account
on Twitter
Official account
on YouTube
California Genealogical Society Library Catalog
{{DEFAULTSORT:California Genealogical Society And Library Genealogical societies in the United States Genealogical libraries in the United States Libraries in California 1898 establishments in California Clubs and societies in California Special collections libraries in the United States