Each Learning From Members Class (formerly known as Intermediate Genealogy Class) will take an in-depth look at a record group focusing on the origins of the records, the information provided by the records, their importance to genealogy research, and ways to access the records both online and off.
- 2nd Tuesday of the month (except December)
- In-person: City of Carlsbad Faraday Administration Building in Room 173B
- Doors open at 9:30 a.m.
- Virtual via Zoom: Registration link below
- Presentation: 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
- All meetings will be hybrid (in-person and virtual)
- Presentation recordings are available to current NSDCGS members
Upcoming Speakers & Events
May 12, 2026 – HYBRID
L’dor v’dor (From Generation to Generation) presented by Carol Davidson Baird
Carol Davidson Baird will present remotely
Presentation will be recorded and will be available indefinitely
Virtual attendees – Register HERE
Many genealogists have asked me how to get their children interested in genealogy so that they will pass on all the years of hard work they have put into the research of their family history. My advice is usually too late for most people because my answer has always been, “involve your children with your research as early in their lives as you can.” My two sons expected to be handed a list of microfilm numbers to find when we visited Salt Lake City’s Family History Library since the time they were in elementary school. I interested them in the family history by showing them family heirlooms, especially the wallet with a bullet hole in it that belonged to my great uncle, Max Wachsmann, when he died near San Quentin, France the last month of WW I. I told them stories about their father’s and mother’s families in the context of world history to make it relevant to them. They saw me interview my grandmother about her childhood and Holocaust experiences in Upper Silesia, Germany. As a Jr. High School project, Geoffrey interviewed Steve’s father about his life during the Depression and Dust Bowl in OK. And when both sons got married, they told their wives about their families because they knew the stories. It was then that I got family trees from both of my daughters-in-law and their parents. To make sure this genealogy bug was handed down to another generation, the first babysitting we did for our first grandchild was to take him for a walk in his stroller at three months old. He lived in Seattle about a mile from the Northern branch of the National Archives, so we took him into the archives, and I placed the baby inside a microfilm reader and took a picture of Flynn there so that someday he will know what he was meant to do with his Omi’s genealogical research – continue it from generation to generation.
Carol Davidson Baird is the only child of German survivors of the Holocaust and has researched her family for 55 years. She is past president of San Diego JGS and North San Diego County Genealogical Society as well as past editor for both society newsletters and has served on the Board of Directors of NSDCGS 1999-2016. She is past co-editor of Stammbaum, past monthly contributor of Jewish genealogical research to Helen Payne Odom Genealogical Newsletter, wrote the IAJGS manual on how to start a JGS in your hometown and has 2 chapters in Avotaynu’s Every Family Has A Story. She writes for journals and newsletters and lectures on German Jewish and Holocaust genealogy throughout California and Germany. Her many travels to Europe with her family included visits to archives, libraries, town halls and concentration camps. Carol has an archive room in her home. Her biggest genealogical achievement is her two sons who provided her with four wonderful grandchildren, the essence of l’dor v’dor (From Generation to Generation). That is the title of Carol’s latest publication in German! There is a very long chapter about both sides her family before, during and after the Holocaust in (‘L’dor va Dor (Von Generation zu Generation) in Die Zeit davor und danach – Waldeck-Frankenberg um 1945 zwishen Zusammenbruch, Umbruch und Aufbruch[The time before and after – Waldeck-Frankenberg around 1945 between collapse, upheaval and new beginnings] published by Archiv und Museum der Kreis- u. Hansestadt Korbach und Archiv der Alten Landeschule, Band 8, Korbach, 2025. Based on a 2024 lecture in Vὅhl for the 25th anniversary of the founding of their foundation to restore the old synagogue and as a memorial to the Jews of their town which Carol helped facilitate in 1999, they published her speech in translation for Germans: Uber Uns Und Für Uns – Kleine Geschichten ganz Gross von unserer Nationalparkgemeinde Vὅhl [About Us and For Us – Small stories with a big impact from our national park community of Vöhl], Schὅneweiss GmbH Frankenberg, 2024. Because her husband, Dr. Stephen Baird would never write his genealogy in book form so instead, in 2024 she produced & studio recorded a new album for his 80th birthday, with some of his genealogy in the ballads he wrote. She is now going to retire!
June 9,2026
Picture This: Photos and Genealogy presented by Jennifer Anklesaria
Past Topics
2026
- January: Genealogy is Religion and Politics presented by Bill Graham
- February: The Remaking of Nova Scotia by the New England Planters presented by Colin Whitney
- March: Quaker Records presented by Jean Tempke
- April: Civil Registration: Birth, Marriage, Death presented by Mary Van Orsdol
2025
- January: Genealogy is History. Linking your Family with History presented by Bill Graham
- February: Fun with Maps presented by Jennifer Anklesaria
- March: Researching English Locations: Did My Family Really Move That Much?
presented by Cynde Durnford-Branecki - April: Four Ways to Access Digital Images on Family Search presented by Mary Van Orsdol
- May: What we learned at the Family Search Library in Salt Lake City presented by Mary Millet, Karen Nelson, Justine Wenman and others
- June: What’s New at the Library presented by Carlsbad Library Staff
- July: California Pioneer Certificate Program presented by Colin Whitney
- August: Infectious diseases influenced who became our ancestors presented by Stephen M. Baird, M.D.
- September: Reading German Script presented by Vicki May
- October: Unknown Parentage: Roadblocks & Successes presented by Britta Brewer
- November: Citing Sources in the Ever-Changing Digital Environment presented by Mary Van Orsdol
2024
- January: Age of Immigration, Part II presented by Tom Cousineau
- February: Think outside the Box presented by Mary Van Orsdol
- March: Family Tree Maker presented by Cynde Durnford-Branecki
- April: Going Paperless presented by Mary Van Orsdol
- May: Exploring Human Traits and DNA presented by Ron Velarde
- June: Showcase Your Heirlooms presented by Jennifer Anklesaria
- July: Exploring the SLC Family Search Center presented by 2024 SLC Trip Attendees
- August: Exploring the Newly Released Features for the Family Search Website presented by Colin Whitney
- September: Get to Know the Genealogy & Carlsbad History Division at the Georgina Cole Library presented by Library Staff Members
- October: Stumble-Bumbling through AI for Genealogists presented by Mary Van Orsdol
- November: Early California History and the California Pioneer Certificate Program presented by Colin Whitney