If you’re looking for relatives (or possible relatives) in the newly-released 1940 Federal Census, you may be interested in the following free online city directories and telephone directories from various California cities from that era:

• Long Beach city directory from 1940
• Sacramento (including North Sacramento, West Sacramento & Broderick) city directory from 1940
• San Francisco city directory from 1940
• San Pedro and Wilmington (including Avalon, Lomita, and Torrance) phone directory from 1938
• Torrance city and phone directory from 1940

And finally, of particular interest to a group located in Los Angeles like the JGSLA, here’s the 1939 Los Angeles city directory, which has been put online on the Los Angeles Public Library website.  Use the arrow keys at the top to navigate back and forth amongst the pages, or use the pulldown menu to select a particular page number (personal names start on page 93).  The library doesn’t have a copy of the 1940 directory available online, but they do have several other years, including 1942.

And here’s the Los Angeles Extended Area telephone directory from 1939 – but note that not every family had a telephone in 1939, so you might be better off checking the Los Angeles city directory instead.

Happy searching!

Check out the following program offered by our friends at Southern California Genealogical Society and FamilyTreeDNA:

DNA Interest Group Meeting

Saturday, March 31, 2012

10:00a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Southern California Genealogical Society Library

417 Irving Drive, Burbank, California

Sat, March 31, 2012 – Genetics, Genealogy, and Ethics

Presenter: David Dowell, Ph.D,Genealogist and Research Librarian

• 10:00-10:30             Answeringquestions about DNA testing.
• 10:30-12:00             Bioethicistsconcerns versus the public’s right to know.
• 12:00-1:00               Lunch
• 1:00-2:00                 Individualized help.

$5.00 donation is suggested for attendance. Individualizedhelp will be available after the formal presentation for those who want to order DNA tests or who have received DNA results and need help managing theirpersonal page or interpreting their results. A drawing will be held for a $30 discount certificate for ordering a DNA test. Brown bag or join us for pizza for an additional $5.00.

For additional information contact Kathy Johnston at kjohns7900@aol.com or phone (310) 213-1207.

Following the regular meeting from 2:00-3:00 p.m., those whoare Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) Project Administrators or Project Co-administratorsare invited to remain to discuss how they are managing group projects.  The Roundtable format allows people to share expertise and create solutions to issues.

Future Meetings:

Sat., June 30, 2012 – AliceFairhurst, Understanding Deep Clade Testing

Sat., Sept. 29, 2012 – Douglas Neslund, An Adoptee’s Quest

JGSLA has just received the following news of interest to our members:

We are excited to announce the launch of the JDC Archives website. This site, http://archives.jdc.org , is the culmination of a 5-year digitization effort of our text and photo collections, and brings to life the history of JDC, the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian assistance organization.

Please see this New York Times article about the launch of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Archives website. It is accompanied by a slideshow with eight archival images and captions. Please see this press release for more information.

The vast digital collection contains searchable text collections from 1914-1932, a Names Index with over 500,000 names, a detailed interactive timeline, historically-themed exhibitions, over 45,000 photographs, findings aids, educational resources, relevant archives news and more.

Highlights include:

• A Family Researcher Section
• A Names Database of clients aided by JDC, searchable by Name, Location and Ship
• An inventory of the lists currently searchable in the Names Database, linking the user to the complete documents
• Video Tutorials to search text and photo collections

We are pleased to announce a new feature for the Names Database. It is now possible to search by location and ship in addition to name. To conduct an Advanced Search of the Names Database, scroll to “Names Search” under the text “Search Profile.” Here you can search by “All fields” (any field that has been indexed), “Ship Name,” “Location” and “Name.” The Location field searches any geographic field that has been indexed, such as City, Town, Destination and Country.

We would appreciate your help in further disseminating this resource to fellow genealogists.

Do we have a piece of your family’s history? Visit us today and find out!

All the best,

Linda G. Levi
Assistant Executive Vice President
Director of Global Archives American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
(212) 885 – 0806 (tel)
(212) 370 – 5467 (fax)
Linda.Levi@jdcny.org

P.S. Want to stay in touch?

• Sign up to hear about exciting JDC Archives news in the future
• Follow us on Facebook for regularly updated historical tidbits, photos, and more

The following letter is of utmost  importance for anyone who wants to access archives in New York City.  Please read this and then go to http://www.nycarchivists.org/doris_petition   and digitally “sign” the petition.
Roni Seibel Liebowitz President JGS, Inc. (NY)
At the behest of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the New York City Council has proposed legislation that would eliminate the autonomy of New York City’s Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS), the agency that is responsible for the records and archival documents produced by past and present City governments. The proposed legislation (Int. 486-2011) would place the currently independent agency within the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS).
If passed, this legislation would significantly downgrade the authority of DORIS within City government and potentially put at risk its ability to preserve, protect and make accessible the intellectual legacy of one of the world’s greatest cities. A full position statement on the proposed legislation is available on the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York’s website at http://www.nycarchivists.org.
Please add your name to the sign-on letter to oppose the proposed legislation, and advocate for the preservation of DORIS as an autonomous records agency, with the financial support and professional respect it deserves. The sign-on letter is located at http://www.nycarchivists.org/doris_petition. Every signature matters. Help New York City, as an international cultural and financial leader, and the place with the greatest variety and highest density of archives in the world, set the standard for how a democratic government preserves and makes accessible its documentary heritage.
Sincerely, The Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York, Inc.