Raking the Ashes--Genealogical Strategies for pre-1906 San Francisco Research [Paperback]

Nancy S. Peterson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006

Raking the Ashes, a research book of interest to anyone doing California and San Francisco genealogy, has just been released and is available from the California Genealogical Society.

Author Nancy Simons Peterson painstakingly pursued the trail of clues in available records to search for great-great grandpa and subsequently conducted a comprehensive survey of San Francisco's extant sources and records lost.

Raking the Ashes
§ Specifies which records were lost in 1906, which survived, and where to find them.
§ Suggests strategies for dealing with record losses wherever they occur.
§ Features clear evaluations of sources.
§ Shows how to overcome genealogical stumbling blocks and avoid common pitfalls.
§ Costs less than the price of an hour of professional research assistance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A book of strategies... Well researched...clearly written...packed with meaningful data...and rich illustrations" -- Curt Witcher, Historical Genealogy Department Manager, Allen County Public Library

"Help has arrived" ...a better gold mine for genealogists than the one discovered in 1849 at Sutter’s Mill." -- ― Marsha Hoffman Rising, CG, FASG, author The Family Tree Problem Solver: Proven Methods for Scaling the Inevitable Brick Wall

"the best book available today on searching for elusive ancestors in San Francisco before 1906" -- Ralph J. Crandall, Executive Director Emeritus, New England Historic Genealogical Society

About the Author

Nancy Simons Peterson, CG

A fifth-generation Californian, Nancy Simons Peterson is a nationally certified genealogist and author of numerous articles appearing in prominent genealogical periodicals. Winner of the 1998 National Genealogical Society Family History Writing Contest and the Society of Genealogists Scholar Award in 2003, she holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford University. The Petersons presently reside in Walnut Creek California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 222 pages
• Publisher: California Genealogical Society (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967240980
• ISBN-13: 978-0967240985
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,292,050 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding tool for dealing with the lost record aftershocks of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake & fire, July 21, 2006

By 

Mark Howells (Puyallup, Washington State, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Raking the Ashes--Genealogical Strategies for pre-1906 San Francisco Research (Paperback)

Perhaps nothing is more frustrating for a family history researcher than contending with the destruction of records. Historic disasters were devastating to our ancestors & were not kind to the records we depend on to trace our families either. With this year's centennial anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake & fire, the California Genealogical Society has published Nancy Peterson's timely "Raking the Ashes: Genealogical Strategies for Pre-1906 San Francisco Research".

"Raking the Ashes" is an exceptional how-to guide for overcoming the record losses from the great San Francisco earthquake & fire. The 222-page volume is a treasure trove of concise information with all of the "good stuff" easily accessible for the researcher. The accompanying 44 maps, photos & illustrations provide excellent visual examples of the records discussed in the adjacent text. The book's expertly written advice provides the following for San Francisco records with genealogical value:

* definitions of records (why they were made);
* survival of the records during & after the quake and fire of 1906;
* informational value of the records (what they contain);
* exactly how & where to locate these records (available locally, via the Family History Library, the Internet, etc. - all with exact reference numbers or web addresses).

An extremely valuable section of the book is the "Research Techniques, Tips & Cautions" where the author shares her vast experience of research successes and potential problems to help the reader jump-start their own research.

For those who do not have research in San Francisco, "Raking the Ashes" provides an ideal outline for how to go about dealing with records destruction in any locality. If you have a "burnt county" or similar losses of historic records in your research, this book can act as a guide to other records which may have survived. Use the book's inventory of San Francisco-specific records as a checklist for finding the surviving records in the locality you are researching.

The author, Nancy Peterson, is an outstanding writer & expert genealogist. She has won the prestigious National Genealogical Society's Family History Writing Contest. She has had her numerous scholarly & general interest articles published in a variety of prominent genealogy periodicals. "Raking the Ashes" is an extremely useful research guide and an outstanding example of good genealogical writing.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Resurrecting pre-1906 San Francisco, July 23, 2006

By 

James Smith "www.HistorySmith.com" (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Raking the Ashes--Genealogical Strategies for pre-1906 San Francisco Research (Paperback)

Most of the difficulties in finding pre-1906 San Francisco genealogical research are conveniently laid on the great earthquake and fire. Any information prior to that event seems blocked by burned municipal records, lost vital records and relocated cemeteries. Raking the Ashes - Genealogical Strategies for Pre-1906 San Francisco Research presents the truth regarding what remains and offers workaround strategies for what's missing. It puts all the strategies for researching San Francisco genealogy concisely in one easy to follow reference.

I've read this book twice--once last April when I was graciously allowed to read a draft and now reading the final product. Raking the Ashes is the ultimate resource for pre-1906 San Francisco genealogical research. It's also a great guide for post quake research. It defines the types of files and records that can be found, how to use them and what can be expected from them. The clear illustrations offer the opportunity to see what the records look like with tips on how to use them.

Racking the Ashes is comprised of three parts - (1) what did and did not survive with possible substitutions, (2) additional resources and (3) Research Techniques, Tips and Cautions. The book is well written, very readable and logically organized.

It's been nearly two decades since I began my San Francisco genealogical research, looking for information on my ancestors who arrived in San Francisco in the mid 1850s, the 1870s and the late 1890s. This book offers new avenues of research and expectations of new breakthroughs. Raking the Ashes knocks down the brick walls that plague researchers with San Francisco roots. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn more of their San Francisco family or those with an interest in good genealogical research strategies. Raking the Ashes belongs on every genealogist's desk.