BREAK THROUGH YOUR GENEALOGY BRICK WALL!

Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 2:00 p.m.
St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church
5306 E. Arbor Road, Long Beach, CA 90808

Hybrid Meeting — In Person or on Zoom

Our October meeting continues the momentum from our successful Beginning Genealogy Class held on September 26. This month, we are putting the knowledge and experience of our own talented members to work!

Do you have an ancestor you simply cannot get past? Have you searched every record you can think of but still can’t find a birth date, maiden name, marriage record, immigration record, or place of origin? Maybe you have a family story but no documentation to prove it. That’s a genealogy brick wall—and sometimes it takes another researcher looking at the problem to find the clue you’ve been missing.

For this special meeting, several Questing Heirs members will be available to help with questions in their areas of experience:

• Bob Prager — Irish and New England research
• Sandy McDonald — LDS resources
• Diana Transue — Polish research
• Jeff Transue – Military and Historical research
• Nina Gustin — Missouri research
• Sandy Pribble — DAR research
• Sophie Tollier — France & Italy research
• Tina McKillip — Adoption, DNA, and California research, specifically Los Angeles County

Tina will also have her laptop loaded with paid research subscriptions and will be ready to help with searches.

COME PREPARED!

Bring your laptop, iPad, tablet, or cell phone, but most importantly, bring your questions!

To make the most of the afternoon, bring whatever information you already have about the ancestor or family you’re researching, names, dates, places, documents, photographs, census records, or notes about searches you’ve already completed. Even a small clue can sometimes lead to a new path.

You don’t have to be an experienced genealogist to participate. New researchers and longtime members alike are encouraged to bring their questions. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn from one another and see how different research approaches can help solve a difficult problem.

Who knows? The brick wall you’ve been staring at may only need one new clue to come tumbling down!

We hope to see you October 18!

Dear Members and Friends,

Questing Heirs Genealogical Society will be offering a Free Beginner Genealogy Class on Saturday, September 26, 2026, from 9:30 AM to 12:00 Noon at St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Long Beach.

The class is designed for individuals who are interested in learning how to begin researching their family history. We will have three short presentations on getting started with genealogy, followed by hands-on assistance from experienced volunteers who can answer questions about FamilySearch, military records, genealogy websites, and other research resources.

We will also be providing refreshments and offering genealogy-themed door prizes, including an AncestryDNA kit.

Here is a link to our flyer: Questing Heirs Beginners’ Class Flyer. Please share it with your friends and family.

Note that participants can register for the class with an email to my attention at questingheirs@gmail.com.

Thank you for helping us spread the word. We hope this class will encourage more people to discover and preserve their family histories.

Warm regards,

Diana Transue

Please join us on Sunday, September 20 at 2pm to hear our speaker Janice M. Sellers, who will be giving a presentation titled Bubbie, Who Are You?: Finding the Maiden Names in Your Family Tree.

---

About Janice M. Sellers

Janice M. Sellers is related to actor Peter Sellers and to John of Gaunt, son of a king and father of a king. At least that’s what her grandparents told her. Unfortunately, they were wrong, but that’s why she has researched her family for 45+ years and now helps others find the right pieces to fit their genealogy puzzles. Janice specializes in Jewish, Black, forensic, and newspaper research and has taught at local to international levels.

Learn more at ancestraldiscoveries.com.

---

About the Presentation

Female relatives can be difficult to trace, but they can be found. Janice Sellers’ lecture introduces resources for tracing the women in your family, many of which are available online, including family items, oral histories, federal and state census records, immigration records, vital records, religious records, journals, newspapers, legal and court records, library archives, and manuscript collections.

Please join us on Sunday, August 16 at 2pm to hear our speaker Cynthia K. Patton, who will be giving a presentation titled Organizing Your Digital Files: Color, Consistency and Naming Conventions.

---

About Cynthia K. Patton

---

About the Presentation

Do you spend more time looking for genealogy files than actually researching? Join us for an informative presentation on creating an organized digital filing system that makes your family history files easy to find, use, and preserve.

Learn practical tips for:

• Creating consistent folder structures
• Developing effective file naming conventions
• Using color to organize research
• Keeping digital records organized for future generations

Dear Members and Friends,

Questing Heirs Genealogical Society will be offering a Free Beginner Genealogy Class on Saturday, September 26, 2026, from 9:30 AM to 12:00 Noon at St. Thomas of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Long Beach.

The class is designed for individuals who are interested in learning how to begin researching their family history. We will have three short presentations on getting started with genealogy, followed by hands-on assistance from experienced volunteers who can answer questions about FamilySearch, military records, genealogy websites, and other research resources.

We will also be providing refreshments and offering genealogy-themed door prizes, including an AncestryDNA kit.

Here is a link to our flyer: Questing Heirs Beginners’ Class Flyer. Please share it with your friends and family.

Note that participants can register for the class with an email to my attention at questingheirs@gmail.com.

Thank you for helping us spread the word. We hope this class will encourage more people to discover and preserve their family histories.

Warm regards,

Diana Transue

Please join us on Sunday, July 19 at 2pm to hear our speaker Jane Neff Rollins, who will be giving a presentation titled Special Delivery: Documenting Birth with or Without a Birth Record .

---

About Jane Neff Rollins

Jane Neff Rollins is a professional genealogist, author, and nationally recognized speaker with more than 25 years of research experience. She is the owner of Sherlock Combs Genealogy in Montrose, California, and specializes in researching families from the former Russian Empire and Eastern European Jewish ancestry.

---

About the Presentation

No Birth Certificate? No Problem!

Discover the many records that can help you prove an ancestor’s birth—even when no official birth record exists. Join professional genealogist Jane Neff Rollins as she shares practical research strategies and lesser-known record sources that every family historian should know.

Jane is a frequent speaker at local, regional, national, and international genealogy conferences and has written articles for several genealogy publications. Her engaging presentations combine practical research techniques with historical insight, making them valuable for genealogists of all experience levels.

Join us for our June gathering on Father’s Day weekend!

Sunday, June 21, 2026, 2:00pm
Pan Am Park, directly across from St. Thomas of Canterbury Church (our usual meeting location)

We’ll be meeting outdoors under the big shade tree. Just look for the Questing Heirs banner!

Ice cream will be provided by Cynthia Day-Elliott.

Please bring your own drink, and a lawn chair or folding chair.

We invite everyone to share something from their genealogy:

• A recent discovery

• A favorite ancestor story

• A family heirloom or photograph

• A research success (or challenge!)

• An interesting genealogy adventure

This will be a relaxed afternoon of fellowship, storytelling, and family history fun.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Please join us on Sunday, May 17 at 2pm to hear our speaker Christine Cohen, who will be giving a presentation titled Alienation of Affection – Divorce in the US.

---

About Christine Cohen

Christine Cohen’s interest in genealogy began in 1977 with the airing of the TV mini-series “Roots.” Her enthusiasm was piqued when she was given a typed pedigree chart, commissioned by her maternal grandfather, of their Dutch heritage from the New Netherlands in the 1650’s. Christine is a native Californian, and a graduate of UCLA in Political Science. She has moved to Oregon for retirement and is pursuing her genealogy journey full time.

Christine is a long-time member of the Whittier Area Genealogical Society (WAGS) and currently is the Program Director. She is a member of the Tualatin Chapter of the DAR, the Society of Daughters of Holland Dames, APG and the Society Delegate for NGS.

Please join us on Sunday, April 21 at 2pm to hear our speaker Diane Henriks, who will be giving a presentation titled Break Down Those Genealogy Brick Walls!

---

About Diane Henriks

Diane Henriks, also known as the Descendant Detective and founder of Know Who Wears the Genes in Your Family, is a passionate and seasoned Los Angeles County-based professional genealogist, investigator, speaker, and author who specializes in descendancy and brick wall research, along with living people search and unknown parentage cases.

Diane has worked closely with private investigators to find living people while also assisting in background investigations, in both civil and criminal cases. She is a proud member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Genealogical Speakers Guild, the Southern California Genealogical Society, and the Utah Genealogical Association. What started out as a small hobby well over a decade ago, when a hand-drawn family tree chart was given to her by her father, has since become a great obsession, and she now helps others discover and preserve who they are and where they come from!

---

About the Presentation

At some point, everyone working on their family tree will encounter a brick wall, or what they think is a brick wall, that frustrating point where their research seems to hit a dead end. These barriers can take various forms, but they all hinder progress in tracing family history. A genealogy brick wall can be frustrating and discouraging, but it does not mean that
the research is impossible. Follow me and see how you can break through them to continue building up your family tree!

Please join us on Sunday, March 15 at 2pm to hear our speaker Sara Cochran, who will be giving a presentation titled From Rebellion to Records: The Irish in the American Revolution.

---

About Sara Cochran

“Every person that starts researching their family history does so for a different reason. For some, they feel disconnected from themselves or seek understanding about modern issues from the past. For others, the genealogy “bug” bites when a family member asks them for some help with research. For me, it was a desire to learn about the people I came from, all these marvelous looking people in my Grandma’s photo albums.”

---

About the Presentation

The Irish played a major role in the American Revolution. This class looks at why they fought and their impact on the war. Then, we’ll look at ways to identify and document these patriots in your family tree.