Ancestral Discoveries
Reconstructing Family History
Janice M. Sellers
Professional Genealogist -- Researcher, Editor, Indexer, Translator, Transcriber
MISSION STATEMENT
Ancestral Discoveries provides research services primarily in European and North American family history, using 40+ years of research experience and the ability to read, translate, and transcribe several languages.
BACKGROUND
I have researched my own family for more than 40 years and conducted research for others for 11 years. I have experience with black American, English, German, Greek, (East) Indian, Irish, Jewish, Portuguese, Russian, and Scottish ethnic research.
I am the editor of ZichronNote, the journal of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society (SFBAJGS); The Baobab Tree, the journal of the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC); The California Nugget, the semiyearly journal of the California Genealogical Society; and the CSGA Newsletter, the newsletter of the California State Genealogical Alliance. I am also the vice president and publicity and programming director for SFBAJGS, board member and journal committee chairman for AAGSNC, and board member for CSGA. I have been on the staff of the Oakland Regional Family History Center since 2000.
I have a Bachelor's degree in foreign languages (French major, Spanish and Russian minors) and have also studied German and Italian. Most of my professional career I have worked as an editor, and I have also done indexing, translation, and transcription.
GENEALOGY EDUCATION
- Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, "Swing through the South", January 2016
- Advanced Forensic Techniques, Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy, April 2014
- Forensic Genealogy Institute, Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy, April 2013
- Methodology Part 5: How to Prove It, National Institute for Genealogical Studies, October 2010
- Professional Genealogy study group, 2011 certificate
- Gold research associate certification, Oakland Family History Center, 2008
- Jewish Genealogy Research Group, Salt Lake City, 2004-2007
- Digging for Your Roots, Concord Family History Center, 2005-2007
MEMBERSHIPS
PUBLISHED ARTICLES
- "Finding and Following the Paths of My Cuban Cousins", Avotaynu: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy, Avotaynu, Inc., August 2016.
- "A Black Baker at the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition", The Baobab Tree, African American Genealogical Society of Northern California, June 15, 2015.
- "When I Almost Cooked Dinner for Leonard Nimoy", ZichronNote, San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, May 31, 2015.
- "Zalmon Reuben Orlowsky: Portrait of a World War I Veteran", The California Nugget, California Genealogical Society, December 2014.
- "The Chaotic Saga of Oil in Galicia" (translator; reprint), Galizien German Descendants, published by Galizien German Descendants, April 2013. Translation of "L'épopée oubliée du pétrole de Galicie" ("The Forgotten Oil Era of Galicia"), by Jérôme Segal and Renaud Lavergne, in Géo-Histoire, October–November 2012.
- "The Chaotic Saga of Oil in Galicia" (translator), The Galitzianer, Gesher Galicia, December 2012. Translation of "L'épopée oubliée du pétrole de Galicie" ("The Forgotten Oil Era of Galicia"), by Jérôme Segal and Renaud Lavergne, in Géo-Histoire, October–November 2012.
- "International Jewish Genealogy Month", ZichronNote, San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, November 2010 (with Jeremy Frankel).
- "Members Report on Impressions of the IAJGS Conference in LA", ZichronNote, San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, August 2010 (with other authors).
- "Napoleon's Finest", ZichronNote, San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, November 2006.
- "Napoleon's Finest", Roots-Key, Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles, Summer/Fall 2006.
- "Clues in Religious Traditions", More Brickwall Solutions to Genealogy Problems, Moorshead Magazines Ltd., 2004.
- "Keep Talking to Relatives!", More Brickwall Solutions to Genealogy Problems, Moorshead Magazines Ltd., 2004.
- "Lucky Thirteen", 500 Brickwall Solutions to Genealogy Problems, Moorshead Magazines Ltd., 2003.
VOLUNTEER WORK
- Editor, ZichronNote, journal of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society 2010-present
- Editor, The Baobab Tree, journal of the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California, 2013-present
- Editor, The California Nugget, journal of the California Genealogical Society, 2016-present
- Research associate, Oakland Family History Center, 2000-2009
- Editor, The Galitzianer, journal for Jewish research in the former province of Galicia, 2009-2015
Last updated 21 November 2016.