Genealogy Club

The Genealogy Club will meet Feb. 26 at 10 a.m. in Clubhouse 3, Room 9, for a general meeting and live presentation by genealogist Cheri Mello. All residents are welcome to join. Social time starts at 9:30.

Mello will give a presentation titled “Reverse Genealogy: How Those TV Shows Do It!” Genealogists are taught to start with themselves and work their way back in time. Others start with an ancestral couple and trace their descendants, coming forward in time, just like it is done on television shows and those searching for lost family members. Finding a distant cousin may be the clue to solve a mystery in one’s family tree.

Mello is a math teacher with a bachelor’s in human and child development and a master’s in education. She became a National Board Certified Teacher, a prestigious credential in the educational world. The genealogy bug was planted in Mello, a South Bay native, with a fifth grade history project. Her maternal grandmother gave her material for the project, some of which is featured in her current presentations.

Mello began her active adult research over 30 years ago, after the death of her remaining grandparents. She’s conducted research in many states and gone overseas in search of her Portuguese ancestry. Thirteen years ago she was recruited as the project administrator for the Azores DNA project. She runs five DNA projects and manages mailing lists involving Portuguese-Azorean genealogy. She lectures on topics related to Portuguese ancestry and DNA, software programs, Find-A-Grave and more.

Club membership renewals for 2025 are $15. Members can access the Genealogy Library, plus computer access to Ancestry. com, Fold3, and Newspapers.com. Pay in person at the Genealogy Library or mail payment—plus name, address, phone number and email—to Treasurer Janet Lessin at 1351 Weeburn Rd #74J, Seal Beach, 90740.

On Feb. 20 from 1:30-2 p.m. in the Genealogy Library, members will discuss what’s new on Newspapers.com. The Feb. 27 topic is navigating Familysearch.org.