Libraries : HUNTINGTON BEACH : Genealogy Study Like Hunting for Gold

Joan Rambo, piqued by a friend’s suggestion and her own mild curiosity, one day in 1967 agreed to attend a genealogical seminar at the Orange County Library.

Her interest in tracing her lineage, she said, quickly developed into an obsession.

“Pretty soon, I got so wrapped up in this, I said, forget the housework,” she recalled recently.

More than two decades later, Rambo says she has traced her Scottish ancestry back to a Magna Carta signatory. And she’s still excavating for more clues to her roots.

And as president of the Orange County California Genealogical Society, Rambo today holds monthly meetings to exchange tips with other family tree enthusiasts and introduce novices to the hobby.

The society, founded in 1963 “to gather and disseminate genealogical information,” has grown to 750 members countywide, she said.

Their meetings are held at the Huntington Central Library, the launching source for any county resident delving into his or her ancestry.

The library contains 14,000 volumes of genealogical information, by far the most extensive collection in the county, Rambo said.

While most other such depositories throughout the Southland emphasize microfilm and microfiche data, the main Huntington Beach library is devoted primarily to books.

The volumes contain such information as vital-record abstracts, census indexes, various family and Orange County data, surname index files and scores of directories on where to find specific ancestral sources throughout the country.

Most genealogical outlets specialize in certain regions, ethnicities or types of data, Rambo said. For example, the main library in Pomona contains the most complete available collection of early California family history.

The Huntington Beach library facility is more of a general clearinghouse, helping lineage-seekers narrow their focus and locate specific information, she explained.

And through inter-library loans, a wealth of information may be obtained by mail, she added.

“The great thing about genealogy is you can spend as much or as little time and money as you want,” she said. “Originally, I did all my research locally and through the mail. But then, you have some retired couples who spend their time traveling all over finding stuff. Some of them start their own little libraries.”

The society is continually gathering information. However, only recently did the Huntington Beach library begin amassing any considerable Orange County historical data.

“We’ve been hunting and digging to find any Orange County information at all,” Rambo said. “Actually, we don’t have much demand for it, because so many of the people who live here are from other areas.”

Rambo says genealogy research is “like hunting for gold. And I’m into the deep, deep mine shafts looking for new gold. I’ve found all the easy stuff.”

And the exploration of one’s family tree is never complete, she said.

“Your family doubles every generation, so every time you find a new couple, that opens up another whole branch to you,” she said. “It just keeps growing. And you become addicted.”