SB County Genealogical Society June Meeting featuring Rosalyn Tonai and Grant Din

Rosalyn and Grant will talk about materials researchers can find about Japanese and Chinese immigration, settlement in the United States, World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans, what they have found in their ancestral homes, and more.

This meeting of the Genealogical Society is free and open to the public, will take place in person at the First Presbyterian Church at 21 E. Constance Avenue in Santa Barbara, and will also be available via Zoom (register at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrcOiqrjorEtwFz7AHMjAt4SfSO7zm5d4q).

Genealogical Society Special Interest Groups will meet at 9:30 a.m. (in person only), followed by a short business meeting at 10:30 a.m., with Rosalyn and Grant’s presentation beginning at 11:00 a.m.

About the Speakers
Rosalyn Tonai has been executive director of the National Japanese American Historical Society for over 30 years. In this role, she has organized many local and traveling exhibits about Japanese American history and art and trained teachers around the country. She was a key figure in the development of the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center, located at the Presidio’s Crissy Field in San Francisco, which tells the Japanese American wartime story.

Her husband Grant Din has worked with Bay Area nonprofit organizations including the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation for many years and has conducted extensive research about Angel Island, its immigrants from 80 countries and World War II Japanese immigrant detainees, and Chinese American history since the Gold Rush. He was part of the research team for The Six, a film about the Chinese Seamen who survived the wreck of the Titanic, and enjoys speaking about Asian American genealogy and history.

About the Genealogical Society
The mission of the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society is to help people discover, document, preserve, and share their family histories in California, the United States, and around the world. The Society is an all-volunteer organization with over 500 members, and a 5,000 square foot genealogical research library featuring over 19,000 books and a computer lab with access to nine genealogical subscription websites. Annual memberships start at $40, please visit https://sbgen.org to learn more about membership benefits, events, presentations, or to become a member.