$25 annual membership fee
Plan is for two people living in the same household at the same address.
Family members will receive only one copy of the newsletter unless multiple email addresses are provided.

How to Join

To become a member of the SJGS, you have two options:

Online Process. Click on the "Online Join" link in the menu bar to the left, then follow the instructions to select the appropriate membership category, to enter your personal information, and to make payment. Please follow the steps through to completion to ensure that your payment is processed; printing a receipt does not constitute payment.
Paper Process. Print out a copy of our brochure, complete the membership form, and send it to our mailing address along with your check.

How to Renew

To renew your SJGS membership, log in to the "Members Only" page using your personal log-in name and password, then follow the step-by-step instructions available under the subheading "Membership Renewal." Please follow the steps through to completion in order to make your electronic membership renewal payment; printing a receipt does not constitute payment.

Membership Benefits

Newsletter

Our newsletter is published nine months out of each year (January through June and September through November), and each issue contains genealogical news, resources, hints, queries and a calendar of genealogical events and activities. The newsletter is distributed to members free of charge by two methods: through the "Members Only" page of this website and by email. Members also have access to prior issues of the newsletter through the "Members Only" page.

We also participate in a reciprocal newsletter exchange program with other genealogical and historical societies. To be added to our exchange list, please contact us at newsletter@sjgensoc.org.

Research Resources

SJGS members and members of the public living in or near San Joaquin County or visiting from other areas may access some of our resources in person. These include:

The Genealogy Collection at the Cesar Chavez Central Library in Stockton
Holdings in the Local History Room at the Cesar Chavez Central Library
Presentations by genealogical experts during our regular membership meetings.

To access other available resources, click on the Research Resources link to the left.

Members-Only Resources

Members of SJGS have special access to many publications and records collections (available only through the Members Only page of this website):

1850 Census, San Joaquin County
Gold Rush Days, Volume 1: Vital Statistics Copied from Early Newspapers of Stockton, California, 1850-1855
Index to Homesteads
Indexed Probate Records
Publications of other genealogical societies
Separate Property of Married Women and Sole Trader Index
Old Cemeteries of San Joaquin County, California, Volumes I and II

Member Discounts

Members receive a 10% discount on all books and periodicals published by the San Joaquin Genealogical Society. To receive this discount, you must log in through the Members Only page of the website BEFORE shopping at the online SJGS Store. (If the log-in step is skipped, the publication prices will reflect the full non-member prices.)

Special Interest Groups

SJGS members have the opportunity to participate in one of several Special Interest Groups (SIGs), each of which has a different research or topical focus. For more details on the SIGs, see the "About SJGS" page.

Speaker Resources

The expert genealogical speakers at our monthly meetings often develop handouts to accompany their presentations. When possible, we email these handouts to out members prior to each meeting, so that even those members living out of the area can benefit from our guest speaker presentations.

SJGS members collectively decide what topics to learn more about. Using this member input, our Board of Directors seeks out and invites respected leaders in the field of genealogy to speak at our monthly meetings.

Volunteer Opportunities

SJGS members are dedicated to serving the local community and other genealogical researchers. We've compiled a large reference library over the years, and we continue to work on producing many invaluable genealogical publications.

When you join our society, you have the opportunity to be involved in many different volunteer activities, including:

Giving educational workshops for the local community
Participating in twice-monthly genealogy volunteer days at Cesar Chavez Central Library
Helping patrons with personalized genealogical research when they submit requests to SJGS
And much more! Together, we keep our organization thriving and and our activities enjoyable.

Since we are a non-profit organization, mileage expenses incurred while volunteering on behalf of SJGS are tax deductible as a charitable donation (with substantiating records).