Sat, Mar 14
|Virtual Event
Lunch & Learn: Hal Bookbinder
SCGS's Lunch & Learn program hosts genealogist Hal Bookbinder on Saturday, March 14 at 1 p.m. PT. Hal will discuss "Ships of Our Ancestors."
Time & Details
Mar 14, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM PDT
Virtual Event
About the Event
The Southern California Genealogical Society's popular Lunch & Learn series is proud to host genealogist Hal Bookbinder on Saturday, March 14, from 1 to 2 p.m. PT. In this virtual presentation, Hal will discuss "Ships of Our Ancestors."
About the Presentation
How Did Your Ancestors Reach America? The Immigrant Voyage by Sea
Before the age of air travel, nearly everyone who came to America arrived by ship. For millions of immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the journey across the Atlantic was the most dramatic—and often dangerous—part of their story.
Genealogist Hal Bookbinder explores how that voyage changed over time as slow sailing ships gave way to faster steamships. Learn how long the trip took, what it cost, and what your ancestors actually experienced along the way.
Drawing on records from the peak immigration years at Ellis Island—when more than 83,000 ships arrived—this presentation examines the entire immigrant journey:…