Descendants of Early San Diego Families

Descendants Flyer

 

Vision
Descendants of Early San Diego (DESD) is the anchoring organization for the community and general public awareness and education of Early San Diego ancestral and descendant history.

Mission
Promote, preserve and foster the cultural heritage of early San Diego ancestors and descendants.

Core Beliefs
• Diversity contributes to a healthy community
• Family history can have moral, intellectual virtues and values that should be recognized
• Understanding one’s past can influence the development of one’s future
• Preserving our ancestral and descendants’ family trees, stories, customs, cultural, and rituals have an important contribution and value in society

Operating Principles
• Provide an environment where we can come together to learn, educate, entertain, encourage and empower through shared knowledge, research and programs.
• Assist and augment the creation of genealogies through supported research, workshops and networking.
• Assist in the collection, development and writing of biographies as part of the family histories; conduct oral interviews on family histories and partner with complimentary organizations to preserve our heritage.
• Support partner organizations and businesses that promote heritage in Old Town, Presidio, Cabrillo, and through-out Alta and Baja California.
• We gratefully acknowledge the support of our members, public funders, sponsors, business and organizations.

Committee Officers
Connie Rascon Gunther, Chairperson  connie.m.gunther@gmail.com
Linda Jacobo, Secretary    linda92117@yahoo.com
Georgia Callian, Research Chairperson  Geocal1769@gmail.com

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park Pioneers Reflect California's Historic Diversity

Who are the Descendants
The ethnic families of Early San Diego: Native American Tribes, Mexican, Spaniards, Portuguese, Cuban, Peru, English, French, German, Irish, Filipinos, Chinese, Hawaiian, and more.

What is your DESD story?
Over the course of time, descendant families have passed on stories, pictures, artifacts and family treasures that we are interested in preserving. Other families are trying to find and connect the missing pieces of their family tree.  Descendant families have found interesting discoveries in their lineage with common family traits, careers and talents. Our belief is “Understanding one’s past can influence the development of one’s future”.
Our goal is to help connect our members with research and provide an environment for reestablishing family ties.  We also want to communicate our family history as our country formed and transitioned over time.  The family stories as early pioneers in San Diego are filled with challenges, hard times, as well as celebration and growth in our community as our city, state and country developed.
If you have an interest in sharing your family's genealogy or you would like to do a little research, visit the Descendants of Early San Diego's own genealogy website, www.desdstory.com. You must register, but it is totally free. If you feel you want to add your San Diego ancestor's information, write to us at earlysandiego@gmail.com or if you think we have some information wrong, we'd love to hear that also!

Friends of Descendants
We have formed a new group “DESD Friends” to complement our efforts.  The Friends of Descendants are members that are passionate about our heritage and its preservation.  Friends of Descendants will be added to our mailing lists and invited to participate in our programs, projects and events. 

Staying in Touch
If you live in the area, please join us at the various events sponsored in Old Town San Diego, Presidio, and Cabrillo and through the communities.
If you live outside of San Diego, stay in touch via email, Facebook and our website. Join us when you can.  Our annual Descendants celebration has expanded to allow you to spend more time with us.
 
Keep in touch with Early San Diego Descendants and Friends of Descendants:  Your information is kept private and not sold or made available to third parties.  Please help us update our records descendant names, emails and address and phone numbers.  Send updated/or new information for descendants to:
Descendant Committee Secretary, Linda Jacobo, EarlySanDiego@gmail.com or write to: Descendants of Early San Diego, Old Town San Diego Historic State Park, 4002 Wallace St., San Diego, Ca. 92110.  Please include your name, address, email, phone number, and ancestral family name or if you are a Friends of Descendants. 
Thanks for joining us!
 
Volunteering
Our organization partners with California State Parks to recruit and organize the descendant volunteers during the various events. Contact the Volunteer Coordinator at oldtown.volunteer@parks.ca.gov or call (619) 688-3362.

OUR ORGANIZATION
The Descendants have been a part of the non-profit organization Boosters of Old Town for over 30 years. While some of our members are no longer with us, we continue to reach out to descendant generations and ask you to keep involved and join us at descendant events and support BOOT. 
All are welcome!

For current activities please see the links to our Newsletters below.

For more information, contact: 
EarlySanDiego@gmail.com  History of Old Town Descendants Group
or visit us at https://descendantsearlysandiego.weebly.com 
Descendants of Early San Diego | Facebook
Twitter - Descendants of Early SD

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, Visitor Information Center, 619-220-5422

Descendants' Committee News

We are have many activities in work and planned for Old Town.  We would like to extend an open invitation to descendants interested in preserving their family histories or "friends of descendants" interested in San Diego History. Find out more about the Descendants of Early San Diego at http://descendantsearlysandiego.weebly.com

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, Visitor Information Center, 619-220-5422