Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog

Good news- Illinois Secretary of State Facilities (including the Illinois State Archives) are set to re-open on January 24th. ISGS will resume processing death certificate orders this week, so please send in your requests and our Office Manager Vauna Stahl will get them taken care of ASAP!  CLICK HERE for more information on the ISGS discount Death Certificate Lookup service! Many Illinois family historians know about the searchable online databases available at ILSOS.gov. But make sure to also check out the Illinois State Archives publications collection!   The Archives' publications page offers many digitized booklets, brochures and forms to help researchers, especially the Research Series Pamphlets which cover different record sets such as African-American records and Federal Census Records.  The Research Series also includes an overview of the ISGS Prairie Pioneer Certificates and an introduction to the ISGS Microfilm Collection . This is a fantastic but often-overlooked res

The Illinois State Genealogical Society is seeking an editor for The Quarterly . The ISGS Quarterly has been a Society member benefit for over 50 years and is published 4 times a year. The Quarterly is a 64-page magazine with 4 color cover pages, and features a range of genealogical-related material that would be of interest to Society members with a focus on Illinois. The Quarterly Editor is responsible for determining the content for each issue of the Quarterly. This includes soliciting submissions, reviewing submissions, working with writers to create acceptable articles, selecting photos or images to include with articles, review citations, and work with regular contributors.  The Editor coordinates copy editing, layout, and indexing and sends the final, print-ready issue to the printer.  This is a stipend position. For more information, or if you know someone who would be a good fit as the ISGS Quarterly  Editor, please contact Vicki Mattson, ISGS President, at isgspresident@ilge

You don't want to miss CAGGNI's January Meeting! The legendary Steve Morse will be presenting "Getting Ready for the 1950 Census: Searching with and without a Name Index!" When the 1950 census will be released in April 2022, it will not have a name index. So finding people in the census will involve searching by location instead. Even when a name index becomes available, there will still be many reasons for doing locational searches. The census is organized by Enumeration Districts (EDs), so the location needs to be converted to an ED before the census can be accessed. The One-Step website contains numerous tools for obtaining EDs. This talk will present the various tools and show circumstances in which each can be used. CLICK HERE for more info and to register! © 2021, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

Be sure to catch the latest edition of the ISGS Newsletter, available to all on the ISGS Website!  Our Newsletter page also has ISGS Newsletters through the last 12 months.  The Winter edition of the ISGS Newsletter is packed with the latest Illinois genealogy news and helpful tips, including: An introduction from our new ISGS President, Vicki Mattson Get to know ISGS' new Office Manager, Vauna Stahl! Our 2021 ISGS Honors & Awards winners Photos from the presentation of the Volkel Hall of Fame award, and the Monee Heritage Center dedication! The latest "Tips from the Genealogist" and Local Society Highlights Upcoming genealogy events and conferences Does your society have an upcoming event you'd like to promote in the ISGS Newsletter? Email us at isgsnewsletter@ilgensoc.org, and we'd be happy to help! © 2021, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) recently released BIG NEWS about the 1950 Census- it will be released with a name search function! The upcoming 1950 Census Website will have a search function powered by an Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) tool. The website is in development and is undergoing "rigorous testing" to ensure a successful launch in April 2022! Get all the details in this National Archives News post by Victoria Macchi! ISGS is working hard to keep you informed of all the latest 1950 Census news!  If you don't already have a copy of the  Summer 2021 ISGS Quarterly,  it is a must-read, containing a history of the 1950 Census, what information will be included, how to prepare for the release, and much more!  And don't miss the  Winter 2021 Quarterly,  featuring the latest Census updates, researched by super-sleuth (and ISGS Past President) Laura Marshall Kovarik! Plus, even more spe

Don’t miss the latest issue of the ISGS Quarterly! The Winter edition has a very special feature: An excerpt from Dawn Turner's memoir, Three Girls From Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Memoir of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood. John Warner of the Chicago Tribune's "Biblioracle" column lists Three Girls from Bronzeville as a "Must Read for Chicagoans (and Probably Everyone Else Too) Book of the Year." Turner's memoir, with its exquisite details about growing up in a specific place and time, and its willingness to honestly document pain as well as joy, is a wonderful example for any genealogist looking to record their life story. Readers will also enjoy "Shall We Dance?" a deeply researched piece by Laura Marshall Kovarik. Kovarik uses a stunning collection of dance cards saved in a shirt collar box by her Chicago ancestor, to paint a portrait of a workingman’s social life in the late nineteenth century. A fun and informative article! ISGS MEMBER