Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog

Great news! The Illinois State Genealogical Society is now a sponsor of several pages on the Family Search Wiki  through its new Adopt-A-Wiki-Page program.  By being a sponsor of these pages (listed below), we've agreed to provide oversight as to the content of these pages and ensure that information is comprehensive, relevant to the subject matter, and correct. Not only is Family Search's Adopt-A-Wiki Page program a great way to increase the visibility of ISGS and in line with current and proposed branding efforts, it also allows us to provide valuable information to the genealogy community about Illinois and its genealogy resources. Here are the list of pages  https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Illinois https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Illinois_Archives_and_Libraries https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Illinois_Bible_Records https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Illinois_Cemeteries https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Illinois_Census https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Illinois_Dire

Have you ever struggled with trying to understand different types of handrwriting from different historical periods? Makes transcribing documents difficult, doesn't it? Well Brigham Young University offers a set of free  online tutorials to help you understand and decipher different types of handwriting at its Script Tutorials website. Tutorials are available for English, German, Dutch, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese script. Thanks to ISGS board member Julie Tarr of GenBlog for the heads up on this resource! ( via Newberry Library ) © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

How exciting is this? The FGS Conference News Blog has been redecorate with a new logo and template all for the 2011 conference right here in Springfield, Illinois! Check out the logo for Pathways to the Heartland , the annual conference of the Federation of Genealogical Socieites, co-hosted by the Illinois State Genealogical Society, to be held September 7-10, 2011. © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

You may have noticed a new icon in the sidebar here at the ISGS blog. It is a link to the JISC TechDis Toolbar which adds accessibility features for those with different types of vision issues. The JISC TechDis ToolBar is provided by the University of Southampton, School of Electronics and Science and allows viewers of a website to zoom the text in and out, change the page style such as white text on black background, and even convert text to audio. I hope that those readers who have vision issues will find it useful and that it makes the GeneaBloggers website more accessible to them. To learn how you can add this easy-to-install and easy-to-use feature at your own blog or website, please see this post at GeneaBloggers. © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

[This post has been submitted for the  Carnival of Genealogical Societies , 4th Edition at the California Genealogical Society and Library blog,  California Ancestors .] The Facebook page for the Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) has been in existence since May 2010 when the ISGS board approved a comprehensive social media plan for the society. Having a presence on Facebook allows us to reach a wider audience than just a blog or a website.  In addition, our hopes are to attract a younger audience since many younger genealogists spend more time on social media sites such as Facebook. Some of the features of the ISGS Facebook page include: A vanity URL of http://www.facebook.com/ILGenSoc . In order to secure your vanity URL (meaning your society name rather than the number gibberish generated by Facebook), you must have at least 25 fans/likes for your page. Then go to  http://www.facebook.com/username/  and click Set a username for your Pages . A Welcome tab which not on

The Illinois State Genealogical Society booth at this past week's Federation of Genealogical Society's 2010 Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee was a success due to the hard work of its board members in attendance. Many thanks go to Carole McCarty, Janice Fritsch, Susie Pope, David Kent Coy, Jane Haldeman, Kim Kasprzyk, Donna Pond, Kristy Gravlin, and Nancy Blackwell for all their help.  And a special shout-out to Shirley Eck of the Springfield Illinois Convention & Visitors Bureau for her great display and ability to help visitors to our booth with questions about Springfield. We are looking forward to FGS2011 next September and after the hard work of this year's conference committee, we have a hard act to follow! And yes, ISGS does have its own You Tube channel - called Illinois Genealogy TV.  You can subscribe and receive updates here . © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

This afternoon I had the pleasure of working with several ISGS board members at the exhibit hall of the Federation of Genealogical Societies' 2010 Annual Conference (#FGS10) in Knoxville, Tennessee. We spent a few hours setting up our booth with flyers, information about our upcoming Fall conference in Peoria, as well as other information, books and items highlighting the Prairie State. I've been here since Monday afternoon and most of the ISGS folks arrived either Tuesday evening or today. Tomorrow, Thursday, August 18, is the first day of the exhibit hall and we hope to not only get the word out on the fact that ISGS is the co-host for #FGS11 in Springfield, IL, September 6-10, 2011 - but also sign up some new members and help others with Illinois genealogy resources. If you are at #FGS10, please stop by booths 113-115 or look for the folks with the blue and orange mardi gras beads and the Illinois badge ribbons! Photos: 1) (l to r) Susie Pope, Jane Haldeman and Donna

One of our favorite resources as of late - the Uptown Chicago History blog - has a great series of posts on how to research an older Chicago residence: Researching Your Old Chicago House -- Part 1 Do You Live in an Older Uptown Residence? Researching Your Old Chicago House, Part II Take a close look at Part II which lists some fantastic research resources courtesy of the Chicago History Museum : Address Conversions Architectural Blueprints, Elevations, and Drawings Building Permits Fire Insurance Maps (Atlases) 1868 to 1951 Historic Resources Survey Newspaper Directories Old Chicago Directories Photographic Collections Trade Publications And one note: Did you know that the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago was known for is population of Appalachian migrants ? So if you have ancestors from Appalachia it maybe worth researching Chicago resources for valuable information. Photo: P.J. King House, Chicago, 1902, Inland Architect magazine, public domain via Wikimedia Commons .

As part of its upcoming Fall 2010 conference - You Have Family; You Have History - on Saturday, October 23, 2010 in Peoria, IL, the Illinois State Genealogical Society is holding an Essay Contest open to all Illinois students ages 12-15. The essay format: narrative; 2-page maximum; no cover page or back matter send the entry form (in the attached link) with the essay; do not put entrant's name on the essay word-processed final draft on standard, white print paper 12 pt. Times New Roman font, double-spaced entries must be postmarked no later than September 20, 2010 no e-mail entries accepted choose one of the following topics: The Story of My Family Connection to (Historical Event) Why My Family Settled in (Geographic Area) The Immigration Story of My (Ancestor) Prizes: First prize, $50 Honorable mentions (two), $25 each The deadline for entries is September 20, 2010. Access the entry form here (opens in PDF). If you teach in an Illinois school or are otherwise

This week's Follow Friday resource is Uptown Chicago History - which contains great photo and articles about this unique Chicago neighborhood. © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

A recent article in the Itasca Press entitled Baby Boomers Connect With Facebook , mentions two ISGS members: Thomas MacEntee who gave the Social Networking: New Horizons for Genealogists presentation on July 14, 2010 at the Bloomingdale Public Library; and Tim Pinnick who was in the audience. Tim will be one of the featured speakers at our Fall 2010 Conference in Peoria, IL on Saturday, October 23, 2010.  He will be lecturing on coal miner ancestors and civil war soldiers - make plans to attend and don't forget to register before September 30, 2010! © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

A warm welcome to a new genealogy blog:   Christian County Historical Society and Museum . As stated in their byline: The Christian County Historical Society and Museum is dedicated to preserving the ancestry and the history of Christian County Illinois. We have extensive genealogical resources as well as an impressive collection of material culture. So come on out and learn a little bit about your ancestors or about the County in general! It is great to see more and more local historical and genealogical societies set up blogs as part of their web presence and social media program. © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

I'm proud to announce that the ISGS blog's entry in the 3rd edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies is the lead-off entry! I submitted a recent post - Uniquely Illinois - describing some of the services offered by ISGS. Check out the other entries to learn what other genealogical societies across the country are doing in terms of services and offerings for their members and for the greater genealogy community. © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society