Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog

Photo: ISGS Board Members Kristy Gravlin and Jane Haldeman at the ISGS booth, Federation of Genealogical Societies 2010 Conference, Knoxville, Tennessee, August 2010. © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

On Saturday, October 23, 2010, five individuals will be honored by the Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) with awards for their outstanding achievements in the field of genealogy. ISGS will present the awards at the upcoming ISGS Fall Conference – “ You Have Family – You Have History ” – held at the historic Hotel Père Marquette in Peoria, Illinois. The recipients include: Curt Witcher , Senior Manager for Special Collections at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, will receive the ISGS Distinguished Service Award for his numerous contributions to the field of genealogy. Cheri Hunter , of Decatur, Illinois will receive the ISGS Community Service Award for her extensive work with the Decatur Genealogical Society (DGS) as well as her service as a board member with ISGS. Fred Katko , of Peoria, Illinois, will receive the ISGS Special Recognition Award for his work as a generous volunteer with the Peoria County Genealogical Society as well as other societies.

This week's Follow Friday pick is the genealogy blog for the Glenview Public Library in Glenview, Illinois. GPL's blog is not only a great place to learn about upcoming genealogy events in the suburbs north of Chicago, but also many resources are listed among their posts.  As the site states in its Genealogy Service Policy: The GPL genealogy collection supports lifelong learning in the areas of genealogy, family history, and local history. General assistance identifying resources in the collection and online is provided. Reference librarians cannot undertake genealogical research. Patrons may be referred to specialized genealogy libraries or services for further assistance. Take a minute to visit GPL's blog and you'll be surprised at what you can find! © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

ISGS board member Thomas MacEntee will be presenting Social Networking: New Horizons for Genealogists at an upcoming meeting of the Zion Genealogical Society in Zion, IL on Tuesday evening, September 21, 2010 at 7:00 pm.  This event is free and open to the public. Beach Park Village Hall 11270 W. Wadsworth Road Beach Park, IL 60087 http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ilzgs/ © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

Photo: Members of the Illinois State Genealogical Society attending Come and Sit a Spell at the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2010 Annual Conference, Knoxville, Tennessee, taken August 18, 2010. Courtesy of Donna Pond. © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

Photo: Members of the Illinois State Genealogical Society with Dr. George K. Schweitzer at the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2010 Annual Conference , Knoxville, Tennessee, taken August 20, 2010. Courtesy of Donna Pond. © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

The Fox Valley Genealogical Society will hold its 17th Annual Conference entitled Ancestor Research: A Fresh Look at Classic Techniques on Saturday, September 25, 2010. The conference - held at the Grace United Methodist Church, 300 E. Gartner Road, Naperville, Illinois from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm - will feature noted genealogist D. Joshua Taylor. The one-hour lecturs include: Finding the Roots of Your Family Legends - Just because Great Aunt Mable said your ancestor was from Scotland, doesn¿t mean that he was. Learn how to uncover the truth behind family legends and stories, and how to integrate them into your personal writing and research. On and Off the Net: Locality Searching - Researching by locality is an essential research method for genealogists. Uncover the best resources (both online and offline) for research by localities. Highlights of this lecture include a look at the USGenWeb Project and the resources found in genealogical and historical societies. Successful Sear

Thanks to Tony's Genealogy Blog at the Schaumburg Township District Library for the heads up to this great resource! The Newberry Library has a 359 page PDF available for free download at http//www.newberry.org/genealogy/cbif.pdf which lists surnames of Illinois ancestors and where they are listed in various biographies.  Take a few minutes to download this file and then search for your surnames - you might be surprised at what you find! © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

The 8th Annual Christian County Genealogical Society Cemetery Walk will take place this coming Sunday, September 12, 2010 at the Morrisonville Cemetery in Morrisonville, Illinois. This looks like an interesting program and a great way to show your support for the Christian County Genealogical Society! © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

Two new links have appeared for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library over at the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency : ALPL Newspaper/Microfilm Obituary Finder :  search for citations for obituaries that can be found in the Newspaper Microfilm Collection of the ALPL. You will not find the actual obituary. You will find citations (name of newspaper, date, page and column ) for the obituaries. The database does not contain every obituary citation for anyone who ever died in Illinois. It contains only those names that have been researched at the library. If you do find someone’s name, the obituary is available through the ALPL. If you do not find a name it doesn’t mean the obituary is not in a newspaper here, it just means that no one has researched that particular name and recorded it. ALPL Surname Index Search : assists genealogists and historians in locating biographical sketches that are included in nineteenth and early twentieth century Illinois county histories, biographi

Another great find by ISGS board member Julie Tarr! It seems that Family Search has digitized probate records for a select number of counties including: Alexander Coles Effingham Gallatin Hamilton Hancock LaSalle Logan Madison Massac Piatt Pope Rock Island Shelby White Whiteside Williamson While there is no index yet available for this collection, the probate records from 1819-1970 can be found here under the Family Search Records Pilot. © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society