Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog

In just 35 days, the images for the 1940 U.S. Census will be released to the public. Are you and your genealogy society ready?  Here's how you can get ready for the release and also get your society members involved in the indexing project for the census images: Only images will be available for the 1940 U.S. Census starting Monday, April 2, 2012.  It will takes several weeks until the first partial index is available. You can help speed-up the process by volunteering to index. Click  http://the1940census.com/getting-started/ , download the indexing software and then register as an indexer. If you are a society leader, visit the Societies page at  http://the1940census.com/society/  on the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project website and sign up today! You'll receive information on how your society can participate in the indexing project. Visit the Resources page at  http://the1940census.com/resources/   for plenty of "how to" materials related to th...

Illinois State Genealogical Society is proud to announce its new webinar series for 2012. For those of you new to this form of genealogy education, webinars are lectures delivered over the internet that you can access on your computer from your home or office. On the second Tuesday of each month at 8 PM Central, we will hold a live webinar, which is free to anyone. ISGS members can access a recorded copy in the Members Section of the ISGS website at any time after the live event. In January, we kicked off the series with Thomas MacEntee’s presentation, 10 Ways to Jumpstart You Genealogy in 2012 . And on February 14, Lisa Alzo presented Cool Tools for Publishing Your Family History . Both of these presentations are now available to ISGS members in the Members Section of the ISGS website ( http://ilgensoc.org/members.php ). On Tuesday, March 13, at 8 PM Central, Amy Johnson Crow CG will present, Desperately Seeking Susan: Finding Female Ancestors , where you will learn about s...

Guest Author, Stephanie Carbonetti Just a few blocks west from the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, you can find another magnificent Chicago treasure, The Newberry Library. The Newberry is an independent research library that houses an extensive non-circulating collection of rare books, maps, music, manuscripts, and other printed material. The Library's holdings span the history and culture of Western Europe from the Middle Ages to the mid-twentieth century and the Americas from the time of first contact between Europeans and Native Americans. Its strengths include: European discovery, exploration, and settlement of the Americas; the American West; local history, family history, and genealogy; literature and history of the Midwest, especially the Chicago Renaissance; Native American history and literature; the Renaissance; the French Revolution; Portuguese and Brazilian history; and British literature and history. The collections number 1,500,000 printed titles, five million manuscri...

Guest Author, Dennis Suttles One of Springfield’s best kept secrets for genealogical research is the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library (ALPL). The Illinois General Assembly created this library in 1889 as the Illinois State Historical Library charged with the collection of the history of Illinois and its people. In October 2004 the library’s name changed to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and moved from the basement of the Old State Capitol to its present location at the corner of Jefferson and Sixth Streets, just south of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. The ALPL houses published, manuscript, audio-visual, newspapers on microfilm, and Lincoln collections documenting all aspects of Illinois history. Its collection strengths include Lincoln, the Civil War, 19 th -century Illinois history, genealogy, biography, and geography. The reference desk in the Steve Neal Reading Room on the first floor of the library services the books and maps housed in both the general ...

Join the Illinois State Genealogical Society on Valentine's Day for a "dinner and a webinar" date! Upcoming Webinar : Cool Tools for Publishing Date : Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 8:00 pm Central Presenter : Lisa Alzo Lisa A. Alzo, M.F.A. is a freelance writer, instructor, and internationally recognized lecturer, specializing in Slovak/Eastern European genealogical research, writing your family history, and using the Internet to trace female and immigrant ancestors. She is the author of nine books, including the award-winning Three Slovak Women , and hundreds of magazine articles, and writes the blog " The Accidental Genealogist ." Description : Now that you've written your family’s story, what do you do with it? Thanks to technology and the Internet, it’s easier than ever to document and share your genealogical discoveries. Those attending this FREE webinar will learn about some of the popular online tools and methods available for writing and pub...

The ISGS Office will be closed on Monday, February 13, 2012, in observance of Lincoln's Birthday. The office will be open from 10am to 1pm on Tuesday, February 14, 2012 . Note: the ISGS Office will also be closed on Monday, February 20, 2012, for President's Day. The office will be open from 10am to 1pm on Tuesday, February 21, 2012. Regular hours will resume on Monday, February 27, 2012. © 2012, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

Guest Author, Julie Tarr One of the best places to conduct genealogy research in Illinois is at the State Archives in Springfield. This massive repository is home to many government records, some of which are of interest to genealogists. The Archives is located at the Margaret Cross Norton Building, Capitol Complex, near 2 nd & Edwards.  You can contact the Archives at 217-782-4682 or visit their website . Death Certificates 1916-1947 I would imagine this is the most-used resources among genealogists doing research at the Archives. All of the death certificates in the state from 1916 to 1947 can be found on microfilm. To obtain the records, you will first need to visit the index for Illinois death certificates, 1916-1950 . Once you locate the decedent, record all of the information contained in the line item, as you will need this to determine which film the record is on. At the Archives, refer to the binders in the reading room to locate the film number based on the info...