Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog

Whiteside County Genealogists are busy compiling, “Whiteside County, Illinois History & Families,” a new book that will focus on all aspects of the county’s history from 1839 to 2013.  They expect the book to be 200 to 300 pages, which will be published as a hardcover book. According to an article in the Clinton Herald , “[f]amilies are encouraged to tell about any interesting stories from childhood, include marriages, children, jobs, military, education, organizations, etc. Stories must be written in 500 words or less. There is a charge of 15 cents per word for [submissions that are] more than 500 [words]. Families must also send one photograph to go with their story.”  The deadline for submissions is August 30, 2012.  Submission are to be mailed to Whiteside County, IL History & Families Book, PO Box 145, Sterling, IL 61081. If you have any questions, contact Charlene Johnson at 563-242-9432 or johnsoncj1942@yahoo.com . The full article that appeared in the Clinton Herald

Laura Secord  warning Lieutenant  James Fitzgibbon  of an impending American attack, June 1813 The Illinois State Genealogical Society is proud to support the Federation of Genealogical Societies’ “ Preserve the Pensions ” campaign. As a part of this campaign we will be posting a bi-monthly blog that shares a few details about War of 1812 events that happened two hundred years ago this week. June 24, 1813 – Battle of Beaver Dams The Battle of Beaver Dams was fought on June 24, 1813. On June 23, American soldiers left Fort George and occupied the village of Queenstown. While in Queenstown a number of American officers took refuge in the home of James and Laura Secord. Laura Secord overhead the officer’s plans to carry out a surprise attack on Beaver Dams. Mrs. Secord snuck out of the village that night and headed for Beaver Dams to warn the British. She was intercepted by Native American warriors and taken to Lieutenant James Fitzgibbon. Fitzgibbon sent Native American scouts o

On Tuesday, July 10, at 8 PM Central, Jean Wilcox-Hibben, PhD, MA, CG, will present, Clue to Clue: Tracking a Family Over Time and Miles , which will show you how to move from one piece of information to the next in order to piece together the life of an ancestral family. To attend this webinar, register at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/726337462 . Last week's webinar, The War of 1812 – America’s “Forgotten” War , presented by Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG, is now available to ISGS members in the Members Section of the ISGS website ( http://ilgensoc.org/members.php ). Upcoming Webinars July 10 – Clue to Clue: Tracking a Family Over Time and Miles with Jean Wilcox-Hibben, PhD, MA, CG Register at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/726337462 August 14 – Major Midwestern Archives & Their Records with Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FMGS, FUGA Register at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/413029062 September 11 – Grandma did What!?: Researching your Famous and Inf

The Illinois State Genealogical Society is proud to support the Federation of Genealogical Societies’ “ Preserve the Pensions ” campaign. In support of this digitization project the ISGS announces the ISGS $10,000 War of 1812 Pension Match Challenge . ISGS will MATCH any contribution (up to the first $10,000) made to the Preserve the Pensions project before December 31, 2012. For instance, if you donate $100, the ISGS will match your contribution for a total of $200! In addition, Ancestry.com has announced it will also match ALL ISGS contributions which would mean any contribution you make will actually be QUADRUPLED! Your $100 contribution would become a $400 contribution! Any size contribution is welcome! A $10 contribution equals about 80 pages of Pension files digitized as part of the Preserve the Pensions project. The goal of the “Preserve the Pensions” campaign is to raise the $3.7 Million needed to digitize the War of 1812 Pension Application Files that are currently stored

Time is Running Out! Those who have given outstanding service to the genealogical community really deserve your nomination.  Be sure to turn in your nominations to the ISGS Office by July 1, 2012.  The following categories are available for Awards: Community Service Award Special Recognition Award Youth Award Distinguished Service Award Volkel Memorial Awards Further details and instructions as well as the nomination forms can be found at the ISGS website at http://ilgensoc.org/cpage.php?pt=63 . Recipients will receive their awards at the ISGS Annual Meeting on October 20, 2012 in Rockford, Illinois.

During the month of May, the Illinois State Genealogical Society group for FamilySearch Indexing keyed over 87,000 entries.  We ranked sixth among large societies for the most indexed in May.  Since the project kicked off in early April, this group has indexed almost 190,000 names!  As of today, Illinois is 31% complete, which is a 10% increase since our last status update just a few weeks ago.  Over 56% of the entire project has been complete.  The following states are completely indexed and can be search on the 1940 Census page on the FamilySearch website: Alaska Arizona Colorado Delaware Florida Hawaii Idaho Kansas Louisiana Mississippi Montana New Hampshire New Mexico Oregon Utah Vermont Virginia Wyoming The following states are nearing completion: California Indian Iowa Maine Minnesota Nebraska Nevada North Dakota Oklahoma Rhode Island South Dakota Washington Every little bit helps, so even if you can only index a page or two, please consider s

June 18, 2012 marks the bicentennial of the War of 1812. To honor the history of the war and its patriots, Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG, will present The War of 1812 – America's "Forgotten" War for next week's webinar. Date : Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 8:00 pm Central Description : The War of 1812 is one of the forgotten wars of the United States, yet records abound for our ancestors who were willing to fight the British once again. Presenter : Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG has been involved in genealogy and family research since even before she was born. Being born into an older family afforded her the opportunity to be around a generation that loved to tell stories and visit cemeteries. She is accredited in the Southern States, and is a frequent speaker at workshops and jamborees around Ohio. She is a former Family History Center Director, keeping a staff of thirty trained and up to date on current genealogy trends, as well as imp

The ISGS Office will be closed on Thursday, June 14, 2012; however,  the office will be open from 10am to 1pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 . Regular hours will resume on Monday, June 18, 2012. © 2012, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society