Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog

The ISGS Office will be closed on Monday, December 24, 2012, in observance of Christmas and on Monday, December 31, 2012, in observance of New Year’s Day. The office will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on both Thursday, December 27, 2012, and Thursday, January 3, 2013. Regular hours will resume on Monday, January 7, 2013. © 2012, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

On Tuesday, January 8 , at 8:00 PM Central, Linda Woodward Geiger , CG, CGL, will present, Beyond the Draft Cards: Additional Selective Service Records . Come learn about the Selective Service process including a discussion of the three distinct registrations and records related to delinquents and deserters. To attend this webinar, register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4690779734341377024 . Last week's webinar, Ready-Set-Plan! Developing a One-Step Research Plan , presented by J. Mark Lowe, is now available to ISGS members in the Members Section of the ISGS website ( http://ilgensoc.org/members.php ). Upcoming Webinars January 8 – Beyond the Draft Cards: Additional Selective Service Records Presenter: Linda Woodward Geiger, CG, CGL Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4690779734341377024 February 12 – Best Genealogy Present You Can Give Yourself: Citing Your Sources Presenter: Harold Henderson, CG Registration: https://attendee.

The November/December 2012 issue of the ISGS Newsletter is now available to both ISGS members and non-members. Visit the ISGS website at http://www.ilgensoc.org and click ISGS Newsletter to download the current issue (in PDF) and to view past issues going back to January/February 2008. © 2012, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

The Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) is happy to announce that registration for the 2013 ISGS Webinar Series is now open! We have a fantastic lineup of presentations and speakers and we hope you will join us for a wonderful educational experience. A webinar is a live lecture/presentation that you can attend via a computer with an internet connection. ISGS offers the live broadcast of its webinars to the public for free. The live broadcasts are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 8:00 PM Central . For ISGS members who are unable to attend the live session, recordings of all past webinars are available through the Members Section of the ISGS website, to watch at your convenience. Here's what we have in store for 2013: January 8 – Beyond the Draft Cards: Additional Selective Service Records Presenter: Linda Woodward Geiger, CG, CGL Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4690779734341377024 February 12 – Best Genealogy Present You

2012 seems to have gone by in a flash.  And for the ISGS Education Committee it has been a whirlwind of year.  One of our biggest accomplishments was the implementation of the 2012 ISGS Webinar Series, which we began back in January.  Each month we produced an educational webinar presented by some of the best genealogy speakers around.  The live broadcast of these webinars were open to the public for free, providing an educational opportunity for the genealogical community as a whole.  Each webinar was recorded and is available to ISGS members in the Members Section of our website. The 2012 ISGS Webinar series covered many topics, most of which were requested when we surveyed the genealogical community back in 2011.  We are grateful to have been able to fulfill one of ISGS’s many goals, that being education.  We’d like to take a moment to reflect on what we learned through the 2012 ISGS Webinar Series. In January, Thomas MacEntee kicked off the webinar series with 10 Ways to Jumpst

Preserve the Pensions Project to Digitize Important Pension Records and Provide Free Access to the Public December 11, 2012 – Springfield, IL . The Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) is proud to announce that it has completed its recently launched $10,000 War of 1812 Pension Match Challenge with strong support from ISGS members as well as the genealogical community. On June 18, 2012, the 200th anniversary of the declaration of the War of 1812, ISGS announced its $10,000 War of 1812 Pension Match Challenge. ISGS made a commitment to match any contribution (up to the first $10,000) made to the Preserve the Pensions project before December 31, 2012. In addition, Ancestry.com announced that it would also match all monies donated during the campaign, resulting in all contributions being quadrupled. A total of $40,000 to be donated to the Preserve the Pensions project will result in 88,888 additional pages of the War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File

Do you want to learn how to make your research more organized and manageable? Join us on December 11, where J. Mark Lowe will present Ready-Set-Plan! Developing a One-Step Research Plan . Be prepared to walk away with some practical tips to help you focus your research when tackling those challenging ancestors. Date : Tuesday, December 11, 2012, 8:00 pm Central Description : Learn a simple technique for breaking down difficult research problems into manageable segments. Learn how to stay focused while getting more research done. Presenter : J. Mark Lowe J. Mark Lowe is a full-time professional genealogist, author, and lecturer and researches primarily in original records and manuscripts throughout the South. He also serves as a Course Coordinator for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and Samford University’s Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research (Research in the South) and Director of the Regional In-depth Genealogical Studies Alliance (RIGS Alli