Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog

St. Clair County is located in Southwestern Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. It is Illinois’ oldest county, established in 1790. Its heritage lies in the French, French-Canadian, and English settlements existing in the 1600s and 1700s; and in the German, Irish, and English immigrants who came to the county in the 1800s. The St. Clair County Genealogical Society (SCCGS) was founded in 1977 and incorporated in 1978. Its goals are to preserve and perpetuate ancestral records for educational and historical purposes; encourage the study of family history and teach the methods of genealogy research; promote genealogical publications; promote the preservation and safeguarding of genealogical data; and to publish and circulate literature relative to the purposes and acquisitions of the Society. Current membership stands at 377. For $25.00 (individual) or $27.00 (family), members receive four issues of the Quarterly , ten issues of the newsletter, and access to the Membe

The July/August 2013 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. © 2013, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

October 25 & 26, 2013, at Timber Creek Inn & Suites in Sandwich, Illinois 22 July 2013 – Springfield, IL . Registration is now open for the Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) 2013 Fall conference to be held on October 25 and 26 in Sandwich, Illinois, at the Timber Creek Inn & Suites and Convention Center. This year’s conference theme – The Way They Were – brings a variety of presenters offering lectures to assist attendees in identifying the “they” in genealogical research. In addition, a focus on “were” will explore the importance of capturing family stories and ancestor anecdotes to round out a family’s history. Featured Speaker: George G. Morgan Headlining a group of speakers is highly popular national and international genealogical speaker and professional genealogist, George G. Morgan . Morgan is president of Aha! Seminars, Inc. and is the author of ten landmark genealogy books, including the award-winning How to Do Everything with Your Genealogy .

Join us on Tuesday, August 13 , at 8:00 PM Central, when J. H. "Jay" Fonkert, will present Getting to Here from There: Following your Ancestor’s Migration Trail . To attend this webinar, register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8033182932596979200 . Last week's webinar, Common Surnames: Ways to Identify Your Ancestors in a Crowd , presented by Juliana Smith, is now available to ISGS members in the Members Section of the ISGS website ( http://ilgensoc.org/members.php ). Upcoming Webinars August 13 – Getting to Here from There: Following your Ancestor’s Migration Trail Presenter: J. H. "Jay" Fonkert Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8033182932596979200 September 10 – “To the Honorable, the General Assembly” – The Treasure Trove in Legislative Petitions Presenter: Judy G. Russell Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3615763026611679744 October 8 - Up In Smoke!! What To Do When the Courth

The Computer Assisted Genealogy Group of Northern Illinois (CAGGNI) is a not-for-profit organization incorporated in the State of Illinois. The objectives of the Group are as follows: Assisting its members in their genealogical research and using computers in this endeavor. Keeping its members informed on new technologies and techniques to support their research. Providing genealogical and computer mentoring for its membership. Undertaking projects which support the genealogical community in the region. CAGGNI was originally the Northern Illinois PAF Users Group (NIPAFUG), formed through the local Schaumburg LDS Family History Center and consisted of users of the LDS Personal Ancestral File genealogy program. Over time, as the interests of its members diversified, the membership decided to expand its focus to all uses of computers for researching genealogy, and any and all software programs. In 1998, the current name and new goals were adopted. CAGGNI currently has over 200 memb

The Illinois State Genealogical Society is proud to announce the winners of its recent Ancestor Photo Contest held earlier this year. Rotating Ancestor Slide Show Added to ISGS Website There were 13 photos selected from the many images submitted by ISGS members and they are all available for viewing at the ISGS website. We’ve created a “rotating slide show” which will display two images when you click on a sidebar menu item. In addition, place your mouse pointer over an image to learn more about the person or persons depicted and which ISGS member submitted the photo. You can also view all of this year's winning photos and those from previous years by clicking Free Databases in the sidebar and selecting Ancestor Photos . Winners and Photos CREWS family My great grandmother, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Crews, and her four daughters; Aileen, Laura (my grandmother), Leanna and Alma. They lived in Carroll,Carrollton, Missouri. Submitted by Laurann Bibbs. GOU

We probably all have at least one common surname to contend with in our research. Join us on July 9, when Juliana Smith will teach us some tips and tricks in her presentation Common Surnames: Ways to Identify Your Ancestors in a Crowd . Date : Tuesday, July 9, 2013, 8:00 pm Central Description : Techniques for finding your Smiths (or Kellys or Browns...). Methodology and some helpful reports and charts that can make your search easier. Presenter : Juliana Smith Juliana Szucs Smith has been working for Ancestry.com for more than 14 years. She began her family history journey trolling through microfilms at the tender age of 11 with her mother. She has written many articles for online and print genealogical publications and wrote the "Computers and Technology" chapter of The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. Juliana holds a certificate from Boston University's Online Genealogical Research Program, and is currently on the clock working towards certifi

The ISGS Office will be closed on Thursday, July 4, 2013 in honor of Independence Day. Regular hours will resume on Monday, July 8, 2013. © 2013, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society