Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog

] Join us on Tuesday, September 9 , at 8:00 PM Central, where Luana Darby will present Treasures and Hidden Secrets of the Illinois Regional Archives (IRAD) . To attend this webinar, register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1778023905401548033 . This month’s webinar, Land Records in Illinois , presented by Michael John Neill, is available to ISGS members in the Members Section of the ISGS website ( http://ilgensoc.org/members.php ). Upcoming Webinars September 9 – Treasures and Hidden Secrets of the Illinois Regional Archives (IRAD) Presenter: Luana Darby, MLIS Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1778023905401548033 October 14 – Hunting for Henry: A Case Study Using Collaterals Presenter: Teresa Steinkamp McMillin, CG Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4324661061042799105 November 11 – Evaluating What You Have Found: The Third Stage of Research Presenter: Barbara Renick Registration: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/re

Over the next month ISGS will be traveling to different events with the ISGS booth. Next week Jane Haldeman, Janice Fritsch and Joan Murray will be  at the Federation of Genealogical Societies National Conference , “Gone to Texas” in San Antonio, Texas. The conference will include workshops, guest speakers, an exhibitor’s hall and special events. .ISGS  will have a booth set up in the exhibitor’s hall where we will provide information about ISGS membership and our upcoming 2014 Fall Conference and free ISGS Webinars .  In addition, ISGS has also been invited to exhibit at the  taping of the PBS television series, “Genealogy Roadshow.” The show is part detective story, and part emotional journey. Participants are chosen for the show and then genealogy, history and DNA experts use family heirlooms, letters, pictures, historical documents and other clues to hunt down information about their ancestors.  The answers are then revealed on camera before a local audience, in a historic buil

ISGS Announces the $10,000 War of 1812 Pension Match Challenge The Illinois State Genealogical Society is proud to support the Federation of Genealogical Societies' " Preserve The Pensions " campaign, with the goal of raising $3.7 million to digitize the War of 1812 Pension Application Files held at the National Archives and make them freely accessible online. The digitized pension files will be available for free on Fold3.com - see http://go.fold3.com/1812pensions/ to view the files that are available so far. In recognition of the importance of this digitization effort, the Illinois Genealogical Society has issued the ISGS $10,000 War of 1812 Pension Match Challenge . ISGS will MATCH any donation up to the first $10,000 that is made before January 31, 2015 . This means that if you donate $100, ISGS will match your contribution for a total of $200 !  The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) has agreed to MATCH the combined contribution (up to $20,000) for a tot

Join us on August 12 , for Land Records in Illinois , presented by Michael John Neill. While the focus is on Illinois, much of the information and many of the techniques apply to other states as well. Date : Tuesday, August 12, 2014, 8:00 pm Central Description : This presentation will discuss searching and using local land records in the state of Illinois. Typical methods of organization and recording will be covered along with search methods, problem-solving, and records analysis. This presentation will not discuss federal land records and attendees should have a basic knowledge of the township and range system of property surveying within the state. Presenter : Michael John Neill Michael John Neill has been actively involved in genealogical research for over thirty years. An experienced courthouse, archives, and library researcher, he as extensively researched numerous families in the Midwestern and Southern areas of the United States. Michael writes the popular "Genealogy