SPRINGFIELD, IL, 6 October 2017 – The Illinois State
Genealogical Society (ISGS) announces their annual Honors and Awards. ISGS
President Dawn Carey Henry will present the Honors & Awards during the
Society’s Annual Meeting on Saturday, October 28, 2017 at the TaxSlayer Center
in Moline, Illinois.
Volkel Hall of
Fame
Marjorie Vance Rice, nominated by Illinois State
Genealogical Society, will be inducted into the Volkel Hall of Fame.
Lowell M. Volkel was
instrumental in establishing and promoting an interest in genealogy in the
State of Illinois. He was a founder of the Illinois State Genealogical Society
(founded 26 Oct 1968) and its first President, 1968-1970; he served again as
President, 1984-1985.
In 1970 he became an
Archivist in the Illinois State Archives and was the Head of the Reference Unit
there from 1974 until his death in 1992. He compiled, edited, and indexed more
than 3 dozen volumes of historical sources, co-authored, with Marjorie Smith, “How
to Research a Family with Illinois Roots,” completed an addendum for the 1989 edition
of Illinois Place Names and was the creator of the Illinois Marriage Records
Project as a joint effort of the Illinois State Archives and the ISGS.
In honor of his
accomplishments in the field of genealogy and records preservation, the ISGS established
the Volkel Memorial Awards. The Volkel Medal of Honor is awarded in
even-numbered years to a living person who has made significant contributions
in the field of Illinois genealogy. The Volkel Hall of Fame is given in
odd-numbered years to honor a deceased person who has made significant
contributions in the field of Illinois genealogy.
This year the Illinois
State Genealogical Society will induct Marjorie Vance Rice into the Volkel Hall
of Fame.
Marjorie Vance Rice “Marge,” whose orphaned ancestral
photos were featured in the ISGS Quarterly
column, Faces from the Past,
spent 17 years reuniting pictures with families of ancestors they never
expected to see through photos.
Marge would find these photos in antique shops and set
out to find their family through census records, genealogy societies tied to
the photographer’s location, and surname boards.
She sometimes spent 20 hours or more a week on her
reuniting efforts and only asked for reimbursement for the cost of the picture
and postage. The heartwarming stories
and thank you notes, that she saved, were her reward.
Marge and her husband lived in Joliet, Illinois, where
Marge was an active member of the Fox Valley Genealogical Society where she
served as a board member, trip organizer, and conference chair and was
responsible for establishing the greeter program at their monthly society
meetings. She was described as a
constant, dedicated, volunteer who for 12 years, once a month, spent a day at
the Oswego Public Library District assisting anyone that came in with a
genealogy question.
For her outstanding contributions to genealogist and family
historians not only in Illinois, but throughout the country, the Illinois State
Genealogical Society is honoring her through the “Marge Rice Memorial Family
History Writing Award” and is awarding posthumously the prestigious Volkel Hall
of Fame award to Marjorie Vance Rice.
Comments