Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog

What happens when a “tech guy” with a love for history gets laid off during The Great Recession of 2008? You get Thomas MacEntee, a genealogy professional based in the United States who is also a blogger, educator, author, social media connector, online community builder and more. Thomas has over 42 years of experience researching family history. Thomas was laid off after a 25-year career in the information technology field, so he started his own genealogy-related business called High Definition Genealogy . Currently Thomas shares many of his articles and videos for free at Abundant Genealogy and also runs the popular Genealogy Bargains and DNA Bargains websites! Thomas describes himself as a lifelong learner with a background in a multitude of topics who has finally figured out what he does best: teach, inspire, instigate, and serve as a curator and go-to-guy for concept nurturing and inspiration. Thomas is a big believer in success, and that we all succeed when we help each o

The Illinois State Genealogical Society is thrilled to have  Paul Woodbury, M. Ed,  as one of our 2019 Fall Conference keynote speakers! At a young age, Paul fell in love with genealogy research. He studied genetics and family history at Brigham Young University and holds a Master’s degree in instructional design and educational technology from the University of Utah. Paul currently works as a DNA team lead at Legacy Tree Genealogists where he has helped to solve hundreds of genetic genealogy cases. Paul will be teaching several DNA-focused courses at our Fall Conference, and will also be leading our exclusive  Pre-Conference hands-on workshops : Evaluating shared Autosomal DNA  and Getting your ACGT Together: Organizing Autosomal DNA Test Results for Success. Paul was kind enough to take the time to talk to ISGS and tell us more about his genealogy background, interests and accomplishments!        How did you become interested in genealogy?  How long have you been resear