Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog

The Fox Valley Genealogical Society will be hosting their next meeting via webinar on Thursday May 14th , featuring Stephen Szabados as part of their Writers Series. Stephen will present "Your Next Step: Write Your Family History." Were your ancestors royalty or members of the working class? Were they rich or barely surviving? Whoever they were, we need to preserve their memory. The program will discuss a process and format that makes the transformation of your research efforts to writing a family history easier. Your information will “come alive.” If we do not preserve the memories and stories of our ancestors for future generations, who will? Stephen Szabados is a lecturer and author who has given numerous programs to genealogy groups and libraries. He is the author of over ten genealogy books and over fifteen family histories. He is also a contributing editor for the Polish American Journal. He has a passion to share his love of family history and his courses cov

Here are a few great offers to make the most of your stay-at-home genealogy research! American Ancestors/New England Historic Genealogical Society:  NEHGS is offering a special discount on new memberships during the month of April. Throughout April, the cost of a new, individual, annual membership is now $74.95.  To take advantage of this offer, contact the NEHGS Member Services Division at membership@nehgs.org, or call (888) 296-3447. Offer is available through April 30th, not valid on current renewals. MyHeritage   is offering a Stay At Home DNA sale- only $39 for DNA kits through April 30th. Free shipping on orders of 2 or more kits. Order today at myheritage.com . And remember, ISGS member s have access to over 80 on-demand webinars  from our webinar archive! If you are not a current member, we are offering a  special FREE opportunity  to view one of our recent webinars, "Illinois Servitude and Emancipation Records," presented by Anita Boyd! Click here to visit the

Midwestern Roots is looking for speakers for their 2021 conference! A great opportunity for genealogy speakers with lectures that focus on immigration and migration! Click on the image below to learn more. © 2020, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

The March/April ISGS Newsletter is hot off the presses and available for FREE on the ISGS Website!   This edition has plenty of ideas for conducting successful genealogy research while staying safe at home! The ISGS Board is happy to welcome home Barbara McKean, longtime volunteer with both ISGS and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum! Barbara and her brother were stranded on a cruise ship off the coast of Hawaii when the coronavirus hit. We are happy Barbara and Malcolm made it home to Springfield safe and sound- and their adventure was featured on the Jim Leach radio show, heard locally on News/Talk 94.7 & 970 WMAY. You can hear Barbara's story for yourself by following this link! © 2020, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society