Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog

ISGS President Jane Haldeman received FGS Award of Merit from FGS President Josh Taylor at the FGS 2013 Conference The Illinois State Genealogical Society was recently honored at the Federation of Genealogical Societies' annual conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana with the FGS Award of Merit. On August 29, 2013, FGS President Josh Taylor presented the award to ISGS President Jane Haldeman for our "tremendous leadership in paving the way towards online educational offerings." Congratulations to all the ISGS volunteers who help make the ISGS Webinar series possible. And thanks also to everyone who has contributed to the ISGS Webinar Fund and who have helped spread the word about this great educational opportunity. Click here to learn more about the upcoming webinars for 2013. And stay tuned for a HUGE announcement on Monday, October 28th about our 2014 ISGS Webinar series! © 2013, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

Preserve the Pensions Project to Digitize Important Pension Records and Provide Free Access to the Public December 11, 2012 – Springfield, IL . The Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) is proud to announce that it has completed its recently launched $10,000 War of 1812 Pension Match Challenge with strong support from ISGS members as well as the genealogical community. On June 18, 2012, the 200th anniversary of the declaration of the War of 1812, ISGS announced its $10,000 War of 1812 Pension Match Challenge. ISGS made a commitment to match any contribution (up to the first $10,000) made to the Preserve the Pensions project before December 31, 2012. In addition, Ancestry.com announced that it would also match all monies donated during the campaign, resulting in all contributions being quadrupled. A total of $40,000 to be donated to the Preserve the Pensions project will result in 88,888 additional pages of the War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File...

[ Editor's note : ISGS is one of the charter societies working with the Federation of Genealogical Societies in its new partnership with findmypast.com ] Partnership makes records available to findmypast.com and creates a vital source of revenue for local societies. Findmypast.com, an international leader in online family history research, today announced a national partnership with Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) to preserve, digitize and provide access to local records from genealogical societies across the country. The collaborative initiative will help preserve genealogical records and provide a vital revenue stream for the societies. Throughout the remainder of 2012, findmypast.com will release records from the following pilot partners: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the most authoritative source for research on New York families Illinois State Genealogical Society Williamson County (Texas) Genealogical Society “As we aggressively grow o...

The Illinois State Genealogical Society is proud to support the Federation of Genealogical Societies’ “ Preserve the Pensions ” campaign. In support of this digitization project the ISGS announces the ISGS $10,000 War of 1812 Pension Match Challenge . ISGS will MATCH any contribution (up to the first $10,000) made to the Preserve the Pensions project before December 31, 2012. For instance, if you donate $100, the ISGS will match your contribution for a total of $200! In addition, Ancestry.com has announced it will also match ALL ISGS contributions which would mean any contribution you make will actually be QUADRUPLED! Your $100 contribution would become a $400 contribution! Any size contribution is welcome! A $10 contribution equals about 80 pages of Pension files digitized as part of the Preserve the Pensions project. The goal of the “Preserve the Pensions” campaign is to raise the $3.7 Million needed to digitize the War of 1812 Pension Application Files that are currently stored...

Thanks to our society's association with FGS, RootsTech is extending a very attractive discounted rate of $99 for three days only to any members of our society who would like to participate in this one-of-a-kind, dynamic conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. RootsTech is a leading edge conference designed to bring technologists together with genealogists, so they can learn from each other and find solutions to the challenges they face in family history research today. More than 3,000 people attended the inaugural conference in 2011 and their feedback on RootsTech was overwhelmingly positive. Don't miss out in 2012! Take advantage of the special $99 registration rate and we look forward to seeing you at RootsTech 2012! A new family history and technology conference February 2-4, 2012 Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah FGS registration discount is available October 27 to 29 Use the promotion code FGS when registering to receive the FGS discount rate A...

Don't Miss Out - FGS 2011 Early Bird Registration Ends July 1st! Save up to $50 on registration! The Federation of Genealogical Societies invites you to the FGS/ISGS 2011 Conference for the Nation's Genealogists. Our local host, the Illinois State Genealogical Society, joins FGS in welcoming you to historic Springfield as we celebrate "Pathways to the Heartland." And if you register by Friday, July 1st you'll save up to $50 on the registration fees. Click here ( http://fgs.org/2011conference/registration/ ) to register - don't delay! Remember, the early bird gets the worm and saves money too! Why should you make plans to be at FGS 2011? Take a peek at what we have in store for this year's FGS conference: Program More than 150 educational presentations with well-known speakers from all over the U.S. Check out the conference program at http://fgs.org/2011conference/program/. Lectures that appeal to beginning, intermediate and experienced genealog...

I was just sitting here looking at my calendar for the next several weeks. July 1st jumped out at me. That is the early registration deadline for the September FGS/ISGS Conference. There are only 44 days before July 1st. If you register before that clock on the wall strikes midnight on July 1st, you will pay $50.00 less than those who wait till after that date. As of now, there is still room for you in the meal and special events. Don't forget to register for those, too. Want to get a partial rebate on that early registration fee? Click here to see how to do that and help out with other conference volunteers that week. It's a great way to meet other genealogists. All it takes to register is to click here and have your credit card handy. Of course you may print out a registration form and mail it. It doesn't matter if you just recently decided to learn more about your family history or have been doing that for 3, 5, or 25 years. Everyone is welcome. © 2011, copyri...

In case you were unable to listen to the live broadcast of FGS Radio - My Society on Saturday, April 23, 2011, here is an archived version for your listening enjoyment. The topic is Bringing Genealogy Societies Into the 21st Century and it feature guest Curt Witcher of the Allen County Public Library in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. In addition, the show is hosted by none other than 2012 Director, ISGS webmaster, and Publicity Chair, Thomas MacEntee. Listen to internet radio with mysociety on Blog Talk Radio ©2011, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

For Immediate Release April 20, 2011 FEDERATION OF GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES RADIO DEBUT Special Guest Curt Witcher to Discuss 21st Century Genealogy Societies April 20, 2011 – Austin, TX . The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) announces the debut of My Society , the first Internet radio show dedicated solely to genealogy societies. Broadcast weekly each Saturday at 1:00 pm Central, My Society will host discussions of genealogy society topics with a variety of guests including well-known genealogists and genealogy community leaders. This unique media outlet can be accessed at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mysociety . Debut Episode of My Society with Special Guest Curt Witcher On Saturday, April 23, 2011 at 1:00 pm Central, Curt Witcher, Senior Manager for Special Collections at the Allen County Public Library, will be the special guest on My Society hosted by FGS board member Thomas MacEntee. Witcher, who is also a former president of both FGS and the National Genealogical...

How exciting is this? The FGS Conference News Blog has been redecorate with a new logo and template all for the 2011 conference right here in Springfield, Illinois! Check out the logo for Pathways to the Heartland , the annual conference of the Federation of Genealogical Socieites, co-hosted by the Illinois State Genealogical Society, to be held September 7-10, 2011. © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

The Illinois State Genealogical Society booth at this past week's Federation of Genealogical Society's 2010 Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee was a success due to the hard work of its board members in attendance. Many thanks go to Carole McCarty, Janice Fritsch, Susie Pope, David Kent Coy, Jane Haldeman, Kim Kasprzyk, Donna Pond, Kristy Gravlin, and Nancy Blackwell for all their help.  And a special shout-out to Shirley Eck of the Springfield Illinois Convention & Visitors Bureau for her great display and ability to help visitors to our booth with questions about Springfield. We are looking forward to FGS2011 next September and after the hard work of this year's conference committee, we have a hard act to follow! And yes, ISGS does have its own You Tube channel - called Illinois Genealogy TV.  You can subscribe and receive updates here . © 2010, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society

This afternoon I had the pleasure of working with several ISGS board members at the exhibit hall of the Federation of Genealogical Societies' 2010 Annual Conference (#FGS10) in Knoxville, Tennessee. We spent a few hours setting up our booth with flyers, information about our upcoming Fall conference in Peoria, as well as other information, books and items highlighting the Prairie State. I've been here since Monday afternoon and most of the ISGS folks arrived either Tuesday evening or today. Tomorrow, Thursday, August 18, is the first day of the exhibit hall and we hope to not only get the word out on the fact that ISGS is the co-host for #FGS11 in Springfield, IL, September 6-10, 2011 - but also sign up some new members and help others with Illinois genealogy resources. If you are at #FGS10, please stop by booths 113-115 or look for the folks with the blue and orange mardi gras beads and the Illinois badge ribbons! Photos: 1) (l to r) Susie Pope, Jane Haldeman and Donna ...

Editor's note : If you are attending this year's Federation of Genealogical Societies' Annual Conference - Rediscovering America's First Frontier - in Knoxville, Tennessee from August 18-21, 2010, see the information about the Early Registration Deadline of June 21, 2010 below. If you have been wondering if attending FGS 2010 would be valuable to you as a researcher of Illinois ancestors, please keep in mind that many of our ancestors came from Tennessee and Kentucky and ended up in Illinois!  There will be plenty of workshops to assist you with your research and plenty of opportunities to meet and talk with other genealogists! Pat Oxley, President of The Federation of Genealogical Societies, reminds us that there is just one week left to take advantage of the early registration discount pricing for the 2010 FGS Genealogy Conference. The big $50.00 savings expires Monday, June 21, 2010 at midnight, Central Daylight Time (CDT). Pat says, “we are happy to be able to ...